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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Sing Prayerfully

Andrew Leung · February 12, 2015

323 Andrew Leung T HAS BEEN SAID: “He who sings prays twice.” However as church musicians, we don’t always feel prayerful and peaceful when we are singing and playing during the Liturgy. Recently, I heard from some friends that singing at Mass was never a peaceful and prayerful experience for them, but a stressful one. A lot of times, we worry about whether the choir is singing too slow, pronunciation of the text, messing up the rhythm, missing an entrance in a polyphonic piece, making mistakes on a melody or harmony, etc. Should the Mass be a prayerful experience for the musicians?

YES! I am sure that most of you will agree that singing the Mass is not just a performance, but a prayer. The music at Mass should be for the glorification of God and the sanctification of the faithful. Musicians, as part of the faithful, should be sanctified by the Liturgical Music too. When we sing at Mass, it is understandable that there might be a little nerve just like what we would experience in other performances. However, this nerve shouldn’t affect us too much spiritually.

If Liturgical Music is a prayer, when do we begin praying? The prayer should start way before the Mass. In fact, we should make our personal practices and group rehearsals part of the prayer. It is a long process of prayer that the congregation will never experience. It is like saying the rosary. A rosary is formed by many “Our Father”, “Hail Mary”, “Glory be” and other prayers and devotions. Before Mas, we practice the pieces over and over again just like how we say the “Hail Mary” fifty times in a rosary. Each “Hail Mary” is a short and simple prayer, but when they are all linked together, they become part of a long prayer, the rosary. Similarly, we make a lot of mistakes and pauses during rehearsals. And when we put all our works and efforts together at Mass, the prayer is finally completed. That is why preparations and practices are very important for church musicians.

HERE ARE A FEW THOUGHTS and suggestions on how one can make “church singing” more prayerful.

First, Spiritually:

1. Understand the idea of “Sing the Mass, not Sing at Mass.” To “Sing at Mass” would be to make our singing a performance only. On the other hand, to “Sing the Mass” is to make our singing a prayer. Always starts and ends the rehearsal or the “performance” with a prayer to remind ourselves to make the music a prayer to God.

2. Know the text. A good piece of Sacred Music should have a scriptural text, or sometimes the text would be taken from other traditional prayers. In order to sing prayerfully, we need to make sure we know what we are singing, especially when the text is in a foreign language.

3. Observe sacred silence, especially in our own prayer time. As musicians, we are constantly participating the Mass externally through singing or playing. It is important that we do not forget the internal participation and to listen to God through silent prayer and meditation.

And now, more Technical:

1. Know the Strengths and Weaknesses. As choir directors, we need to know our choirs’ strengths and weaknesses; and as singers, we need to know our own strengths and weaknesses too. If singing the Mass is a stressful experience for you, you should try to find out what is stressing you out.

2. Find the Right Repertoire. One of the main reasons why singing the Mass is so stressful for some people is because repertoire is too difficult. For example, the Tract might be too long and hard for a choir. Then maybe you would like to consider singing it in psalm tone until your choir is comfortable with long and melismatic chant. It is more important to sing well and pray well than to sing a challenging piece.

3. Use your Rehearsal Time Wisely. If singing the Mass is a stressful experience for you, consider lengthening your rehearsal time so that you can spend more time learning and practicing. In order to master a piece of music, you will need to be able to sing the piece comfortably during rehearsal. You might also want to consider spending some time during rehearsals on solfege exercises and other vocal exercises to increase your skill level.

I hope my suggestions help to make singing the Mass a prayerful and peaceful experience for you.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“The Night Office—Nocturns or Matins—except for Holy Week, Easter Octave, and Christmas, has never appeared in the Vatican edition. The larger part of the mediaeval repertory for the Office thus remains still unpublished in the Vatican edition, and is likely to remain so, for the obvious reason that almost no cathedral chapters or monastic choirs sing the Night Office regularly today.”

— John Merle Boe (1968)

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