Views from the Choir Loft

Be Good to Your Choir

Andrew R. Motyka · April 16, 2014 ·

ERE IN INDIANAPOLIS, we celebrate our diocesan Chrism Mass on the Tuesday of Holy Week. This works better for most of the parishes in the archdiocese since many of them have to travel several hours to get to the cathedral (Indianapolis is actually the northernmost part of the archdiocese). After this afternoon’s Chrism Mass, I thanked our Archdiocesan Choir, and apologized for being a bit over-ambitious this year with my music selection. They performed admirably, so I’m not sure I learned my lesson.

In these final days of Lent, as we head into our final rehearsals and take a breath for the big plunge that is the Sacred Triduum, remember to thank your choirs. You have put in countless hours of preparation, practice, and some other P word that I can’t think of because I’m so tired. However, I get paid to do this. It’s exhausting, and edifying, and frustrating, and wonderful, but in the end, it’s my job.

Your choir, on the other hand, does this because they volunteer. They spend hours in rehearsal after a full day of work that isn’t music-related. Remember to acknowledge their commitment and sacrifice for the Church’s liturgy. People that haven’t gone through this many rehearsals can’t understand exactly how much effort goes into making liturgy beautiful. Your choir does this because they love Jesus and they love music. Give them at least a bit of feedback to let them know that you, at least, appreciate what they do.

A bit of Easter candy won’t hurt, either.

About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

Could Pope St. Pius X Sing?

“On 12 March 1908, the complete publication of the Roman Gradual was issued by the Vatican Press. On that very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. A witness of the audience says that Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement pro aliquibus locis—it was the Introit of the new Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.” (Catholic Choirmaster, February 1915)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Julius Bas Accompaniment

A very prolific harmonizer of Gregorian chant in the early 20th century was Mr. Julius Bas. He often uses a very strange technique, wherein he employs rests to eliminate the Alto, Tenor, and Bass voices. Consider what he did with “Lumen ad revelationem” here:

* JPEG • Lumen ad revelationem

It seems quite lazy, and I’ve never seen anyone else use such a technique, although Dr. Peter Wagner often switched to parallel octaves when he ran out of ideas… (Yuck!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

Hitting wrong notes

Fr. Valentine Young, OFM, used to say: “The organist can play 1,000 correct notes and one wrong note—and the only thing people will care about is the wrong note.” Last Sunday I hit some wrong notes, and felt bad. Then I remembered a story about Rudolf Serkin and started to chuckle. Charles Rosen (or was it Leon Fleisher?) told the story of Serkin playing a Beethoven Sonata in front of a large audience. The theme is all in octaves; but Serkin hit some wrong notes, and played parallel 7ths instead. This so unnerved him that every time the theme returned, he played the entire thing in parallel 7ths! We must remember that even the greatest hit wrong notes. Alfred Cortot, Vladimir Horowitz, Wilhelm Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Sviatoslav Richter, Egon Petri—they all hit wrong notes, which we can hear on recordings. (Josef Hofmann was an exception, but he was super-human so he doesn’t count!)

—Jeff Ostrowski

On 12 March 1908, Feast of St. Gregory the Great, the complete publication of the “Graduale” was issued by the Vatican Press. That very day, Dom Pothier solemnly presented the first copy to the Holy Father. Pius X wished to be the first to see the new book; he opened it at random, at page 128 of the supplement “pro aliquibus locis”—the Introit of the new Feast of Our lady of Lourdes. The Pope sang it with perfect taste to the last note.

— A witness of the papal audience writing circa 1915