Differences Between the "Choir Edition" and "Organ Edition" of the Adoremus Hymnal

[xixxvmcm85]

Sorry, I know this doesn’t technically have to do with traditional Catholicism, but I couldn’t find any sub-forum for music. Maybe this could have gone in L&S, but given that I’ve only seen the Adoremus Hymnal in parishes celebrating the EF, I thought placing the question here would maximize my chances of receiving an answer.

I’m about to purchase the Adoremus Hymnal from an online source, from which I cannot view the material first, so I want to make sure I’m selecting the edition most pertinent to my needs. I most certainly need the bass clef, which is why the “Pew Edition” will not suffice, but I’m not certain how much different the “Organ Edition” would be from the “Choir Edition”.

Does anyone here have any experience with either edition of the hymnal?

 

[floresco]

I think our organist might have this. I’ll try to remember to ask at choir practice on Thursday, if that is soon enough for you. In general, the choir edition of a hymnal has a bass clef and gives music for 4 part harmony, while the organist’s has the instrumental accompaniment. I would guess that Adoremus is the same.

I had heard that Adoremus is coming out with a new edition soon. Are you getting this new one or an older one?

 

[baltobetsy]

I am not familiar with this particular hymnal, but can speak in general terms about the different editions. The choir edition would have treble and bass clef and be in a regular binding. The organ edition probably includes a pedal line and would have a spiral or other lay-flat type of binding.

Betsy

 

[MikeDunphy]

I passed your question on to a musician friend who has the choir edition. She wrote:

The Ignatius website describes them as follows:
Pew ed: ignatius.com/IProducts/22568/adoremus-hymnal-pew-edition.aspx
Choir ed: ignatius.com/IProducts/22564/adoremus-hymnal-choir-edition.aspx
Organist ed: ignatius.com/IProducts/22566/adoremus-hymnal-organist-edition.aspx

The pew edition would probably be what one sees in most Catholic churches today, ie, melody and text only. (Might want to do a phone check on this.) The choir edition contains 4-part harmony notated on the Grand Staff, which includes both treble and bass clefs. I would assume that the major difference between the choir edition and the organist edition would be that the organist edition would be spiral bound for easier page turning, (consequently considerably bulkier), and possibly be printed in larger notation. I have not seen the organist edition of the Adoremus, but I have seen this version of other hymnals, and this is the case. Unless the person is accompanying a Mass, I would recommend the choir edition. Hope this helps

 

[m134e5]

Pew version- just the words and melody line

Choir version- four-part harmony for hymns

Organ version- same notes for the hymns, but also includes accompaniment parts for chants (all choir members singing these sing the same notes though).

 

[drforjc]

Also, the organ edition is 3 ring bound for flat layout. It is missing some of the printed non-musical text of the Ordinary, for example, the latin v. English text of the Eucharistic prayers. It has organ accompaniments for other parts of the ordinary.