Category Archives: Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum

Ad Orientem and Sacred Music

Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy

I continually struggle to understand the relationship between the treasury of sacred music (specifically the ordinary of the Mass) and Mass celebrated in the Ordinary Form, but a recent conversation with my pastor might shed a small ray of light on the subject from the perspective of the priest.

In our parish, the congregation regularly sings the Mass XVI Kyrie along with a metrical setting of the rest of the Ordinary. However, after the Schola Cantorum returned from Rome last January, the choristers asked me before Mass if they could continue singing all of Mass IX (Cum jubilo), which they had sung at St. Peter’s. I decided it wouldn’t cause too much of a tizzy if the choir sang the Kyrie from Mass IX by themselves, so they sang it for the next few Sundays. After a few weeks the pastor asked me about it and in the nicest way possible told me he really didn’t care for it. I was a little taken aback simply because it was a very minor change to only one Mass of our Sunday Masses. I asked him if he could pinpoint for me what it was specifically about the Kyrie that bothered him in order for me to understand better. Was it the sound of Gregorian chant, or that the congregation couldn’t sing it, or that each invocation was repeated three times? His answer was something I had never thought of before. He told me that he felt extremely awkward standing in the sanctuary for 2 minutes while the congregation did nothing but look at him. I would be curious to know how this affects other priests.

It is true that in the Ordinary Form of the Mass the priest doesn’t face east during the Kyrie and Gloria, but if the priest were to change the direction of his chair so that he wouldn’t be directly facing the congregation (for example, facing liturgical north), it would help. A choral Sanctus or Agnus Dei might not be so awkward if the priest were facing east. He could even close his eyes and pray during that time!

I realize that the obstacles to celebrating Mass ad orientem and restoring a tradition of good sacred music (both choral and congregational) are varied and numerous and I don’t want to simply a complex problem, but perhaps this is another facet to a complex problem.

Sing the Mass

Feasts of the Church, Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy

One could entitle this post An Open Letter to Pastors, but regardless, I offer the following both as a plea as well as a challenge to all of our priests.

Fathers, I know that most of you are overwhelmed in your work to the point of breaking. You were taught in seminary to save souls, but when you dare to challenge your flocks to greatness, you turn around to find that few have your backs. You are required to be de facto CEOs of your parishes and schools, which allows you almost no time to form meaningful relationships with your parishioners so that they trust you when you spur them on to greater things. Or, as soon as they begin to trust you you are transferred. This begs the question, why would you ever want to spend the time and energy to fix the music in your parishes. I know that many writers in the traditional camp claim that by changing the music in your parishes, overnight your churches will swell in numbers and everything will be alright. That’s not true. You will more than likely loose parishioners (although you will also gain a few). Of the people who remain in your parishes, some will grumble and hope for your eventual transfer. However, you must remember that you weren’t ordained to seek the status quo, but to be great just as you ask your parish families to be great.

Whether your particular parishes are rich or poor, big or small, love sacred music or hate it, there is one thing that I challenge all of you to do, and that is to sing the Mass. Most people who know me personally know that I believe that if a priest could do only one thing to change his parish for the good, I believe it would be to reinstate ad orientem worship. Most of you are not prepared to do that, I realize. However, the second best thing you could do would be to sing the Mass (and please start with the Preface Dialogue and Preface). If you are afraid of any backlash, just pick one thing (the Preface Dialogue and Preface) and sing it for the next year at all of your Sunday Masses. If someone asks you why you sing the Mass and you are afraid to begin a liturgical discussion, you can honestly answer that you just like to sing. Those who enjoy it will congratulate you, while those who don’t won’t usually jump ship over such a matter.

