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Views from the Choir Loft

To Breathe or Not To Breathe

Dr. Alfred Calabrese · February 8, 2020

ART of the conductor’s job is to prepare his or her own music so as to then teach it to the choir. This includes preparing the score with all sorts of markings, including dynamics, tempi, phrasing, the occasional redistributing of voices, and breath marks. These markings make for an efficient rehearsal and a unified final performance. The process of making these decisions is, in my experience, possible in only one way: the conductor must sit quietly with the score and sing every part. In this way, not only do conductors learn every part intimately, but they experience all of the challenges each section of the choir will face. One of these challenges is where to breathe.

This may seem simple enough. We should breathe at the end of a phrase. Or should we? Many times, for dramatic effect, or because of our analysis of the phrase structure, or because of the text, or just because we think the music will sound better, we ask the choir not to breathe, but carry over, sometimes staggering the breathing within the section. Often, these places are dramatic because they deny to the listener the natural expectation of a breath. It is here that some real beauty can take place. 

Most choir members, wanting to do things just right, will pencil in exactly what the conductor asks, in this case, a slur over the phrase to indicate a ‘do not breathe here.’  And most of the time even the most professional singer will give back exactly that marking, dutifully singing through the phrase without a breath. Perfect! Except for one thing. It might not sound very interesting. We don’t ever want to our choirs to sound mechanical. Instead, we want to take moments like these and make the most of them. Consider the opening from Thomas Tallis’ famous “If Ye Love Me.”

It would be perfectly acceptable to breathe after “me,” especially considering the comma, but I think that most every choir sings through to make a four-measure phrase.  However, for this to become an important musical moment, something special should happen. Instead of robotically singing past “me” with no change in the sound, the music sounds much better by making a fairly obvious crescendo on the words “love me,” anticipating the moment when the choir will not breathe. This one, small musical gesture provides a wealth of gifts: it provides intensity to the line and a sense of direction; creates a warm, beautiful choral sound; it enlivens the text and gives it real meaning, and finally, it just sounds better.

This is an overly simple example of a spot where a decision not to breathe can create a beautiful phrase. Most decisions like this will be a little more complicated. But only by singing through all the parts on their own, musically and beautifully and sensitively, will conductors be able to test out different ideas or discover a potentially wonderful moment that they can then bring to the rehearsal.

As we make music which adorns the sacred liturgy, our goal should be more than to simply recreate the notes, rhythms, and words found on the page. Beautiful music is everywhere to be discovered. Conductors, find one or two extra special moments and make the most of them. Sometimes the most beautiful musical line happens with the simple decision to not take a breath.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: February 8, 2020

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About Dr. Alfred Calabrese

Dr. Alfred Calabrese is Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Rita Catholic Church in Dallas, TX. He and his wife have two children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “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

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    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

Random Quote

The Sanctus and Benedictus are one text and should be sung through without a break. The practice—once common—of waiting till after the Consecration and then singing: “Benedictus qui venit…” is not allowed by the Vatican Gradual.

— Father Fortescue, writing in 1912

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