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Views from the Choir Loft

What to Do When Music Creeps Into Your Prayer

Keven Smith · May 18, 2020

SPEND a great deal of time thinking about why we church musicians do what we do. Some of the Whys are obvious. There’s the fact that God deserves to be glorified. There’s the fact that those of us to whom He has given considerable musical talent have the obligation to give that talent back to Him. There are the social benefits we derive from the friendships we make in choirs. There are even physical benefits; it is well documented that choral singing exercises the mind and body.

We’re all aware that there are many spiritual benefits, too. But these benefits don’t end after we sing the recessional hymn. They can pervade our spiritual life—to the point where sacred music pops into our head while we’re trying to pray. Next time this happens to you, I invite you to enjoy it.

Sometimes Motets Show Up Unannounced

Here’s just one example of what I’m talking about: one Saturday in March, I was praying the 9:00 AM Mass at my parish, following along in my missal. I immediately recognized the Offertory verse:

Give light to my eyes that I may not sleep in death lest my enemy say, I have overcome him. (Ps 12: 4-5)

The mere sight of this verse plunged me into a favorite motet that uses this text: O Bone Jesu by Loyset Compere. This piece is pure, sweet, and simple. If you can spare three minutes, I think you’ll really enjoy it:

 

(I love this piece so much that, at the kind invitation of Jeff Ostrowski, I recently discussed it in an online conversation with several of my colleagues here at Corpus Christi Watershed.)

As I let my missal fall away, I couldn’t help but audiate (a fancy word for hearing music in your mind) the rest of the motet, breathing, pausing, moved almost to tears at the unexpected arrival of this innocent bit of beauty just minutes after COVID-19 precautions had been announced from the pulpit. This motet pulled me more deeply into the Mass by speaking to me in my native language. Glancing around the church, I noticed several of my choir members and hoped that the motet was speaking to them, too.

This was hardly a fluke occurrence in my life. In fact, it happened again two days ago. In between my Saturday errands, I dropped into my church around mid-day to pray and ended up including Sext from the Divine Office. The first psalm was none other than Psalm 103: Benedic anima mea.

I don’t know about you, but when I read that text, I can’t help audiating this delicious setting by Claudin de Sermisy:

 

Perhaps you’d prefer to audiate Orlando di Lasso’s composition on the same text—but you’ll still understand the concept.

The Reward of a Life Lived in Music

I used to think that to stop and audiate the many motets I encounter within the Divine Office was to embrace distractions in prayer. But then I realized that it can be an excellent way to meditate on the text. We’re supposed to be praying the words we sing in choir, so why not sing—at least mentally—the words we recite in the Divine Office?

[One might ask at this point: why not simply chant the Divine Office? Yes, this is a laudable practice, but it’s not what I’m getting at. I’m arguing that if you’re silently reading the Office—or perhaps engaging in lectio divina—and a motet creeps into your mind, it might be most beneficial just to let it happen!]

These are moments of grace for any choir member because they can help us avoid “plowing through” Scripture. Suddenly, the psalms jump off our page or screen and come to life. Instead of waiting for our imagination to supply our intellect with a helpful image for meditation, we can immerse ourselves in the sonic experience of a psalm, using the composer’s genius to guide us through the words.

This is the reward of a life lived in music. Music is a language, but it does not supplant our own. Rather, it enlivens our words so that they can penetrate the soul with the fullness of their meaning—and enlighten our eyes in any circumstance.

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

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: prayer Last Updated: May 19, 2020

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About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —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

“Every medicine does not suit every stage of sickness; because the tonic given to those who are recovering from fever would be hurtful to them if given while yet in their feverish condition. So likewise Baptism and Penance are as purgative medicines, given to take away the fever of sin; whereas this sacrament [the Sanctissimum] is a medicine given to strengthen, and it ought not to be given except to them who are quit of sin.”

— Saint Thomas Aquinas Re: the EUCHARIST

Recent Posts

  • Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
  • Bishop François Charrière Vs. Hannibal Bugnini
  • 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “My First Year with the Latin Mass” • A Music Director’s Perspective
  • Boston Auxiliary Bishop: “In offering the Traditional Mass for the first time, after removing the vestments, I knelt in the back pew and wept.”

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