Trendy Hymnal Plus fills in for organists

LONDON — Karaoke bars have become trendy around the world, with countless wannabe singers mangling songs like Frank Sinatra's "My Way" while following along with lyrics displayed on a big screen.

So why not karaoke churches?

With attendance plummeting and youthful organists hard to find, churches across Britain are turning to a new karaoke-like machine called Hymnal Plus as a means of jazzing up stale services — and also giving elderly organists a break.

Designed and manufactured in Britain, the new Hymnal Plus, or HT-300, from Hymn Technology Ltd. of London takes music accompaniment for worship to a whole new level, according to the company's Web site.

Priced at $3,500, the HT-300 not only can play more than 2,750 traditional hymns and modern worship songs but can also play imported MP3 audio files.

Besides featuring traditional tunes, the machine can blast a disco version of "Amazing Grace" and a jazzy variant of "The Lord's My Shepherd."

The machine will play any song in a variety of styles, speeds and keys, depending on the enthusiasm of the congregation. Users can choose from among 200 preset sound styles ranging from brass band to jazz piano.

It is also able to display words on a screen for those churches short of hymn books.

"This is not designed to replace real organists, but to help churches in those areas where there just aren't enough organists," said Alan Kempster, a director at Hymn Technology. "We want to keep hymn singing alive because it's always been a very important part of the church service.

"These machines will also help churches move with the times as they allow churches to select accompaniments to a lot of the new tunes being written for church services," he said.

Smaller than a laptop, the HT-300 is designed to be portable and self-contained so that it can stand in at funerals, weddings, choir rehearsals and graveside services whenever an organist or other types of music are unavailable.

One of Hymn Technology's newest customers is the 15th-century St. Mary the Virgin Church in Mudford, England, which used the HT-300 for the first time at its services on May 7 in order to give its organist, Christine Whitby, who is in her 80s, a rare rest.