If you do this each year for the 6 years you might find yourself at a parish, between you and your congregations, the Preface Dialogue and Preface (year 1), the Collect , Prayer over the Gifts and the Prayer after Communion (year 2), the Dialogue before and after the Gospel (year 3),  the Lord’s Prayer (year 4), the Introductory Rites and Closing Rites (year 5) and finally any other small dialogues in the Mass (year 6) will be sung. You could do this without ever challenging your volunteer musicians, praise bands, or whoever or whatever else makes music in your parishes to change anything. At the same time, you will have changed the way your parishioners perceive what is really going on when you celebrate your Sunday Masses. They will at least understand that something out of the ordinary is taking place!

What are you waiting for? Get to it!

The Theology of the Organ

Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy, Organ, Uncategorized

Recently a generous family donated their late mother’s house organ to our parish, and last Saturday, my assistant, who works for an organ building company, and one of my recently graduated choristers and I took the newly acquired 3 ranks of lead plus wind chests to the organ shop for repair and maintenance. We hope to install the organ in our parish’s office chapel by the end of next month. As I pounded dents out of several pipes, it occurred to me that it might be useful to post on what I call the theology of the organ.

Most readers of Views from the Choir Loft believe in the primacy of the organ among instruments in the Roman Rite, but if asked to give reasons for why the organ should have such a primacy, I fear many could do little more than quote documents or defer to tradition–and we know how well that works. Unfortunately, most Catholics in the US today believe that tradition is bad a bad thing (at least in the Church), and anyway, if the organ became a tradition in the the Roman Rite, why couldn’t the guitar follow the same process of inculturation, they ask? Recourse to quoting ecclessiastical documents falls on deaf ears of Catholics, who view obedience as something medieval. Like high school teenagers, too many of our congregations are only pleased with the latest fads. Fortunately, there are good theological reasons and arguments for why the organ should one again enjoy pride of place in our worship. I don’t pretend that these reasons will convert your died-in-the-wool, anti-treasury-of-sacred-music types, but I have found that they open a door for dialogue with fellow Catholics who bear genuine good. Thankfully, Dr. Kevin Vogt, the Director of Music at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Leawood, KS, has written beautifully on the matter.

Dr. Vogt is the primary man responsible for bringing to fruition the magnificent Pasi, dual-temperament organ at the Cathedral of St. Cecilia in Omaha, NE, and he is truly one of the great minds of the age. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the organ project at St. Cecilia’s, but the document also contains a section on what I would describe as the Theology of the Organ, found here (specifically see chapter 2, pages 150-172). Some of it might be a little dense for the faint of heart, but it is ENTIRELY worth the read. He presents his insights (peppered liberally with Ratzinger quotes) within the context of Msgr. Francis Mannion’s call for a “renewal of the sacramental, heavenly, cosmic, glorious, catholic, paschal and traditional dimensions of the Roman Catholic liturgy.” Dr. Vogt proposes “that the organ could play an important role in this renewal, and [he constructs] a symbolic theology of the organ in terms of:
(1) Cosmology, concerning music and the created universe,
(2) Christology, concerning the doctrine of Jesus Christ as the incarnate Logos,
(3) Pneumatology, concerning the agency of the Holy Spirit, and
(4) Eschatology, concerning the heavenly liturgy of the New Jerusalem.

It really is beautiful stuff and I encourage everyone to study it, take it to heart, memorize it and then begin to share it. Let’s put the organ back on the pedestal it rightfully deserves.

Choosing Choral Music

Feasts of the Church, Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy, Uncategorized

This year I attempted something different as I began the process of choosing music for our next choral season. I spent a week going through all kinds of choral music and came up with a list of about 50 different motets for various liturgical seasons, ranging in style from the Renaissance to the 21st century (yes, there is very good modern music being written, even if most Catholics don’t experience it on a weekly basis), then I sent it out to my choir members and asked for their feedback. I must admit that I have enjoyed reading the responses from various singers and it will be nice knowing that most of the choral literature we sing throughout the next year will be generally liked by everyone. Anyway, I thought I would share with you some of my findings. Please remember that our parish celebrates the liturgy according to the Ordinary Form, in English, but generally very reverently (we rarely sing choral settings of the Ordinary, with the occasional exception of the Kyrie, so my list contains motets only). I hope those of you in similar circumstances might find this post helpful.

