My Mouth Shall Proclaim Your Praise

People keep telling me that they can't join the choir because they don't read music. Well, reading music is nice, but not necessary, depending on the level of musicianship and the difficulty of the music in your parish choir. But it got me thinking... what if they could? So I asked my pastor for a minute at the end of each Mass one weekend to make "an announcement." (To be fair, if he didn't want me to go on for a bit, he should have said no - he's seen the length of my previous "announcements," so it's on him, really.) Below is the text of the announcement I gave: "Hello, my name is (Kathleen), and I am the director of music here at (church). For over 20 years, it has been my honor to help enrich the liturgical life of this wonderful parish, with the help of a team of dedicated and talented musicians. I’m not actually here to recruit you to join the choir - in fact, the choir is just about to take their summer break, so that announcement wi...

 Hymn Title: I Bind Unto Myself Today Tune Name: ST PATRICK"S BREASTPLATE / DIERDRE Meter: LMD (Long Meter Double, that is, 88 88 two times) The first hymn I put up on this site was a fine example of an old Irish lorica  or prayer of protection. This one is the Big Great Grandaddy of all Old Irish Loricas, named the breastplate of St Patrick. If hymns were people, this one would be a legendary general. If hymns were food, this one would be an entire banquet. If hymns were dwelling places, this one would be a fortress. Performance of this wonder should not be undertaken without preparation - it's hard to know what is going on and when, unless everyone has looked over the music together at least once. The first verse is a shortened version of the subsequent verses, so I have typeset it first by itself, outside of the repeats. Then, you may notice that the remaining verses are numbered 2-5, then 7. This is because, not content to be a great hymn, this one sidetracks for the s...

  Hymn Title: Crown Him With Many Crowns Tune Name: DIADEMATA Meter: SMD (that is, Short Meter, Double - 6.6.8.6. 6.6.8.6.) There is no better example of the power of hymnodal language than Crown Him With Many Crowns. A vigourous, commanding text wedded to a trimphant hymn tune, just begging for a trumpet fanfare, this gem is often found to be the victim of misguided modern verbal castration: cut, sanded, watered down, and just... weakened. However, here it is, in its original lyrical glory - note especially the third verse, my favourite: "Crown him the Lord of Love, Behold his hands, his side; Rich wounds yet visible above, In beauty glorified. No angel in the sky Can fully bear that sight, But downward bends his burning eye At mysteries so bright." And I can never resist a big dopey grin when singing the phrase "Creator of the rolling spheres / Ineffably divine." It's just too much. A real poetic masterpiece. And the music! A joy to the rational soul, the p...

There are a few major feasts in the church year that are distinguished by the addition of a Sequence to the liturgy: Easter, Pentecost, Corpus Christi, and Our Lady of Sorrows . What is a Sequence, and what is it for? It's a piece of theological poetry, based in scripture but not directly taken from it, which forms one of the lessons for the day. I like to think of it as a kind of homiletic fail-safe - no matter how good or bad a preacher your pastor is, you will get this one elegant lesson that encapsulates all you have to know about the feast. In the Ordinary Form, it is sung between the second reading and the Gospel Acclamation.  While two of the Sequences are optional, the ones for Easter and Pentecost must be at least recited - but they are so much better when sung. Since the Sequence is a lesson, similar to the readings, I think it is best to sing it in the vernacular - at the very least, the congregation should have the translation in their hands. If it is not printed in t...

 After a restful Easter Octave and replete with feasting (and now improved by the addition of five solid pounds of Easter Joy to my frame), I am back with more Hymns of the Week to broaden your repertoire! Hymn Title: Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain Tune Name: GAUDEAMUS PARITER Meter: 76 76 D (D for "double," so 7.6. 7.6. 7.6. 7.6.) A bright, dance-like Easter hymn, Come Ye Faithful plays a few rhythm tricks to liven up its simple tune and harmonies. Although there is no time signature written, it alternates between 2/2 and 3/2 - it's not too hard to figure out which part is which. Definitely  remember to keep it in 2, though, or it will be way too slow. (The original manuscript has each phrase ending with two half notes with a fermata, but I translated that into a 3/2 bar with a half note and a whole note for clarity.) The lyrics draw a strong parallel between the events of Exodus and the Paschal mystery, making this hymn a solid choice for days when the antiphons...

 I've gone over some general guidelines for choosing music before, but after having talked to a few people since then, it seems like it would be helpful to have more detailed instructions. I don't have the same resources as you, so I'll keep it broad, but hopefully this will still help. Step One: Organize. Use a spreadsheet program or a word processing program to set up a monthly music planner. Include columns for the date, the Entrance, Offertory, Communion, and Recessional (also a Meditation slot, if you want - I just put mine in the Communion cell). Put the month and year at the top, and include the year of the liturgical cycle you are on, if you are feeling fancy. I saved a blank one as a template, so that every time I want to make one, I can click "create new" and choose the template from the list and away we go. (I'd share my template with you except that I use a mac for my planning computer and a chromebook for my blogging and typesetting, so who am I ...

Obviously, when someone is chosen to direct or perform music for the liturgy, the first consideration is musical ability. (OK, maybe sometimes availability is a prior concern, but let's hope that musical ability is important to your superior too.) But that's not the only thing that determines whether or not you do the job well.  There's another quality, beyond musical ability, that is crucial to your future as an excellent liturgical musician - I call it Game . Whether you're the organist, the choir director, the cantor, or a single soprano in a vast sea of sopranos, to some degree you have taken a step to put yourself out there.  Congratulations! It's a leap of faith, and it can be hard to make! The further out front you are, the more obvious it is when you make mistakes, as everyone inevitably will. You can insulate yourself from fear a little by being prepared, but you have to acknowledge at the outset that You Will Make Mistakes And People Will Notice .  The onl...