Welcome to
"A Presbyterian Pastor's Musical Guide to the
Presbyterian hymnbooks, 1955, 1972, and 1990."

Please read this brief introduction before proceeding:

While there are some very good resources on congregational singing, and on the background of the hymns, none of these really provides a useful assessment of each hymn's qualities. The following guide attempts to do just that. First, all the hymns in the three hymnbooks (1955, 1972, 1990) published by the PC(USA) and immediate predecessors are included (as well as the service music for the 1990 Hymnal). There are 1064 entries in all, in the following format:

Hymn: The hymn name
Tune: The tune name
HM 90: The hymn number in the 1990 Presbyterian Hymnal
WB 72: The hymn number in the 1972 Worshipbook
HB 55: The hymn number in the 1955 Hymnbook
       Note: If an entry is blank, the hymn is not in that hymnbook.
       If it has a slightly different wording, it may have a second entry.
Singing ease: A scale of 1 to 5 is used; 1 is hardest, 5 is easiest.
Playing ease: Same scale, same meaning. Mostly this applies to organ.
Freedom: A "1" means there may be unwanted associations with other
       hymns ("God Who Madest Earth and Heaven" may remind us of "Sleep,
       My Love and Peace Attend Thee", p.e.)
Musicality: "1" means least musical, "5" most. This is admittedly a very
       subjective quality, but the reality is that some hymn tunes are better
       than others, and this is my attempt to provide some guidance.
Familiarity: "1" means I do not recall ever hearing this hymn sung
       in a Presbyterian church; "5" means many people would be able to
       sing the first verse from memory.
Local Familiarity: The same meaning as Familiarity, applied to
Fondren Presbyterian Church, PC(USA), in Jackson, MS

- Glenn A. Gentry © 2007

To use the hymn index, click here.
To use the tune index, click here.
To read a more detailed introduction, click here.