Firstly, there is a general apathy to much of Palestrina, although the music of a number of his contemporaries, especially Tallis and Victoria, is much loved. Two exceptions to this attitude are Palestrina’s Hodie Christus natus est and Jubilate Deo. In general, many of my choir members think of his music as “vanilla” and would rather sing something with a little more flavor. Other works from this era that bear the stamp of approval are Parsons’ Ave Maria, Gesualdo’s Tenebrae factae sunt (everyone likes this piece), Tallis’ O nata lux, Gibbons’ O clap your hands and Victoria’s O magnum mysterium and Improperia. Peter Philips’ music also fared generally well.

The Baroque period did not do as well as the Renaissance, although to be honest, I didn’t include as much music from this era. While Bach (and numerous other Germans) is obviously beautiful, our choir doesn’t usually sing in German. A couple of notable and well loved pieces from this time period are A. Scarlatti’s Exultate Deo and H. Hassler’s Cantate Domino (if you consider it as early Baroque).

The Classical period did about as well as the baroque period. Unfortunately, our parish isn’t in a position to sing the great Viennese Masses and there is only so much of Mozart’s Ave verum corpus that one person can handle (sorry to several readers I personally know who love this piece). Mozart’s Regina Coeli in C is generally well liked.

The Romantic era provided a number of well loved composers and works, especially Rheinberger and Bruckner. Rheinberger’s Abendlied is beautiful and especially appropriate for the Easter season. I would love to sing more of this German-ish repertoire (yes, this will push our group, as I wrote earlier, we don’t usually sing in German). As I understand it, the German countries traditionally had permission to sing in the vernacular at High Mass and a number of beautiful works came about as a result. Holst’s Ave Maria, scored for SSSSAAAA is also popular.

The modern era, if one were to include the early 20th century to the present time, proved to be, besides the Renaissance, the other popular progenitor of sacred music. Casals O vos omnes is one of my personal favorites, as well as a favorite of many others. Other well liked works are Stanford’s Beati quorum via, Poulenc’s Exultate Deo, H. Howell’s Haec dies, Parry’s I was glad, Whitacre’s Lux aurumque, Kverno’s Ave Maris Stella and Ave verum corpus, Part’s The Beautitudes and Nystedt’s Peace I Leave with You. Much to my surprise, many choir members want to sing Messiaen’s O sacrum convivium, although one alto wrote to me a one word description of the piece–“scary.” Oh well, we are going to sing it anyway.

I plan to do more of this in the future and I would recommend it to all others who direct any kind of church choir. While I still have final say over what we sing, I have found in the past that if a motet is well loved, rehearsals and moods tend to remain positive. If we sing great liturgical music and everyone is joy-filled, then our singing during Holy Mass tends to be joy-filled.

Teaching the Very Young

Choir Schools, Chorister Training, Discipline, Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Probationer Training, Sight-Singing

It seems to be the common experience of a number of musicians today who are very dedicated to realizing the Church’s high ideals for sacred music that they find themselves in the employ of a young (or young at heart) pastor who is only able to offer full time work if said musician is willing to play the organ at Mass, direct the choir, start a children’s choir and teach music in the school to grades pre-k through 8. First of all I want to thank those same pastors who are willing to go the extra mile to bring the greatest of arts to their young parishioners. Secondly I want to thank those musicians who are willing to embrace such a position simply because they love what they do.

It seems that I have received a number of emails of late from such musicians with questions regarding the musical training of the very young, especially pre-school aged children, kindergarten and lower level grade school. Today I would like to share with you a few  resources for those who might find themselves in front of a group of young children unsure of how to best proceed.  Hopefully this post helps.

