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Views from the Choir Loft

Yes or No? • Accompanying Chant with the Organ

Andrew Leung · March 10, 2016

CTL Chant Accompaniment HIS IS ONE OF THE hottest topics in the field of sacred music: should chant be accompanied by the organ? While I am not on either side, I know people on the both sides of this discussion and I have heard their reasons. I am very blessed to have worked with many choral ensembles: professional and amateur choirs, monastic scholae and parish choirs, congregations that favor the traditional music and people who know nothing about the Church’s music. After working with Church music in so many contexts and with such diverse people, I have come to the conclusion that chant can be done effectively both ways.

Every choir (singers who sing and practice as a group) ought to be able to chant without organ accompaniment. The Church has always taught that the human voice is the primary instrument in the liturgy. No other instruments can sing like our voices which are created by God “in His image”. Nor can musical instruments express the text the way human voice can. That is why every choir, ideally, should be able to chant a capella without the accompaniment of any secondary instruments. I understand some choirs may be in the process of developing the skill of chant and they need the assistance of the organ. However, they should still make chanting a capella their goal and work on their skills in rehearsals.

While this advice applies to choirs chanting the propers and hymns alone, without congregational participation, I think the same goal can be set for congregational singing of the ordinaries, psalms and hymns. In a parish setting, the organ can help the faithful to learn the melodies of the chants and stay in tune. Some organists also like to accompany chants so that they can maintain the pace. That is a valid reason; however, it leads to competition between the organist and the singers, because the organ’s strong and loud registrations tend to lead by anticipating the sung melodies. The most effective way to maintain good pace of the chants is to have a confident choir leading the singing.

I really enjoy the simplicity and purity of plainsong without accompaniment. On the other hand, I do think good organ accompaniment adds color and solemnity to chant. Organ accompaniment is appropriate on special feast days, and during the Christmas and Easter seasons. Whether it is the glorious accompaniment of the French tradition or the expressive registrations of the English tradition, the pipe organ can help us express the text in a very special way. But of course, chant should remain unaccompanied during the penitential seasons. Here are two examples of good chant accompaniment by a former Cistercian monk. The first video is the Cistercian Salve Regina and the second one is Psalm 2 in English accompanied by the organ.






If you are interested in chant accompaniment, this former monk organist uploaded a series of tutorial videos on Youtube.

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

Quick Thoughts

    Introit • Candlemas (2 February)
    “Candlemas” • Our choir sang on February 2nd, and here's a live recording of the beautiful INTROIT: Suscépimus Deus. We had very little time to rehearse, but I think it has some very nice moments. I promise that by the 8th Sunday after Pentecost it will be perfect! (That Introit is repeated on the 8th Sunday after Pentecost.) We still need to improve, but we're definitely on the right track!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful. From “Lumen Ad Revelatiónem Géntium” you can hear a live excerpt (Mp3).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“We must say it plainly: the Roman rite as we knew it exists no more. It has gone. Some walls of the structure have fallen, others have been altered—we can look at it as a ruin or as the partial foundation of a new building. Think back, if you remember it, to the Latin sung High Mass with Gregorian chant. Compare it with the modern post-Vatican II Mass. It is not only the words, but also the tunes and even certain actions that are different. In fact it is a different liturgy of the Mass.”

— Fr. Joseph Gelineau (1978)

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