The Importance of Spirituality in Liturgical Music

Vivace! 104 July 2012
The Importance of Spirituality in Liturgical Music

The Sistine Choir recently visited London and sang at Westminster Cathedral. It was a wonderful occasion and I will be writing a few articles about it (one is below). But first I want to focus on what for me was the main thing that came out of this experience of hearing the Sistine Choir - and that is the vital importance of spirituality in liturgical music.

In a way this is more important today than it has ever been in the past. The world is a violent and disturbed place and sacred music should provide a space where people can not only take refuge but also experience the love and creativity of God. We question where the soul of sacred music comes from and it’s not easy to find a comprehensive answer – the mystery of God is beyond our understanding.

The quality of the music being performed is highly important. So much contemporary work is devoid of spirituality. Much of it is well written and ‘comfortable’ but unfortunately it is banal and meaningless. Christ so often said that one must take up one’s cross and follow him. The quality of pain is rarely to be found in contemporary liturgical music; happy clappy is fine but its expression is severely limited. The Resurrection came from pain and death, it didn’t happen as a result of undisciplined and unrestrained joy. Liturgical music needs to express the fullness of our belief. It will not bring lasting peace to people if the quality of anguish is missing.

Writing for the liturgy is a great challenge for composers. Understanding of the text is essential and you cannot write well without this. Technical competence and vocal knowledge are also important but the music must spring from the composer’s own spirituality. It must speak from the soul.

The attitude of conductors and singers is another factor. Unfortunately for some choirs, singing at Services is primarily a musical experience and the much wider context of spirituality is overlooked. This will always show and cannot be hidden. A conductor has a responsibility to ensure that a performance goes far beyond musical and technical perfection. Both are essential but they are a means and not an end. The choir is expressing beauty and belief in a totally unique manner.

I have also been much impressed by the congregational response to hymnody. Hymns mean much and speak to people’s deepest feelings. The appeal of a good hymn is universal.

As the Pope has said, sacred music is an important part of the process of evangelization: this places a great responsibility on the shoulders of the liturgical musician. We need to be aware of the meaning of sacred music and our singing must be infused with prayer and religious feeling. We must never allow our music to become a ‘whited sepulchre’: it must always display a deep internal meaning.

