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Views from the Choir Loft

Church Musicians are called to be Good Shepherds

Andrew Leung · May 11, 2017

CTL Good Shepherd 1 AST SUNDAY was “Good Shepherd Sunday”, for those of us who attended the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. And for those who goes to the Traditional Latin Mass, it was celebrated the Sunday before, the 3rd Sunday after Easter. Obviously, Jesus is calling the bishops and the priests to be good shepherds like Himself in the Gospel of John (10:1-18); but I think he is also calling all church musicians to be good shepherds. We, too, are constantly proclaiming, and even in a sense preaching sometimes, the Word of God as we are serving at the liturgy. We should always do our best to assist the principle shepherds, the priests, in a special way by singing the liturgy.

The first step of being a good shepherd is to know the flock: to be interested in them, their needs, their likes and dislikes, their daily life and their ways of communication. It is very important to first establish a relationship with the people we are serving, and not just any relationship, but good and positive relationships. We can only proceed onto serving the flock when we truly know them and understand their needs.

Then, once we know our sheep, we need to offer them the best and dedicating our whole self to serve them. It is very important that we give them what is “the best”, not just “what they want”. This is especially important when we help plan weddings and funerals. We can’t just play or sing what people want, but only what is appropriate for the liturgy. Our goal is to bring people to Christ, the ultimate good shepherd. Sometimes, I would like to think that we are merely the shepherd dogs of our Lord, who carry out His command and help others to follow Him.

Being good shepherds, we must also be prepared to lay down our lives for the sheep, that is to be willing to make sacrifices for them. Most of us don’t get to enjoy the “holiday seasons” like the rest of the world, we probably will be working overtime at the church. Our evenings are going to be occupied by rehearsals and meetings at the parish. And of course, there often are emotional situations around the parish music program. A good shepherd will accept these sacrifices without complain.

A Franciscan friar, also a famous singer who performs around the world, once said to me: “when you sing (especially the high notes), you must take deep breaths, and then allow the Holy Spirit sing through your mouth as the air flow out. Imagine that the Holy Spirit is the air that you are breathing.” Similarly, we must let the Holy Spirit guide us as we make music to glorify God. We are not just performing, singing and playing music in the name of Christ; but we need to allow Christ to touch the hearts of the people through our music.

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

    PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
    EVIN ALLEN was commissioned by Sacred Music Symposium 2025 to compose a polyphonic ‘middle section’ for the GLORIA from Mass III (“Kyrie Deus sempiterne”). This year, I am traveling from Singapore to serve as a member of the faculty. I will be conducting Palestrina’s ‘Ave Maria’ as well as teaching plainsong to the men. A few days ago, I was asked to record rehearsal videos for this beautiful polyphonic extension. Instructions • This polyphonic composition fits ‘inside’ GLORIA III. That is to say, the congregation joins in the beginning and end, while the choir adds polyphony to the middle. The easiest way to understand how everything fits together is by examining this congregational insert. Feel free to download the score:
    *  PDF Download • Gloria III ‘Middle Section’ (Kevin Allen)
    Free rehearsal videos for each individual voice await you at #24366. Related News • My colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, composed an organ accompaniment for this same GLORIA a few months ago. Obviously, the organist should drop out when the polyphony is being sung.
    —Corrinne May
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Yahweh” in church songs?
    My pastor asked me to write a weekly column for our parish bulletin. The one scheduled to run on 22 June 2025 is called “Three Words in a Psalm” and speaks of translating the TETRAGRAMMATON. You can read the article at this column repository. All of them are quite brief because I was asked to keep within a certain word limit.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

Nothing should be allowed that is unworthy of divine worship, nothing that is obviously profane or unfit to express the inner, sacred power of prayer. Nothing odd or unusual is allowable, since such things, far from fostering devotion in the praying community, rather shock and upset it—and impede the proper and rightful cultivation of a devotion faithful to tradition.

— Pope Paul VI • 10/13/1966

Recent Posts

  • PDF Download • “Polyphonic Extension” (Kevin Allen) for Gloria III
  • “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
  • PDF Download • “Text by Saint Francis of Assisi” (choral setting w/ organ: Soprano & Alto)
  • “Yahweh” in church songs?
  • “Music List” • Pentecost Sunday

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