The first resource I would look into if I had to teach pre-k and kindergarten is Kindermusik. Kindermusik is based on a number of teaching philosophies, two of which are favorites of mine, those of Zoltan Kodaly and Maria Montessori. I do not profess to know everything about Kindermusik, but I have heard nothing but positive comments from those involved in the program. It engages the entire child vocally, intellectually, physically (and spiritually if done correctly, especially withing the context of a Catholic school). Music should primarily be enjoyable for children this age and Kindermusik makes that possible.

For those working with children in kindergarten through grade school (before junior high), I would heartily recommend the Kodaly Method of teaching music. It is primarily a vocal model for teaching music (although one could easily incorporate the use of instruments) and music literacy. Children sing lots of folk songs, which the teacher uses to carefully prepare, present and reinforce musical concepts. Be aware that this method requires a lot of preparation time on the part of the teacher, especially the first year, because the teacher has to make a number of manipulatives for use by each student and then make enough for each child in the class. If you go this route, purchase An American Methodology and its companion book of yearly lessons plans for grades k through 6 here. Be sure to include a lot of sailing songs and drinking songs (yes, I know) for the boys-they really like these.

To be honest, the hardest part about teaching is often how to teach, and the great thing about Kindermusic and the Kodaly Method, especially if you attend summer training sessions in them, is that you learn the art of teaching. I would also seek out the best teachers in your school and plaster them with questions continually. As long as you let them get home to supper each night, they usually enjoying passing on their knowledge. Anyway, I hope this helps.

Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum Video

Choir Schools, Chorister Training, Discipline, Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy

As many of you know, our parish founded the Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum in 2011 to answer the Church’s call to establish schools of music to train young people the art of sacred music. Each year we have seen the program expand, and we look forward to working with more than 60 students next year from 6 local Catholic schools and home school programs.

Even though the Schola Cantorum is primarily attached to our parish, its work reaches far beyond. Several years ago one of our high school boys became one of our archdiocesan seminarians. While I don’t take credit for his vocation, he once told me that singing in the choir gave him a much better understanding of the Mass.

This year one of our high school girls is graduating and moving on to study organ at the university. Her plan is to finish her Master Degree and then apply for the Organ Scholar position at Westminster Cathedral in London. If anyone has the drive to make that happen, she is the one.

One of our 8th grade students, who plans to sing in the Schola Cantorum through high school, has fallen in love with sacred music and has told me many times before (as have her parents) that the Schola Cantorum has helped her grow much deeper in her not only in the knowledge of her Faith, but in her practice of It. These are not isolated events.

The Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum has obviously grown beyond any normal parish music program, and as part of our work to provide a solid financial basis for the program and to expand its outreach, we are asking individuals to consider making the Schola Cantorum part of their monthy giving, whatever that amount might be.

Please take a few minutes watch the short short video below about the Schola Cantorum (and share it with everyone you know!) and consider helping our choristers, who might one day be bringing great sacred music to your parish.

How Do We Get the Boys to Sing?

Choir Schools, Chorister Training, Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy, Probationer Training, Sight-Singing

Several years ago a friend from Wales (UK) asked me why too many men in the United States simply refuse to sing. According to him, men on the rugby field in Wales sang to intimidate their opponents. As I write this article I have to chuckle, wondering what it would look like if in the last Superbowl Tom Brady had lead his fellow Patriots in a chorus of their favorite war hymn in order to intimidate Manning and the rest of the Broncos. In my admittedly bizarre mind I see Brady signaling to the Patriot pep band, who begin the opening strains of Haydn’s Missa in tempori belli (the Lord Nelson Mass). The football players chant “Kyrie,” joined by the lead soprano of the chearleading squad, crying out to God for mercy in the glorious Greek tongue. It would make a great skit for Saturday Night Live! Still, the question remains. How do we get boys to sing? Why won’t they sing?

