Organ & Sheet Music Blog

Organists seated at a softly lit gallery console in a dim cathedral, with tall silver organ pipes on the left and a painted mural on the right

Now Let Us Rejoice: The Story Behind the Hymn

W. W. Phelps printed “Now Let Us Rejoice” in Missouri in 1833, months before the Saints were driven out. Here is the hymn’s story and how to play it.

Now Let Us Rejoice: The Story Behind the Hymn

W. W. Phelps printed “Now Let Us Rejoice” in Missouri in 1833, months before the Saints were driven out. Here is the hymn’s story and how to play it.

An empty multi-manual pipe organ console glowing in warm light in a dark, vaulted church, with the organ bench in the foreground

Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee: The Story Behi...

The story behind Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee: a medieval Latin poem, a grieving translator, the ST. AGNES tune, and how to play it on the organ.

Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee: The Story Behi...

The story behind Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee: a medieval Latin poem, a grieving translator, the ST. AGNES tune, and how to play it on the organ.

An older organist's weathered hands in a plaid flannel sleeve resting on the wooden manuals of a pipe organ in warm, low light

The Story Behind “Come, Thou Fount of Every Ble...

A converted hairdresser's apprentice, an 1813 folk tune, and the line "prone to wander": the story behind Come, Thou Fount, now hymn 1001 in our hymnbook.

The Story Behind “Come, Thou Fount of Every Ble...

A converted hairdresser's apprentice, an 1813 folk tune, and the line "prone to wander": the story behind Come, Thou Fount, now hymn 1001 in our hymnbook.

Come, Come, Ye Saints: The Hymn Born on the Trail

All Is Well: The Story Behind “Come, Come, Ye S...

The story behind ‘Come, Come, Ye Saints’—written in a muddy Iowa camp in 1846—and how to play this pioneer hymn like you mean it.

All Is Well: The Story Behind “Come, Come, Ye S...

The story behind ‘Come, Come, Ye Saints’—written in a muddy Iowa camp in 1846—and how to play this pioneer hymn like you mean it.

A pipe organ with tall golden pipes set among stone arches in a cathedral, lit by soft warm light

Be Still, My Soul: The Story Behind the Hymn Th...

The story behind 'Be Still, My Soul'—a German text, a Scottish translation, and Sibelius's Finlandia—plus how to play it with reverent restraint.

Be Still, My Soul: The Story Behind the Hymn Th...

The story behind 'Be Still, My Soul'—a German text, a Scottish translation, and Sibelius's Finlandia—plus how to play it with reverent restraint.