In Christ Alone: 10 Arrangements of Praise and Worship Favorites (Sacred Performer Collections)

I have found these arrangements to be unusual and highly inspirational. Right now I am working up the title piece "In Christ Alone" and "How Deep the Father's Love for Us". The latter is definitely a stretch since it takes a piece which is a seldom-used time signature, 5/4, and puts part of it into seven flats, but it is so gorgeous that every practice is a profound worship experience for me, and I can't wait until I have it to the point where I can play it in church.Pianists who are looking for straightforward arrangements with easy key signatures and predictable chording won't find them here. These are lush arrangements full of rich harmonies. The "weird" minor keys mentioned scornfully by another reviewer are a perfect complement, in my opinion, for the intense feeling embodied in lyrics: for example, in "How Deep the Father's Love for Us," the "weird minor" frames the verse "How great the pain of searing loss./The Father turns His face away/As wounds which mar the chosen One/Bring many sons to glory." The choice of key here is brilliant. I am besotted by these arrangements. They are running through my head day and night. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work up such beautiful and worshipful music. Thank you, Marilynn Ham.These arrangements are definitely at the Advanced level for the amateur pianist, but they are accessible with practice and seldom involve chords of more than an octave--a definite plus for someone like me who doesn't have a large stretch of the hand.

I bought this book mostly for my own enjoyment, as I like to play sacred music but feel like hymns are a bit old-fashioned for my taste. I don't ordinarily play in church but would gladly perform one of these for a special program if asked. (Deciding which one would be difficult though.) I think this book is pretty perfect. It's exactly what I wanted it to be. Not only is it a great selection of songs, the arrangements are really, really lovely. I can't be sure, but I think I heard an angel sigh as I was playing.I would categorize the title arrangement as truly advanced and the only one in this book that intimidates me. Elements such as parallel octaves and sixteenth-note triplets require deft fingers. You can find a clip of someone playing this piece on the Internet. Without a doubt, this is the showstopper of the book. The remaining arrangements are far more accessible, if not quite so impressive. This doesn't mean they are easy, by any means. There are parts like arpeggios and chords played in rapid succession that might require a bit of practice to master. However, none of the pieces aside from the title arrangement are dauntingly difficult, even for a late intermediate player. And they all sound very good. Needless to say, the better your skills, the better they will sound.The one-star review here baffles me. Yes, it is true there are major portions in minor keys. This happens in exactly ONE song in this book, "How Deep the Father's Love For Us." The minor-key switch occurs in the middle of the arrangement and gives that section a haunting, rather Gothic tone. I feel like it provides a quite beautiful detour from the dull and conventional. If one found it strange, they could just change it to a major key or omit that section or maybe choose a different song. It certainly does not merit a disparagement of the entire book. Did the reviewer even attempt to play any other songs?The only other possibly "weird" thing that happens in this book is in "Lord, Reign in Me," which has an odd "bluesy" section. Although this is really fun to play (the whole book is a lot of fun to play, actually), it seems rather disconnected from the rest of the song. This is the only arrangement I don't completely love, but it's still not bad.Although many of these arrangements contain artistic flourishes, the melody always shines through very clearly. But even if listeners don't recognize a song right away (I would have to say most likely either through being unfamiliar with the song or really poor at song recognition) they aren't going to complain about being subjected to such beautiful, reverential music. I'm not sure what more one could expect from a book of piano praise and worship solos. The only thing that could make it better is if the spirit of Mozart were to leap out of the book and possess the person playing. That would be frowned upon in the Christian world, however.

I am on a hunt for well-crafted piano arrangements of worship songs, which is a very difficult thing to look for when you have to shop online (we live MILES and MILES from a decent music store). So, I bought this one after reviewing a few pages online. To put ability into context: I've studied piano for close to 30 years. I have a minor in piano performance, and I play for a church worship team. I was searching for some nice offeratory/communion pieces.So, this book is just OK in my opinion. Expect a lot of sugary scale runs (too many for my taste. I'd prefer something a little less expected). Also, some really nasty key changes. In How Deep the Father's Love, the music goes from A-flat major to A-flat minor. I just find that a horrible key that's seldom used in church arrangements (especially when you're trying to work a piece up in a short time). I was sight reading through the piece, got to the transition and had to snap a photo of the music and post it to Facebook asking, "Dear music composers, just why?" I find a transition like that to be just poor writing.I'm currently working up "Breathe," and for the most part, it's pretty and quite usable. However, it kind of disintegrates toward the end into a series of scale runs.So, a decent book, but not great. I definitely have other, much better, books in my collection. Unfortunately, most of my other books are hymn arrangements, and I still need to fill the gap of modern worship in my solo collection.

not as advanced as I would like but arrangements were good. Played through book first time without difficulty

Marilynn Ham is my favorite arranger by far. I have to work to perfect some of her arrangements. I found this book a tad less difficult, but the arrangements still as lovely as ever.

If you're looking for a book that's truly advanced this is the one for you. "In Christ Alone" is really the star of this book and it's just a wonderful arrangement. Hard, but wonderful :) I don't care for some of the arrangements of the more "upbeat" songs in this book, but that's just me. This is worth it though for the few that are just great.

This book is quite difficult, a very advanced level.

Marilyn Hamm has been my favorite hymn arranger for over twenty years. Everyone that hears them wants me to play every weekend. I just wish she had more volumes online. I live in the Middle East and the weight of real books is not practical. Please make all her books available through my kindle. It's great!

This music book was sent to me Advance Piano Addition. After looking at it , I realised that I only a beginner and needed a Easy play piano addition . So I posted this book back and enclosed a explain letter., asking if this was possible. a refund of my money was being done by Amazon uk.