The second question is rather easier to answer than the first. The boys don’t sing because their fathers won’t sing and the fathers won’t sing because our current culture doesn’t value it. Why should they engage in an activity they perceive to have no value. I have heard it said that our culture no longer sings because electronic entertainment has made the need for it obsolete, but I don’t buy that. I think it comes down to what a person or culture values. This becomes apparent if one were to compare communal singing to sports.

In many ways, singing and sports are similar. We form singers into a choir, each singer performing a different role, or singing a different part. We arrange sportsmen into a team, each player taking a different position. A chorister learns to sing his part well, yet blend that part in a harmonious manner with others in the choir, always mindful of the conductor’s directions. The child playing sports learns to play his position to the best of his abilities, yet work with the others as a team, under the direction of a coach. Choristers have to practice fundamentals such as breathing, sight-singing, listening and intonation and apply those skills within a certain musical work. Sportsmen have to practice fundamentals like batting, catching, and throwing and put those skills to use within certain plays and innings. Sports and music both can build character such as hard work, determination, focus and passion. Music and sports both cost parents money, sometimes a lot, while concert halls and sports arenas are built at considerable cost to the citizenry to hold the myriads of people who come to watch and listen.

Why, then, is sports so popular (and I am specifically asking this in relation to fathers and sons and boys in general-sorry ladies) and communal singing so undervalued? I have no evidence to support my conclusion other than gut instinct, but I imagine it has something to do with the fact that sports (and the Catholic priesthood) are the last place in American society where boys and men can share a common passion and camaraderie on and off the field with other boys and men, and where boys and men are expected to strive for greatness.

What if the Church were to run (at the very least) some of Her choirs this way, choirs where boys and men sang strictly with other boys and men, and all strove for greatness? St. Paul’s Choir School in Boston is able to fill an entire school strictly with boys who want to sing with other boys. The Madeleine Choir School, while open to both boys and girls, separates them into boy and girl choirs, and each year fill the school with plenty of boys who want to sing. Both of these choirs strive for, and achieve, greatness.

Recently I attended Mass for the first time at a certain parish. As usual, I had prepared myself to hear poor music sung poorly (this was not me making any kind of moral judgment—I was simply operating on experience). True, the music was of an inferior quality, all played on the piano, but the the pianist (male), and the four middle aged men who sang and harmonized were all excellent. To see other men stepping up and taking a lead made me want to sing along in spite of any aversion the music itself. I wonder how many music directors are willing to be a little “sexist” and do such a thing. For the sake of our men and boys, perhaps it is worth more than a thought!

The Devil Gets in the Details

Choir Schools, Chorister Training, Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy, Uncategorized

Last Sunday the Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum presented its annual Spring Concert, consisting of Pergolesi’s Stabat mater and Schubert’s Mass No. 2 in G Major. It was a wonderful concert—I knew beforehand it would be because the morning couldn’t have been a greater comedy of errors.

My plan was to wake up early and make my meditation before going to the local coffee shop in order to mentally prepare for the day and spend some time with the concert music. I made sure that the only Mass I had to provide music for that morning was the usual choir Mass at 11:30 a.m., and I didn’t have to meet the choristers until 10:00 a.m. It couldn’t have been better planned. Now enter the devil.

All night long our children made sure my wife and I were on a continual adventure, which included my having to drive giant, boy eating spiders out of my oldest son’s bed as he screamed, “Daddy, don’t let them get me!” After hitting random spots on the bed and assuring him he was safe I went back to bed, but it wasn’t long before the next child woke up. I spent several hours lying uncomfortably in a twin bed with him wondering how I was ever going to get up on time. Shortly after 7:00 a.m., long after my wake up call, I dragged my body out of bed and thanked God that everyone was still asleep and that I would be able to get out of the house before the daily commotion began. Right then I heard, “Good morning Daddy!” There was our youngest son standing with a big grin on his face ready to start the day. I knew if I didn’t leave right then my morning would be shot, yet I knew that on judgment day I would wish that I had spent this time with him. So I put him in the stroller and we went for a 30 minute stroll. It was in the upper 60s and the light played through the giant trees of our older neighborhood as we passed numerous people out on their porches enjoying a cup of coffee. I tried my best to enjoy it, knowing full well that my plans were shot. I finally got out of the house, but not before everyone was awake and I had given out hugs and kisses and well wishes for the day. It was now almost 9 a.m.

