The Church Music Institute contains an extensive Library of sacred choral and organ music for evaluation and study to support the educational purposes of the Institute. The Library is unique in its effort to collect and preserve music for worship and study. Through its electronic resources, members can find appropriate choral or organ music to use in worship from the convenience of their home or office.

Every church musician has spent hours searching for compositions to match a sermon topic, scripture passage, or liturgical emphasis. Each congregation is unique in musical assets and limitations, and theological and liturgical demands must be considered in selecting music for worship.  The Church Music Institute offers solutions that meet all criteria for selecting music for worship.

The choral collection includes an archive of thousands of catalogued sacred octavo anthems for adults and children with additional compositions added daily. Each anthem has been chosen for quality of text, music and function in worship by the professional staff of CMI. Anthems from every stylistic period from the Renaissance through those most recently published are placed in permanent, acid-free folders for preservation, so that present and future generations may identify, study, and utilize them in worship.  Additional choral music contained in the collection includes cantatas and oratorios, service and liturgical music, and sacred anthems by classical composers donated by Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Luther Seminary, and church music scholars. Sample pages from each piece are available online.  The Library of the Institute has a special interest in collecting and preserving sacred octavos of the numerous, outstanding composers associated with the Dallas/Fort Worth area.

The organ collection contains music based on previously-existing tunes, including hymn tunes and Gregorian chants.  Many works are chorale preludes, and others are reharmonizations, interludes, and arrangements with other instruments.  A difficulty level is given for each work, and several additional searchable fields are included.  Sample pages are being added.

The Sacred Music Library is the most comprehensive collection of sacred choral and organ compositions for worship in a searchable online format. Online search fields offer 17 criteria for the choral library and 7 criteria for organ compositions to find appropriate music for worship. Worship planners encounter compositions of the highest quality musical and theological content, curated by experts in the field.

View: Sample Composition page

View: Sample Composition page           Sacred Organ Online Library Introduction

View: Criteria for Selection of Choral Library Contents

The #1 question asked: Are compositions available for purchase from the Sacred Music Library database?
No. The online library is a reference library only.  Compositions may be ordered from a vendor of choice, or directly from a publisher. Anthems identified on the website as CPDL, IMSLP, etc., however, do have free access for users.  If a composition is permanently out of print and negotiations fail with the publishing company, please contact the CMI Office for gaining access to a copy of the music.

CMI is pleased to recommend dealers J.W. Pepper, Lois Fyfe Music, and Cliff Hill Music, all excellent full-service music providers. CMI receives no financial benefit for member purchases made through these dealers, but recommend their knowledgeable staff members and reputable service to CMI constituents.