This is the "new blue" hymn book of the Anglican Church of Canada, published in 1998. It was compiled for use with the new Book of Alternative Services, adopted in 1983. The mandate was to include material both new and old, drawing on a wide variety of styles and traditions, to complement the Common Lectionary, and using "inclusive" language in terms of gender, theology, languages, music and cultural heritage.
Most of the words are placed between the staves of music to make it easier to read both at once. A few hymns include words in French, Spanish, aboriginal and other languages. There is also a section of service music (settings for the Anglican eucharist, morning prayers and vespers.)
Some new indexes are provided: music for children and youth, scriptural associations, and hymns which may be substituted for parts of the liturgy. Some arrangements include guitar chords as well as standard scoring. Hymns are drawn from traditional Anglican and other Protestant sources, but also from new sources in the U.S., the Taize and Iona Communities, Africa, Asia and South America. 650 hymns plus another hundred pieces of liturgical music, 960 pages in total. ( )