Coming Soon to a Pew Near You
Ancient Music Meets 21st Century Technology
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, July 10, 2009 --(PR.com)-- “Evangelicals say we're too traditional.
Traditionalists say we're too high-tech.
If it wasn't for God, we wouldn't have any friends at all!”
- Stephen Jarnick, Hi-Fi Hymn Book
They're talking about Hi-Fi Hymn Book, a new online service that enables missionaries and small churches to download free pipe organ accompaniments to Christian hymns from their website http://www.hifihymnbook.com
Founder Stephen Jarnick explains “We felt that there was a need for quality music in churches that couldn't afford to install a pipe organ or hire a professional organist.” With the help of an Apple computer and the latest in digital pipe organ technology they began recording a library of hymns that could be played through a public address system. “Everything's played by a real person” says Jarnick “but there's definitely some digital magic happening to create a distinctive sound that's more vibrant than typical audio recordings.”
The site has a fun, fifties theme and anyone who drops by can click on a jukebox to play music right on the site, or download all the mp3s they want at no charge. Being an ecumenical movement, the hymns come from many Christian denominations but are all in the public domain, which makes them copyright free.
Hi-Fi fans regularly send notes of encouragement but one in particular stands out. “The week before we launched the site” recalls Jarnick “a lady in England found us on YouTube and asked if we could send her an mp3 of her mother's favorite hymn. She'd just passed away and the family couldn't hire an organist on short notice, or find a decent recording anywhere else on the internet. We were happy to help and it was incredibly rewarding to hear that it worked so well as an integral part of her mom's service.”
“We don't receive any financial support from church denominations, so we rely solely on donations from individuals to keep us going. Some people in the church establishment might see us as a threat to tradition, but our success on YouTube [almost half a million plays] shows that there's a lot of interest in our approach to this amazing music. Our videos don't include words because so many of our visitors are from non-English speaking countries.”
In addition to expanding the number of hymns available on the site, there's a plan to add a feature that will allow visitors to build their own hymn by selecting things like the number of verses, and the type of organ sound they want. Another goal is to eventually record with a digital instrument that's sampled from the Notre Dame de Metz cathedral organ in France. “Guess you could call that our Pipe Dream!”
About Hi-Fi Hymn Book:
Hi-Fi Hymn Book is a non-profit organization located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and everyone involved is a volunteer. The website, which launched on New Year's Day 2009, is a source of free mp3 downloads of public domain Christian hymns.
Contact:
Stephen Jarnick
hifihymnbook@yahoo.com
(647) 409-8646
http://www.hifihymnbook.com
###
Traditionalists say we're too high-tech.
If it wasn't for God, we wouldn't have any friends at all!”
- Stephen Jarnick, Hi-Fi Hymn Book
They're talking about Hi-Fi Hymn Book, a new online service that enables missionaries and small churches to download free pipe organ accompaniments to Christian hymns from their website http://www.hifihymnbook.com
Founder Stephen Jarnick explains “We felt that there was a need for quality music in churches that couldn't afford to install a pipe organ or hire a professional organist.” With the help of an Apple computer and the latest in digital pipe organ technology they began recording a library of hymns that could be played through a public address system. “Everything's played by a real person” says Jarnick “but there's definitely some digital magic happening to create a distinctive sound that's more vibrant than typical audio recordings.”
The site has a fun, fifties theme and anyone who drops by can click on a jukebox to play music right on the site, or download all the mp3s they want at no charge. Being an ecumenical movement, the hymns come from many Christian denominations but are all in the public domain, which makes them copyright free.
Hi-Fi fans regularly send notes of encouragement but one in particular stands out. “The week before we launched the site” recalls Jarnick “a lady in England found us on YouTube and asked if we could send her an mp3 of her mother's favorite hymn. She'd just passed away and the family couldn't hire an organist on short notice, or find a decent recording anywhere else on the internet. We were happy to help and it was incredibly rewarding to hear that it worked so well as an integral part of her mom's service.”
“We don't receive any financial support from church denominations, so we rely solely on donations from individuals to keep us going. Some people in the church establishment might see us as a threat to tradition, but our success on YouTube [almost half a million plays] shows that there's a lot of interest in our approach to this amazing music. Our videos don't include words because so many of our visitors are from non-English speaking countries.”
In addition to expanding the number of hymns available on the site, there's a plan to add a feature that will allow visitors to build their own hymn by selecting things like the number of verses, and the type of organ sound they want. Another goal is to eventually record with a digital instrument that's sampled from the Notre Dame de Metz cathedral organ in France. “Guess you could call that our Pipe Dream!”
About Hi-Fi Hymn Book:
Hi-Fi Hymn Book is a non-profit organization located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and everyone involved is a volunteer. The website, which launched on New Year's Day 2009, is a source of free mp3 downloads of public domain Christian hymns.
Contact:
Stephen Jarnick
hifihymnbook@yahoo.com
(647) 409-8646
http://www.hifihymnbook.com
###
Contact
Hi-Fi Hymn Book
Stephen Jarnick
(647) 409-8646
www.hifihymnbook.com
Stephen Jarnick
(647) 409-8646
www.hifihymnbook.com
Contact
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