Colin Mawby KSG

Easy Steps To Improve Your Parish Music Program

Easy Steps To Improve Your Parish Music Program

published 20 May 2012 by Jeff Ostrowski

One of the problems the beleaguered choirmaster faces in today’s world is the lack of attention span on the part of Catholics in the pews (and even choristers!), perhaps due to our modern obsession with television, iPhones, internet, etc. In the “solution” presented below, I cannot emphasize enough that the key to success is variation (organ accompaniment vs. a cappella, metrical hymns vs. chant, etc.) and especially alternation between priest, deacon, choir, congregation, and organist.
The below model is able to be implemented with great success in the “typical” parish. It will be noticed that the pieces are very short in length, but ought to be done extremely well. It is better to do brief music beautifully than to attempt long, complicated music and do it poorly. It will be noticed that there is very little Latin (as this can be intimidating).
(Congregation / Organ / Metrical / ENGLISH)
1. Immediately before Mass begins, a Hymn with organ accompaniment is sung in its entirety. Singing only a few verses of a hymn destroys its inherent poetry and frustrates parishioners, who have gone to the trouble of taking out the books and finding the correct page only to stop singing after the second or third verse. Since parishioners are accustomed to singing an opening hymn, taking it away would cause a needless rupture. Professor László Dobszay notes that singing a hymn immediately before Mass is the practice in many countries (page 24) and this practice serves as a nice “signal” to the congregation that Mass is about to begin. The Vatican II Hymnal is organized in a way that makes it very easy to choose hymns appropriate for each part of the Mass: not only does it have headers on each page giving suggestions, but the indices are also quite comprehensive and helpful in this regard. Best of all, 100% of the organ harmonizations, SATB settings, and cantor scores are available free online.
(Choir / A Cappella / Chant / ENGLISH)
2. As the priest processes to and then incenses the altar, the Mass Proper is sung a cappella. As a reminder, the Mass Proper (in this case, the “introit” or “entrance chant”) is the ancient prayer, carefully chosen and assigned attached to each individual feast by the Church over a period many centuries. It can be sung in many ways (Latin or English), but one way would be the Simple English Propers. Incidentally, many large basilicas and cathedrals have sufficient time during the procession for an entrance hymn and the Mass Proper, a practice recently affirmed as correct by the USCCB Secretariat of Divine Worship (2/14/2012). The Vatican II Hymnal is the only hymnal to print the complete Mass Propers (in English with Latin incipit) as well as all the Mass readings, and this was done without a single page turn, so the congregation has no trouble praying along with the choir or lector.
(Priest, Congregation / A Cappella / Chant / ENGLISH)
3. The congregation sings the responses a cappella as the priest sings, “In the name of the Father,” etc. Throughout the entire Mass, all the dialogues between priest & congregation should be sung. For instance, after the Gloria, the priest should sing “The Lord be with you,” as well as the Collect. The melodies for the orations are very simple, within the capabilities of any priest.
(Choir, Cantor, Congregation / A Cappella / Chant & Polyphony / GREEK)
4. The cantor sings “Kýrie, eléison” a cappella to a simple chant, the congegation repeats, then a 20-second polyphonic verset is sung by the choir. The same arrangement follows for the “Christe” and final “Kyrie.” There are hundreds of possibilities for this, but the SATB Brudieu Kyrie would be a fine example.
(Congregation, Choir / Organ / Chant / ENGLISH)
5. The entire congregation sings a simple, short, beautiful, chant-inspired setting of the “Glory to God” in English (with organ accompaniment). The piece is intoned by the priest, and the rest of the piece can be divided up into sections (a traditional practice). For instance, the women in the choir could sing the odd sections and the entire congregation could sing the even sections. The Gloria in honor of St. Edmund Arrowsmith would fit the bill quite well, it being brief, modal, and singable. The Vatican II Hymnal also contains more than 100 pages of other possibilities.
(Cantor, Congregation / Organ / ENGLISH)
6. The Responsorial Psalm is sung (with organ accompaniment) to a beautiful, memorable, simple, singable, noble melody based on Gregorian chant. More than 2,000 are available for free on the St. Noël Chabanel Responsorial Psalms website.
(Cantor, Congregation / Organ / ENGLISH & HEBREW)
7. The Gospel acclamation is done the same way, and could come from the St. Charles Garnier website. The Vatican II Hymnal contains the complete Chabanel Psalms and Garnier Gospel Acclamations in the same exact place as the Mass readings and Propers, to allow for maximum participation on their part.
(Choir / A Cappella / ENGLISH)
8. The Offertory Proper is sung a cappella by the choir, and (as always with Propers) employs as many Psalm verses as are necessary to cover what is happening at the Altar. We have found that the Simple English Propers work very well here.
(Priest / A Cappella / ENGLISH)
9. The Preface ought to be sung by the priest.
(Congregation / Organ / ENGLISH & HEBREW)
10. The Sanctus, Mystery of Faith, and Great Amen are sung by everyone to simple chant-inspired melodies with organ accompaniment. The Mass in honor of St. Anne Line would work well.
(Congregation / Organ / ENGLISH)
11. The Our Father is sung with one of several beautiful organ accompaniments, to enhance this well-known and loved chant. As mentioned, all the organ harmonizations are free online.
(Choir, congregation / A Cappella / Chant & Polyphony / LATIN)
12. The Agnus Dei is sung in Latin a cappella, intoned by the cantor each time, and continued by the congregation. The final three words (“Dona nobis pacem” or “Grant us peace”) are sung in polyphony. This is very similar to the Kyrie (the polyphony can even be the same), but not as long.
(Choir / A Cappella / Chant / ENGLISH)
13. The Communion Proper is sung to a simple English melody (the Simple English Psalm tones would work well) before the choir receives Communion. There is very little time, but the Communion Proper literally takes less than 10 seconds when sung with the Simple English Psalm tones.
(Organ)
14. As the Choir receives Communion, the organist plays an interlude (or a prelude based on the Communion Meditation if the melody is not familiar).
(Choir / A Cappella / Polyphony / LATIN)
15. As the congregation receives Holy Communion, an a cappella Latin motet is sung by the choir. This should be sung to perfection, since polyphony ought never to be done in a “slipshod” manner.
(Organ / Metrical / Congregation)
16. After Communion, a congregational hymn is sung in its entirety (all the verses), accompanied by organ. The Communion Meditation is the only time the G.I.R.M. uses the word “hymnus” to describe what should be sung during Mass. The G.I.R.M. seems to favor congregational singing at this time, and my experience has been that it works much better for the congregation to sing at this point, rather than during the reception of Holy Communion. Distributione Communionis expleta, pro opportunitate sacerdos et fideles per aliquod temporis spatium secreto orant. Si placet, etiam psalmus vel aliud laudis canticum vel hymnus a tota congregatione persolvi potest. “When the distribution of Communion is over, if appropriate, the Priest and faithful pray quietly for some time. If desired, a Psalm or other canticle of praise or a hymn may also be sung by the whole congregation.” (2011 edition, General Instruction for the Roman Missal, §88) My experience has been that placing a hymn here is absolutely fantastic: everyone sings with gusto, and the all the verses can be sung. I have not figured out why people are so willing to sing after Holy Communion, but so hesitant to sing during the actual distribution of Communion. There is a temptation to do a different hymn each week as a Communion Meditation, but from a pastoral perspective this can be too much. A normal person enjoys hearing and singing a familiar tune: such a person is not bored if the tune be repeated twice monthly. The Vatican II Hymnal makes it extremely easy to choose a Communion meditation piece, as it contains more than 100 Communion hymns. Today, for instance, there were no fewer than three different choices for the feast of the Ascension: all of them beautiful, singable, fresh, with wonderful texts.
(Organ / Metrical / Congregation)
17. At the end of Mass, a hymn is sung by the congregation with organ accompaniment.

