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Views from the Choir Loft

Choir and Cantor?

Dr. Lucas Tappan · March 1, 2016

LMT Scalia's funeral REALIZE THAT I AM LATE in posting on Justice Antonin Scalia’s funeral, but I would like to share two observations. The first observation is a very simple one. If every Catholic funeral in the Ordinary Form were to show forth even a quarter of the noble beauty of Scalia’s funeral (thanks to Dr. Latona for such wonderful music), or even if they were simply oriented toward our Heavenly Father as Scalia’s was—instead of focusing primarily on us “humankind”—the Faith in the United States would look very different. Having said that, I come to the second and actual reason for my post, the issue of the choir and cantor.

The role of both choir and cantor is to lead the congregation in singing. Okay, I understand that—but what I don’t understand is why some feel the need to have both leading the singing at the same time. The cantor often leads the congregation by himself, so why can’t the choir do the same. I have an assistant who helps me direct the choir. We often both direct the choir, but NEVER at the same time. Even if he and I were to direct exactly the same way (which would never happen), one of us would be superfluous. The same thing happens when the choir and cantor lead together, only in the end, the cantor will win over the choir because he/she is one large voice with a microphone. Not only that, but the cantor will win over the congregation.

As I watched Scalia’s funeral, I loved listening to the Entrance Hymn, O God, Our Help in Ages Past. The choir and congregation sang it equally well, but there was always one big voice that I could never fully block out, that of the cantor. It was like listening to the most beautiful choir in the world, minus the one singer who decided to sing louder than everyone else in order to lead. I have been told before by “experts” that the reason to have a cantor lead even when the choir is singing is so the congregation will watch the cantor’s arms and know when to come in. Excuse me, but if we think that little of the mental capacities of our congregations, martyr me now, because there is no hope for the New Evangelization. Please, let the choir lead!

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 Dr. Lucas Tappan

Dr. Lucas Tappan is a conductor and organist whose specialty is working with children. He lives in Kansas with his wife and four children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    William Byrd • Simple “Agnus Dei” Canon
    Time flies! Back in July, I posted a PDF setting of a perfect canon by William Byrd (d. 1623) arranged as an AGNUS DEI for three voices. Last Sunday, we sang that arrangement with our volunteer choir. To hear a ‘live’ recording of it, click here (Mp3). In my humble opinion, this would be a perfect piece for a choir just beginning to experiment with polyphony.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

The Sacrifice is celebrated with many solemn rites, none of which should be deemed useless or superfluous. On the contrary, all of them tend to display the majesty of this august sacrifice, and to excite the faithful, when beholding these saving mysteries, to contemplate the divine things which lie concealed in the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

— Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566)

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