I should have skipped the coffee and gone straight to church and spent some quiet time with God, but instead I rationalized that I really needed that  cup of coffee, and anyway, I would still have time to get everything done, right. Not so. When I got to church I made a short list of things I needed to do, but realized it wasn’t as short as I had thought, so I had to skip the time in the chapel and just dive in. I was so flustered I kept forgetting things and had to made several trips between buildings retrieving items. When I got back to the practice room at 10:00 I didn’t find a single chorister. Where were they? Well, there was a mix up and they didn’t realized I had already unlocked the door to the building, so they were all standing outside. As I traipsed into the building I was hit by the furnace blowing full heat everywhere, even thought it was going to be in the 80s that day (and already was inside the building).

We dove into rehearsal and things were somewhat back to normal when I grabbed for my coffee, actually a large “Death by Chocolate” cafe mocha, sitting on the piano (I know, I know, I shouldn’t have put the coffee on the piano). As I took the cup and lifted it to my mouth, the lid popped of and in my surprise I squeezed the cup and my “Death by Chocolate” attacked—everything and everywhere. It was all over my good suit, my white shirt, one of my favorite ties–the piano, piles of music, the conductor’s stand and the floor. We tried to clean it up, but all we could find were those typical brown paper towels found in public restrooms, which barely work at drying hands, much less mopping up 20 oz. of coffee (and why does 20 oz. of liquid on the floor seem more like 2 gallons?). At this point I could only laugh and thank God that I hadn’t been wearing my suit jacket, which strategically worn would cover large blotches of coffee during the concert that afternoon (you guessed it, no time to go home and change between Mass and call time).

In a similar vein, as our choir prepared for our Rome pilgrimage last fall, I struggled for a month as everything in my life seemed to go wrong and I made myself physically sick with worry. Shortly before we left I went to spiritual direction and discussed this with my director, who after some discernment told me it really sounded like the devil was attacking something he didn’t want to happen. After that moment, the attack seemed to stop and the choir had a wonderful time in Rome. The same thing happened Sunday–God was giving me a chance to simply trust Him, so I did the best I could. Happily enough, the day ended on a wonderful note and everyone was pleased with a job well done. I am sure that each of you have similar experiences all the time. Just remember to laugh, thank the Good Lord and keep your coffee off of the piano!

Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum Spring Concert

Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum

For anyone who might find himself in Topeka, KS, on Sunday, April 24th, I would like to cordially invite you to attend the Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum’s Spring Concert at 3:00 p.m. in the church (17th and Stone Ave.). The Children of the Choir will perform Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, while the Ladies and Gentlemen of the Choir will performs Schubert’s Mass No. 2 (G Major). Tickets can be purchased at the door.

You can hear the Gentlemen and Children of the Choir below.

A Musically Model Parish

Anglican Choral Revival, Choir Schools, Most Pure Heart of Mary Schola Cantorum, Music for the Liturgy, Uncategorized

I have written before about the serious need for church musicians to posses vision in order to create and maintain a great music program, so I thought today I would share some visioning ideas with the reader regarding music in the Ordinary Form parish.

The greatest visioning challenge I find is wedding the “objective” desires of the Church to the “subjective” needs of each individual parish and then creating a strategy for implementation. As for the desires of the Church, it would be redundant on this blog to rehash everything She has taught about sacred music over the last century, but in short remember that the Mass should be sung (which means the priest’s parts as well as the congregation’s)Gregorian chant, being the official music of the Latin Rite, should actually be used and not left sitting on a dusty shelf in our secular universities where professors with nothing better to do argue over the use of the ictus and finally, the treasury of sacred music should be used (and not left sitting on a dusty shelf…), and finally, all of this must be integrated into an individual parish within the context of a certain culture and period in time. At this point the faint of heart realize the impossibility of such a task and give up its ghost, but for those of us who love a challenge, let’s dive in.