♪Music Ministry News ♪♪♪

Attention Music Lovers: Free Private Voice Lessons at St. Jane

Free Voice lessons are offered to all the adult parishioners and children age 10 and above on Wednesdays from July 11^th to August 22nd. at St. Jane. (Children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian) Each lesson is half an hour between 3 PM to 6 PM on Wednesdays.   Through healthy vocal exercises and sharpening your basic music skills, you can double the joy of praising God with your singing.  Bring your favorite hymns also, if you like.  Sign up in the choir loft after Mass (up to 3 lessons per parish member and up to 5 lessons per choir member.)

For more info, contact Mia Coyne at miacoyne@comcast.net

Want to learn Something Cool During Summer?

How about learn to read music?  This class is given to all the adult parishioners at St. Jane for free by the new music director.  Whether you want to play an instrument, or sing, being able to read notes will enhance your appreciation of music.  The class will focus on reading notes from modern staff notation through exercises on solfege and rhythm while learning pitch names, intervals, keys and etc. Materials will be provided.   The class is held on Wednesdays from 6:00 PM to 7 PM starting July 11^th thru August 22nd. (7 weeks)

  If you are interested, contact Mia Coyne at miacoyne@comcast.net

New! Funeral Choir 

Would you like to be a part of a special group that prays in singing for the departed souls in our parish? Join our new Funeral choir.   
Rehearsals on Wednesdays from 7:15 PM to 8:30 PM starting July 11^th thru August 22^nd. We will learn to sing Simple English Propers, Responsorial Psalms, and Hymns as well as Ordinary parts of the Mass during summer (and the extra rehearsal as needed before the funeral). If you are interested, contact Mia Coyne at miacoyne@comcast.net

 

RJC on Gregorian Chant

"Prayer through chant is the food we eat and the air we breathe. Chant doesn’t truly need (although it deserves) the classification of “pride of place.” This is because it is a natural reality with or without that moniker. Chant is intrinsically Roman Catholic music. Gregorian chant unites us and is the most universal way of expressing shared truths— those things that we share as members of the universal Church and as believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ."

