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Views from the Choir Loft

Youth Choristers – Formation Beyond Singing

Patrick Torsell · February 10, 2020

F young people are to be instrumental in restoring and supporting truly beautiful, dignified sacred music in our churches, they need to learn more than just how to sing well. If you are blessed with any sort of youth/children’s choir program, or teach music in a Catholic school, make some time in your rehearsals or classes to go beyond the pedagogy and note learning. This can be difficult because it always seems like there’s so much music to learn, and so little time. But if we really want to develop not just future church singers and musicians, but also an informed laity who appreciate sacred music, we have to get beyond the “how” to the “why.”

In our Chorister program (which comprises about 80 students ages 6-18) we make a point to ensure that each student walks away with a solid grasp not only of the forms and types of music that fit the criteria of “good” sacred music as taught by the Church’s legislation on sacred music (e.g. chant, polyphony, traditional hymnody), but also the underlying reasons. We discuss Pope St. Pius X’s Tra le sollecitudini, and review the teachings of more recent church documents and popes. We listen to dozens of examples of music, both fitting and not fitting for the liturgy, and analyze what makes it appropriate or inappropriate for the Mass.

We give the students criteria to consider and questions to ask when assessing the fitness of a piece of music for the liturgy. First, we ask with St. Pius X: “how closely does it resemble Gregorian Chant?” Not that all church music has to sound like an imitation of Chant; but does it share that otherness which sets it apart for the worship of God? Does it flow in a way that orients the heart and mind to prayer, avoiding jarring and overly dramatic elements?

Next, we like to do a little experiment by asking the choristers to express the first thought or idea that comes to mind when they hear a piece of music. For example, I’ll play an excerpt of a “jazz Mass,” and often get a response like: “it sounds like a movie scene in a smoky bar.” Or I’ll play one of the folk-style songs played by a guitar group, and they respond: “it sounds like the music grandpa listens to on the radio!” Then maybe I’ll play a bit of Palestrina’s Missae Papae Marcelli, and we finally arrive at: “it sounds like Church,” or even: “it’s like what the Angels would sing in Heaven!” It usually only takes a few seconds of listening to determine whether a piece of music calls to mind Heavenly things or earthly things, and even the youngest choristers can tell the difference. This, of course, is not a fool-proof measure of the fitness of music, as it certainly involves subjective elements, and is impacted by experience and conditioning. But it’s a good starting point to get them asking the right questions.

Finally, we break it down into three criteria: 1) Style: is the style of the music holy and sacred? That is: is it truly set apart for worship of God, or does it imitate secular, popular styles?; 2) Content: are the words truly sacred and doctrinally sound, oriented upward to the worship of God rather than downward toward man and worldly things?; and 3) Delivery: is the musician or choir presenting the piece in a dignified manner, accurately, skillfully, and oriented toward God’s glory? Is the instrumentation appropriate?

By asking these questions and encouraging the choristers to think critically about the qualities of the music we sing at Mass, we hope to send them off to adulthood not only with improved singing skills, but also with a heightened awareness of what makes sacred music “sacred,” and why it matters. It may take a little time away from rehearsal, but it’s time well spent.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: February 10, 2020

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Patrick Torsell

About Patrick Torsell

Patrick Torsell is the Director of Music and Organist at Mater Dei Latin Mass Community in Harrisburg, PA.—(Read full biography).

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Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

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29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

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Random Quote

Giovanni Doni is known for having changed the name of note “Ut,” renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that 1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut,” and 2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the tonic and root of the world. There is much academic speculation that Giovanni Doni also wanted to imprint himself into musical canon in perpetuity because “Do” is also ulteriorly an abbreviation for his family name.

— Giovanni Battista Doni died in 1647AD

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