About Hymn Technology

Hymn Technology Ltd was created in 1996 to market and distribute an American electronic hymn player in the UK. Our founding directors Alan Kempster and Martin Phelps, who then had over 50 years of experience in the organ industry, saw the huge potential for a unit that could accompany congregational singing in the absence of either musician(s) or instrument(s). The US manufactured product sold well, but it eventually became clear that churches needed a far more advanced and complete solution to address a growing problem: the lack of competent musicians in Christian churches up and down the land.

Using feedback from our existing customer base and harnessing new technical advancements, Hymn Technology drew up a detailed specification for a new generation of player and then commissioned one of the UK's leading software and hardware design houses to take this forward. Key requirements were that the unit had to be portable, that the tune repertoire had to be upgradeable, that the sound quality had to meet the highest critical standards and, above all, that little or no musical or technical skill would be required to operate it. A new extended file format was developed in order to achieve the specification's exacting musical requirements.

Choosing the core tune repertoire of nearly 3000 items and then digitally recording them was accomplished in-house over a period of two years.

The original Hymnal Plus HT-300 came on to the market in the autumn of 2005 and was an instant success, with major coverage in virtually all the main UK national newspapers as well as widespread media coverage around the world.  Our Hymnal Plus system provides a unique worship music solution for many Christian denominations, including (but not limited to) the Anglican, Methodist, Baptist, United Reformed, Presbyterian and Catholic churches. 

THE NEW HYMNAL PLUS HT-400

The latest model HT-400 is supplied through a small network of specialised dealers covering all parts of the UK. Hymn Technology services the South of England directly in order to stay in touch with actual church requirements on a daily basis. The HT-400 is designed and manufactured entirely in the UK, although unavoidably some components are sourced from abroad. This localisation means that any technical issues, be they hardware or software, can be readily investigated by the relevant in-house experts.

Hymn Technology is committed to continuous development and an integral part of this is the constant review of new hymn books for inclusion in the ever-growing list of additional repertoire, available both at the time of purchase and retrospectively.

Co-Founder & Director  Alan Kempster