Hymn tunes were one of European classical music’s chief conduits to American audiences through the mid-19th century. Hymnnodic adaptations of the work of Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, and others appeared by the hundreds, all but a few forgotten today. 278 of these tunes, edited for modern use, are gathered in our Anthology of scores and piano recordings.
AmericanClassicalHymns.com was developed in tandem with the book Gems of Exquisite Beauty: How Hymnody Carried Classical Music to America (Oxford University Press, 2020), the first in-depth historical exploration of this repertoire and its creators.
