New in the eKlecia® App: Find Hymns by Occasion – and Choose the Prelude Freely

Two new features for everyday use in church and care

The eKlecia® app has gained two noticeable improvements: you now find the right hymn even faster – and you decide for yourself whether a prelude sounds before the hymn. Two small switches that make a big difference in the service and in the devotion.

Both features grew out of practice: out of feedback from people who use eKlecia® week after week. They cost nothing extra, are available from the current version onwards, and fit seamlessly into the familiar way of working. Here you will learn what they can do and how to use them.

How do I quickly find the right hymn?

You now find the right hymn in the eKlecia® app via several filters that can be combined in any way you like. Instead of leafing through more than 1,000 hymns, you narrow the selection down in seconds.

Until now, it was mainly the search by title or number and the choice of hymnal that led to the goal. That works well when you know exactly which hymn you are looking for. Often, though, the preparation begins the other way round – with the question of which hymn suits a particular occasion. This is precisely where the new occasion filter comes in.

You open the new occasion filter via the filter icon in the search bar. The "Filter by occasion" selection appears, with more than 130 occasions, clearly grouped by their nine categories – from feasts of the church year such as Advent, Christmas and Easter, through the Lord's Supper and Holy Communion, to weddings and funerals. A single tap is enough, and the hymn list shows only the matching pieces.

The range is broad and covers the entire church year: from Advent, Christmas, Passiontide and Easter, through Pentecost, Harvest Thanksgiving and Marian hymns, to baptism, weddings and funerals. So there is a fitting hymn for every Sunday and every special occasion – and anyone who regularly plans by occasion has their hymn plan assembled in a fraction of the time it used to take.

An example from practice: you are preparing a wedding. You tap the filter icon, select the occasion "wedding" – and immediately see only the hymns that suit it, right across the Gotteslob and Evangelisches Gesangbuch. If you want to limit yourself to one hymnal, add the hymnal filter; if you also want a keyword, type it into the search field. All three filters work together until exactly the right selection remains.

Just as quickly, you can put together the hymns for a Harvest Thanksgiving service, an Advent devotion or a Pentecost celebration. The filter remembers nothing permanently, so each new preparation begins with a fresh, blank sheet.

The active filter remains visible as a small marker above the list and can be removed again with a tap; "All occasions" resets it completely. In this way you can calmly put together a hymn plan for the next service without searching for long.

Anyone who prefers to browse on a larger screen will also find the complete hymn database with more than 1,000 hymns on our website under Hymn list – with a book and category filter as well as full-text search.

There is more than mere convenience behind the filter. Anyone who thinks of the hymn plan in terms of the occasion chooses hymns that genuinely suit the day – and at the same time takes the pressure off everyone who prepares on a voluntary basis and under time pressure. Instead of leafing through the hymnal, the sacristan, priest or care worker sees at a glance which hymns are suitable. That saves time and gives confidence, particularly when musical preparation is not part of the daily routine.

What is a prelude – and why can I now switch it on or off?

A prelude – also called an intonation – is the short introduction that the organist plays before a hymn. It sets the key, tempo and melody for the congregation, so that everyone can join in the singing together and with confidence. Until now, eKlecia® always played this prelude. Now you have the choice.

In church music the prelude has a long tradition: it attunes the congregation, grants a moment of gathering and takes the uncertainty out of the first note. That is precisely why it remains the default setting in eKlecia®. But there are situations in which a hymn is better beginning without preamble – and for these there is now the right switch.

In the large player, above the verses, you will find the new "Prelude" switch with the two positions On and Off:

• Prelude On: The hymn begins as usual with the intonation and then leads into the first verse – ideal when the congregation needs the cue.
• Prelude Off: The hymn starts directly with the first verse, without an introduction – suitable when it should begin simply and immediately.

When does "Off" make sense? For instance, at a short devotion in a care home, when everyone knows the hymn anyway, or when a deliberately simple, direct start is wanted. You make the decision for each hymn individually – and can change it again at any time.

For antiphonal singing, short acclamations or when several verses should follow one another briskly, a direct start can be more pleasant too. Because the setting applies per hymn, you can run precisely those few hymns without a prelude where it makes sense – and leave all the others as usual with the intonation. The operation is deliberately simple: a tap on "On" or "Off" is enough, there is no additional save step. If no prelude is technically stored for a hymn, the switch appears discreetly greyed out – so you can see at a glance where the function is available.

Do I have to change anything now?

No. If you change nothing, everything stays as before: hymns begin with a prelude, and the way you have been operating the app does not change. The new features are an offer, not a requirement – they only take effect if you deliberately use them. Anyone who values eKlecia® because it simply works will notice nothing of the update in everyday life; anyone who wants more fine control will find it from now on.

Are my settings kept on all devices?

Yes. Whether you switch the prelude on or off is saved individually for each hymn and automatically synchronised across all your devices. What you set on the tablet applies unchanged on the smartphone in the sacristy or on a colleague's device.

That is especially convenient when several people or locations work with the same licence: once tuned to the hymn, it sounds the same everywhere – without anyone having to make the setting again. The preparation stays in one place, and the result is available everywhere.

Who are the new features made for?

For everyone who uses eKlecia® in practice – and wants speed and dignity at the same time.

• Church congregations: the occasion filter makes preparing the hymn plan child's play – suitable hymns for Advent, Harvest Thanksgiving or a wedding are assembled at once.
• Care & devotion: the prelude switch allows a direct, simple start when the devotion should stay short and familiar.
• Hospital chaplaincy: quick finding and flexible playback, even when things have to happen at short notice.

Precisely where no organist is available any more, every minute saved in preparation counts – and every opportunity to adapt the music to the moment. Both features put exactly that into the hands of the people on site, entirely without any technical prior knowledge.

Both innovations follow the same idea that has guided eKlecia® from the outset: more control with less effort. The app adapts to practice – not the other way round. Why reliable, digital organ music is so important right now, you can read in the article There are ever fewer organists – and this is the solution. And you will find an overview of the major update under The new eKlecia® version is here.

We continue to develop eKlecia® carefully – always in line with what is really needed in the service, in the devotion and at the bedside. Are you also missing a feature, or do you have an idea close to your heart? We would be glad to receive your message: our lines are short, and many improvements come about in exactly this way.

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