Sunday Morning Blended Worship Companion: 33 Selections of Praise Songs with Hymns, Comb Bound Book (Sacred Performer Collections)

Just ordered and received this book! It along with another volume in this series that I purchased were exactly what I was looking for - accessible, tasteful, simple yet absolutely gorgeous piano arrangements! I have more than advanced arrangements, and I love them as well, but not everything a church pianist plays needs to be a concerto!!

The media could not be loaded.  In this collection of arrangements that blend hymns with contemporary worship songs, Labenske achieves something remarkable. These pieces are mostly at the intermediate level, and an experienced pianist will be able to prepare them relatively quickly. The magic is, they don't *sound* as simple as they feel to play. Most of the songs have you balancing three or four voices, and the chords are just jazzy enough to add some bulk to the sound without taxing your hands.Let's be honest: Blending hymns and praise songs could have gotten hokey real quick. But for the most part, Labenske pulls it off. The pairings generally suit each other well. A few are simple play-this-then-that medleys, but many arrangements weave and interleave melodies creatively and beautifully.It's inevitable that the "contemporary" song selection will have begun to feel a bit dated. (When it came to "I Surrender All/I Exalt Thee", I wasn't sure which one was supposed to be which!) Plenty of the praise songs have been covered and recirculated recently enough to be familiar to teenagers in the 2020's, though.This collection has become a staple in my library, perfect to have on hand when someone asks for church event music in a hurry.

I have over 1000 Christian piano solo books, but this is the best of them all!! When this book arrived, I sat down and played all the way through it and was blown away by the beauty of every single piece. Since it is a blend of familiar hymns and newer worship songs, it has appeal to a large audience. The transitions from one song to the next are smooth and beautiful. The pieces are suitable for several types of services...not just a Sunday morning offeratory. Plus they are worshipful just to sit and play them for my personal enjoyment.There is some syncopation in some of the pieces which is easily worked out. The pieces are suitable for piano, but especially suitable for an electronic instrument such as a clavinova with changeable voices. There are some fingering notations, but it generally depends on the pianist to work out fingering, but none is really difficult.I am so happy with this book. I have a good number of Victor Labenske's books, but this is my favorite, and it will be well used.

Good song selection but arrangements leave less than to be desired. Not very melodical

If you need something quickly for church services and only have a short amount of time to practice, this is your book. I usually have to stretch to play Labenske’s arrangements, but this is not a stretch at all. So I guess it wasn’t exactly what I thought based on the description. It’s nice, but I expected more.

Book was supposed to come used- like new, but the front of the book has had someone take out the front of the book with an exact-o knife. The songs are great, but was disappointed since this book was supposed to be a gift.

This book was a little more elementary than the description. There were a few beautiful arrangements and that is about all I get from most books I’ve ordered. I would buy again, even though not challenging.

Some fun arrangements, easily prepared and the spiral binding is a huge "plus"!