Using Congregational Anthems as Choir Anthems

Congregational anthems have become Celebrating Grace’s “signature” supplemental music resources. They have quickly caught on and music leaders are joyfully discovering their beauty and value for worship. Many publishers produce hymn anthems that feature the choir and include the congregation on the final stanza. Celebrating Grace essentially flips that formula - our settings feature the congregation leading the way on the hymn tune while the choir “decorates” their singing with interesting choral parts included in the arrangement.

BUT
Congregational anthems also work well with choir only. They are great for unanticipated Snow Sundays when many choir singers can’t get to church or Summer Sundays when they don’t. These arrangements include a fair amount of unison singing that can be assigned to men only or women only. Keyboard accompaniments are fresh and accessible; many are further enhanced with a C or Bb instrument obligato.
AND
Congregational anthems, whether used with the congregation or choir only, provide excellent means of refreshing a familiar hymn or introducing a new one. There are currently 125 congregational anthems downloadable from our website – www.celebrating-grace.com – and 88 others will follow very soon.