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Views from the Choir Loft

4 Choral Combinations that would Help Develop You Music Program

Andrew Leung · October 22, 2015

WOULD LIKE TO suggest four different choral approaches that would help the development of your parish music program. These choral approaches involve putting different combinations of voices into groups. Many famous professional choirs adopted the first three combinations; and in order for you to listen to and to compare some examples, I will be posting recordings of the Gloria from Palestrina’s Missa Papae Marcelli sung by three world-class choirs. I have tried all four methods myself at my former parish and the result was very successful. Our music program became one of the more “well-known” programs in the Metro-Atlanta area.

1. Mixed Choir – Most parishes have an adult choir formed by both male and female singers. This approach is the most common one in the world of choral music, both sacred and secular. Having both male and female voices allows the choir to sing a broader repertoire, from four parts to eight parts, or even more. However, in a parish situation, maintaining a good balance between voices can be a challenge. In order to get the “right singers”, it is very important to invite them in person. If you can get a choir of twenty voices, both male and female, you can make a nice and strong sound with the hymns and polyphonic pieces.

A great example of the mixed choir approach is The Sixteen conducted by Harry Christopher. The way they approach the Gloria, having multiple voices on each part, makes the piece very rich.


2. Children Choristers – Many of my fellow bloggers have mentioned the importance of training our children in the art of singing. The children are the future of your parish music program. In order to have young singers in the adult choir, we must start training them and teach them to appreciate good liturgical music when they are young. Besides that, well-trained children choristers have voices that are so pure, that adults can’t really imitate. If you compare this video of the Choir of King’s College directed by Sir David Willcocks to the recording above, you can hear that the light and pure voices of the boys soprano has a very different flavor from the adult sopranos of The Sixteen.


3. Quartet/Quintet/Sextet – This approach the one I enjoy the most personally. But it is also rarely found in parishes. It is basically the smaller version of the mixed choir approach. Instead of having multiple singers on each part, only have one person per part. This approach allows the more advanced singers to sing their line clearly and expressively. Having a smaller choir increase the flexibility of it. It will be easier to set a rehearsal time and it is perfect for the “random” Holy Days during the week. In a bigger parish, the choir director can just invite a few singers from the regular choir to form a quartet. If you are at a smaller parish and is thinking about starting choir, a quartet can be a good option. Start rehearsing with a smaller choir and build your repertoire, and eventually you may think about expanding the choir to a full choir with mixed voices.

The Tallis Scholars uses this approach in their performances. Six singers are singing the six-part Gloria under Peter Philips direction.


4. Schola Cantorum – The last approach is a Catholic one. Traditionally, only male can join the Schola Cantorum. But I think it is fine to have ladies forming their own Schola Cantorum too. At St. Pius X, I had a Men’s Schola and a Women’s Schola. This approach is, of course, great for Gregorian Chant, having the men and women sing chant separately. Usually, Scholae Cantorum tense to be smaller, which means greater flexibility like the quartet. I also found that rehearsals are usually more relax, probably because people are more comfortable around the same sex. This approach, like the quartet approach, also works well in smaller parishes.

The repertoire of a Schola Cantorum is not limited Gregorian Chant. Here is a recording of Richard Clark’s Ave Maria which is a choral piece with chant elements. This recording of the Schola Cantorum Sanctorum Angelorum was made about a year ago in Steubenville.


I hope my suggestions are helpful. Try some of these choral combinations and they would help develop your music program. If you try all four combinations, you should be directing five different choirs. And that is what I did this past year.

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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President’s Corner

    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
    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —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 Church has always kept, and wishes still to maintain everywhere, the language of her Liturgy; and, before the sad and violent changes of the 16th century, this eloquent and effective symbol of unity of faith and communion of the faithful was, as you know, cherished in England not less than elsewhere. But this has never been regarded by the Holy See as incompatible with the use of popular hymns in the language of each country.”

— Pope Leo XIII (1898)

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