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Views from the Choir Loft

Of Weddings, Funerals and other Comedies

Dr. Gregory Hamilton · January 18, 2020

VERYONE who has done music in a church probably has a number of wedding or funeral stories. Sometimes when church musicians gather at a coffee shop (or more likely a bar) to shoot the breeze, such stories can come up. Recently I played organ for a funeral at a church I had never been to. Like a good Catholic boy, I arrived 45 min. before the funeral. I spoke to a Deacon about how we could turn on the sound system. The chat went something like this:
“Hello Deacon Jim, do you know how to turn on the sound system?”
“I have no idea”
“How long have you been a deacon here?”
“27 years.”
“…OK”
I thought that it would be a great idea to speak to the priest about whether the Responsorial Psalm would be sung by us, whether the Ordinary parts of the Mass would be sung etc. – this little “details” the neglect of which, can bode confusion. Only… the priest was nowhere to be found. As a matter of fact, at the time the funeral was to begin, there was not a living soul in the church. (and no other as well…) About a half an hour after the “starting time” of the funeral, a few folks started to wander in. Finally about 45 min. later, I got to talk to the priest for a bit. Nobody seemed in the least concerned that the funeral started over an hour later. Oh Well. When you are thinking of eternity, what’s the hurry?

Anyway…a lot of what we do in serving our communities is rather unglamorous. I suppose that all of us would like to be performing in flashy concerts or conducting world-famous choirs or… you fill in the blank. However, the thought for today is: let’s render unto others the gift of our music as we would render to Christ. As St. Mother Theresa said: “do little things with great love.”

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 20, 2020

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About Dr. Gregory Hamilton

Dr. Gregory Hamilton is a composer and performer currently on the faculty of Holy Trinity Seminary in Dallas TX.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski
14 May 2022 • “Pure” Vatican Edition

As readers know, my choir has been singing from the “pure” Editio Vaticana. That is to say, the official rhythm which—technically—is the only rhythm allowed by the Church. I haven’t figured out how I want the scores to look, so in the meantime we’ve been using temporary scores that look like this. Stay tuned!

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“If a pope were only ever applauded, he would have to ask himself whether or not he was doing things right.”

— Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI (2016)

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