First, you simply must convince your pastor to sing the Mass (and recourse to the documents is generally of no use in this point). Whether you have to beg, plead or bribe, it doesn’t matter, just get him singing (and don’t tell him your ultimate goal is that he sing the entire Mass, it will only give him a heart attack). If you work for a priest who simply won’t budge or even listen to you, you might want to find another job anyway! More often than not, however, the pastor simply doesn’t feel his voice is good enough and he is probably terrified of singing in front of 400 people. That means it is up to you to encourage him and build him up every chance you get. I generally ask our pastor to add something new to his singing responsibilities every year or two. Currently he (and our vicar) sings the Collect, the Prayer over the Gifts, the Preface Dialogue, the Preface, the Lord’s Prayer and the Prayer after Communion at all Sunday Masses. You will be amazed at what this alone will do to raise the sense of the sacred in your parish.

Secondly, integrate Gregorian chant into your Masses. I personally began with the Kyrie because of the repetitive nature of the chant, but singing the Agnus Dei is another good option. There are also lots of great Gregorian melodies whose texts have been translated into English and make a great introduction to chant for your congregation. The Adorote devote and Attende, Domine are two such hymns that I have found to be very popular with children. We have a youth camp in our archdiocese that annually hosts thousands of young people, and they make it a point to end every night at the camp by singing the Salve Regina. Every child who has attended the camp loves that particular antiphon. I will admit that it is going to be harder for your adults to accept the chant. One thing a number of adults in our parish have come to appreciate (and it took several years for this appreciation to develop) is the quiet and reflective nature of the sung Communio from the Roman Gradual, which several men of the choir sing for about the first 3-5 minutes of the Communion procession, after which the choir leads a congregational hymn.

The one thing I would caution other directors about is the tendency for chant to drag, especially when done a cappella. Not singing chant would be better than chant sung ploddingly. I have been to parishes and even cathedrals where chant is butchered this way and even I have to admit that it becomes a boring distraction. Don’t immediately assume that your parishioners hate chant when they tell you they think it is boring. Record your choir and make sure that your parishioners don’t have a valid point.

Thirdly, integrate a few of the Church’s great choral works into you choir’s repertoire. Even if you arrive at a new parish to take up the post of choir master and you find your choir can’t sing a cappella, start by teaching a simple chant (such as the Adorte) or a 4 part hymn a cappella for them to sing after Communion. These works, too, are part of the Sacred Treasury of music. If you begin in this way, within two years they will be ready to tackle Byrd’s Ave verum corpus and other such liturature.

Finally, one must integrate the Church’s teachings on sacred music into the time and place in which he lives. Merely adapting to the local culture won’t do! Remember that Gregorian chant and 16th century polyphony have a universal appeal and can be used everywhere. At the same time, we need to bring our own cultural offerings to the table. There are a number of fine composers in the English speaking world today as well as a strong tradition of hymnody. While I realize that there are no hymns to speak of in the Roman Rite of the Mass, the reality is that the music director in the Ordinary Form will be using them anyway, so why not look to some of the great English translations of Latin and Greek hymnody, such as Draw Nigh and Take the Body of the Lord. The hymn texts of Kathleen Pluth are great examples of modern American hymn texts, and don’t forget the many wonderful American hymn tunes, such as those from Southern Harmony. Lastly, we need to raise up a new generation of composers. This will only happen if we train our young people in the incredible art of Sacred Music, which is where I will end my ramblings by putting in a plug for the choir school. If your parish already has a school, all you need is a little vision and a capable musician, and you too, can have your very own choir school!