Many of the sacrament hymns lend themselves to free accompaniment: the congregation is extremely familiar with the melody, so the organist can vary the chord structure underneath them without impacting their ability to sing confidently.

Here is a free accompaniment version of the hymn tune DELIVERANCE, also known as “Jesus, Once of Humble Birth.”

It works well as the accompaniment for the final verse of congregational singing, or as part of an improvised prelude.

If you’ve ever played Richard Elliott’s “Prelude on Deliverance” (one of the pieces in the OrganTutor Workbook), you may recognize some of the suspensions.

Sheet Music

Audio Recordings

Recording made on the Pitea School of Music sampleset for GrandOrgue.