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Views from the Choir Loft

Best Practices with Current Restrictions • New Resource from Detroit

Richard J. Clark · June 26, 2020

OST OF OUR parishes in Boston have begun to open to the public. The Cathedral of the Holy Cross has been open since Pentecost. That seems like an eternity ago!

For music directors, our professional lives have been turned upside down this year. Choirs remain in exile. Concurrently, society is awakening to deeply rooted injustice. Every week, it seems, we are pummeled with deeply disturbing news. Pain shakes our heart; events and implications horrifically tragic. Our souls cannot help but be terribly affected.

Psalm 112: 7: He has no fear of evil news;
with a firm heart he trusts in the Lord.

But through pain, our spiritual growth may be at an all time high. Struggle and pain are a blessing for they are the crucible through which we learn to better serve God and each other.

It must be said.

Meanwhile, many musicians are grappling with a litany of frustrations. No congregational singing (in Boston and many other places) is antithetical to worship. No choirs, not even for special occasions, is deeply frustrating. (This is my first summer in thirty years not inviting the choir to sing through the summer months!)

But I wish to acknowledge something very important. Everyone talks about this, but it still must be said:

Everyone is working as hard or much harder than they were during “normal” times. I have heard from those who received a pay cut because it appears on paper they are doing less.

Not so. Not so!

Teaching, communicating, celebrating Mass remotely is exhausting and time consuming. Many of us have taken on technical duties, even while churches are open to the public.

I long for the days when I could just run a rehearsal and only concentrate on music. Now we must think about camera and microphone placement, disinfecting chairs, microphone and music stands, or make sure there’s a solid internet connection. There is also budgeting the time to care for these details.

Working less? I think not. But this is Mass today. And I wish it were not.

However, there are blessings in our need to operate differently. Some new skills will come in handy. New repertoire may be a welcome addition to add to congregational pieces.

Best Practices (in the current temporary situation)

In Boston as in many other places, congregational singing is either banned or highly discouraged. Choirs are forbidden. In Boston we are allowed only one cantor and instrumentalist.

To handle this, here here are some best musical practices for the Novus Ordo for public Mass with current restrictions. I’m sure I’ll think of more later and please share with me what has worked for you!

  • Whenever possible sing the antiphons of the day and their corresponding psalms. **See several free resources below including a new resource from Detroit with a variety of styles that include piano, guitar, and organ accompaniment.
  • Recite the Ordinary (or some of it). Some holy days may warrant singing the Gloria or Eucharistic Acclamations. If so, rotate or utilize less familiar settings.
  • If singing the Responsorial, I recommend a practice that is consistent with singing psalms at the Divine Office: Sing the antiphon once at the beginning (do not repeat) and once at the end. Sing all the verses through in between. Such a practice is consistent with our Roman Catholic tradition and maintains musical symmetry.
  • Do not be afraid of instrumental music. Offertory can be a wonderful time. Explore improvising. (Improvising can be cathartic!)
  • Explore singing sacred solo repertoire appropriate for the season or feast.
  • Distributing communion after the dismissal has worked effectively at the cathedral. If doing so, perhaps sing a quick communion antiphon (one verse and doxology perhaps) and reserve a solo or meditative piece while the faithful receive communion, perhaps followed by a postlude if you wish.
  • Do not be afraid of sacred silence!
  • Provide an easily retrievable online program with readings and texts to the antiphons if possible. While I personally dislike projection screens, their use is certainly warranted at this time.
  • Consider getting used to singing with masks.One needs to find the right mask  where one can breathe.  Don’t do this if you have difficulty or a medical condition!

Note this Vespers service here, soprano, Barbara Hill and I both sing with masks throughout:  Vespers II – Corpus Christi

Singing with masks may be a bridge to improved safety and perhaps a future necessity.

New Resource from Detroit

I previously offered a number of free resources here for singing the proper antiphons , most in English.  Joseph Balistreri, Cathedral and Archdiocesan Director of Music in the Archdiocese of Detroit has kindly shared with me a new free resource.

Detroit’s  Academy of Sacred Music Antiphon Project with English antiphons are composed in various styles, many for piano, guitar, and organ. This does a great service to the Church, meeting many musicians partway and open more possibilities for singing the propers.

You can download them here. 
Bookmark this file, as it is being updated regularly!

Hope – Stay Awake!  

Massachusetts currently has the lowest Rt rate in the country as of June 22 (1.57).  While this is very encouraging and great reason for hope, now is not the time to be complacent. At this time, our country as a whole is experiencing record highs in new cases. That trend is troubling.

As such, many have expressed gratitude for these summer months when choirs are usually on hiatus anyway. It is time to bunker down and stay safe.

I pray to God these hopeful trends in New England continue. Our children need to be back in school. Our choirs — and our hearts — need to sing God’s praises. We need to be able to take care of our families. May our communities stay well and we can move forward!

In the meantime, I know you’re all working harder.

In eternal gratitude,

Richard

Oremus pro invicem
Let us pray for each other.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Covid-19 Coronavirus Last Updated: June 27, 2020

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(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

“Vatican II did not say anything about the direction of the celebrant. […] I love both directions of celebrating Mass. Both are full of meaning for me. Both help me to encounter Christ—and that is, after all, the purpose of the liturgy.”

— Christoph Cardinal Schönborn (February 2007)

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