An experienced team of church musicians and liturgists, representing a wide variety of tastes, has selected 330 of the very best of recently written hymn, song and short chant compositions.

Many are today's classics that have proved their staying power and are widely used in both traditional and informal styles of worship, though for the most part cannot be found in mainstream hymn books.

Music has been described as the 'soul food of the people of God'. By selecting from the diverse material provided here, the musical diet of any worshipping community can be enriched without the enormous outlay which replacing a main hymn book entails.

This selection will complement many existing hymnals including Common Praise, Hymns Ancient & Modern, The New English Hymnal, Hymns Old and New, Hymns and Psalms, Rejoice and Sing, Baptist Praise and Worship, and others.

The editors tried to identify subject areas poorly served by traditional hymnody or contemporary song repertoire. They also looked at the full range of material published as part of the Common Worship project, aiming to provide words and music to help those who plan and lead services. While the needs of Anglican congregations have been the chief focus, it's clear that Sing Praise will be a valuable resource for other churches too.

Churches will be able to broaden their repertoire substantially without the cost of replacing their standard hymn books.