http://musicforsunday.com/2012/rjc-intro

Schola; June Schedule

Sung Mass (OF) at St. Will
June 7, 7AM (warm-up at 6:30 AM)

Propers from SEP (11th wk in Ordinary time)
Oridnary Parts: Jubilate Deo (Latin)
Hymns:  Humbly I Adore You
              Salve Regina (Latin)
Motet: Verily, Verily I Say Unto You
 
Missa Cantata for Corpus Christi at St. Will
June 7, 7AM (warm-up at 6:30 AM)

Propers

 Cibavit eos(Introit)

 Oculi Omnium (Gradual ) 

 Caro Mea (Alleluia)
 Lauda Sion (Sequence)

 Sacerdotes Domini(Offertory, women)

 Quotiescumque Manducabitis (communio)

Ordinary parts
Mass setting VIII, Credo VI

Motet after Offertory:  Ave Verum (Byrd)
Hymn after Communion: Adoro te Devote


At OLPH
Saturday Mass (8:15AM) (Warm - up at 7:40)
June 2, 16

Kyrie VIII
Alleluia.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Hoc Corpus
Salve Regina

At Resurrection Church
Saturday Mass (9AM) (Warm-up starts at 8:30)
June  23

Kyrie VIII
Alleluia
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
SEP
Salve Regina



Children's Schola
First Friday Mass at OLPH

  June 1, 8:15 AM (Warm-up starts at 7:45 AM)
 

Kyrie XVI
Alleulia
Offertory: Veni Creator

Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Communion:  Ubi Caritas

O Salutaris

Schola: May Calendar

Missa Cantata for Ascension Thursday at St. Will

May 17, 7AM (warm-up at 6:30 AM)

Propers

Viri Galilaei (Introit)

Ascendit Deus (Alleluia, women, verse) 

Dominus In Sina (Alleluia):

Ascendit Deus (Offertory, women)

Psallite Domino (communio)

Ordinary parts
Mass setting I, Credo VI

Motet after Offertory: Cantate Domino
Hymn after Communion: Salutis Humanae Sator



At OLPH
Saturday Mass (8:15AM) (Warm - up at 7:40)
May 5, 19

Kyrie I
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Magnificat Anima Mea
Salve Mater

Regina Caeli

At Resurrection Church
Saturday Mass (9AM) (Warm-up starts at 8:30)
May 12, 26

Kyrie I
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Magnificat Anima Mea

Salve Mater

Regina Caeli



Children's Schola
First Friday Mass at OLPH

 May 4, 8:15 AM (Warm-up starts at 7:45 AM)
 
Prelude: Regina Caeli

Kyrie XVI
Gospel Accl.
Offertory: Ave Maria

Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Communion:  Magnificat

O Salutaris

Wednesday Mass at St. Paul
May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30, 8AM

Kyrie XVI
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Communion chant

Schola: April calendar

Missa Cantata for Easter Thursday at St. Will
April 12, 8AM (warm-up at 7:30 AM)

Introit: Victricem Manum
Gradual: Haec Dies
Alleluia: Surrexit Christus
Sequence: Victimae Paschalis Laudes
Offertory: In Die Solemnitatis
Communio: Populus Acquisitionis
Recessional: Regina Caeli


Mass setting I, Credo I
Hymns after Offertory: O filii et filius
after Communion: Lapis Revolutus est



At OLPH
Saturday Mass (8:15AM) (Warm - up at 7:40)
April 21

Kyrie I
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Pascha Notrum
Regina Caeli

At Resurrection Church
Satruday Mass (9AM) (Warm-up starts at 8:30)
April 14, 28

Kyrie I
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Populus Acquisitionis (4/14)
Pascha Notrum (4/28)
Regina Caeli



Children's Schola

Wednesday Mass at St. Paul
April 11, 18, 25, 8AM

Kyrie XVI
Gospel Accl.
Sanctus XVIII
Mysterium Fidei and Amen
Agnus Dei XVIII
Communion chant

Posted by miacoyne at 11:40 AM