Hi Folks.
My Mum has asked me to get her a new hymn book. She can't see the old one anymore, it's an old old service book with hymns ancient and modern.
She likes to sing along with Songs of Praise and so on. Mum is nearly 81, and when I asked, she says she likes the good old ones and good new ones.
What would be a good book to buy. It needs to be in large print.
We don't have a shop near me, and it will have to be internet. It's a pain not being able to see the book before I buy.
Thanks in advance
Bev

Two that sound right up your requirments are:

-Common Praise
-Church Hymnary 4

I know the latter certainly does large print, and the first one ought to.

Ones to avoid:

-Hymns Old and New

What about this one?

See also here re content.

That was quick. Thanks.

I don't know Church Hymnary 4, but I think Guilmant spot on about Common Praise and avoiding HON.

CH4 is the main book used in the Church of Scotland. It has a good spread of old and new, in mostly correct words. It has a lot (perhaps too much) John Bell in it, which I'm less keen on, and it also has a small liturgical section at the back.

Did I mention, please avoid Hymns Old and New? If I did, can I mention it again?

It's a foul book, with lots of idiotic changes to both music and words. It'll fall to pieces quite quickly too.

Which is the one that contains a setting of the 46th Psalm to the tune of the Dambusters' March?

Several do, but I can't recall which at the mo. The title is "God is our help and refuge" if that's of any help.

Given what she wants it for, how about "BBC Songs of Praise" published by OUP?

ISBN for the organ (full music) edition is 0-19-147325-1
(I know that's not what you're after, but it might help lead you to what you want.)

I don't know exactly which other editions are available, or which she wants (words only? melody line?) or if it's been replaced with a newer version (this one is from 1997), but it does say "a words edition is also available".
I think with most hymnbooks you're more likely to find a large print words-only copy than a large print melody line or full music copy.

Hymns Ancient and Modern (New Standard). Words only edition, words and music, or large print. Published by Canterbury Press. Smart red book with gold print, and doesn't full apart in constant use.

Can she get subtitles on Songs of Praise?

Mission Praise has it in (under the title "God is our strength and refuge".

Thanks everyone. BBC Songs of Praise sounds good. Mum doesn't need the music, just the words. I'll have a look at it.
Bev

Mission Praise can be good and has a range of hymns/songs plus a large print edition - but, be warned, they sometimes do strange things with the words and seem (at times) to have taken political correctness a bit too far in this respect - e.g. 'brothers, sisters, let me serve you' has been changed to something fairly obscure to remove the reference to gender, and the line "be Thou my breastplate" from the hymn 'Be Thou my vision' has also been changed (to 'battle-shield') and I've no idea why.

It might be worth getting one older/more traditonal book e.g. Hymns Ancient and Modern or the New English Hymnal, and one more modern/contemporary one e.g. one of the more recent Spring Harvest or Songs of Fellowship publications.

We use Mission Praise, but I hadnt seen the dambusters tune ! I agree that its had a good mixture of old and new , and the hymns are arranged alphabetically, so its easier to find a specific one. But yes, they do alter some words, and also some harmonies.
With regard to strange tunes for hymns, I once had to play (on Palm Sunday), 'There is a green hill far away' to the tune of that den of iniquity in New Orleans - 'The House of the Rising Sun' (recorded first by The Animals in about 1965)

That might actually beat my current record for silliest thing sung in a Church. About a year ago I made the mistake of meeting my partners eye in the middle the line "You are the apple of my eye" (with reference to either Jesus or God, I don't remember which) resulting in us both collasping into hopeless giggles. I think we got a few disapproving looks from the surrounding congregation, but really, what did they expect...