F SOMEONE WANTS to promote a fake narrative, it must sound plausible and compelling—otherwise the lie won’t spread properly. As part of “Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster” (my online seminar), I spoke about pernicious-yet-pervasive myths vis-à-vis accompanying plainsong on the organ. One myth goes something like this: The correct way to accompany plainchant is how they do it at FONTGOMBAULT ABBEY, where the chords are very stagnant. The organist holds the same chord down for a long time without switching, and this eliminates inappropriate dissonance. This myth does great harm, and the time has come to put it to rest.1
The Truth • The exact opposite of that myth is actually what’s true. Keeping the same chord down for long periods of time often creates dissonances which are gruesome and ugly. In my opinion, the key to excellent (“smooth”) plainsong accompaniment is threefold: (1) careful control of dissonance; (2) plentiful common tones; (3) painstaking attention to voice-leading.
This Coming Sunday • This coming Sunday is the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B. At my church, we will be singing the ENTRANCE CHANT by the Chaumonot Composers Group. I’m trying to convince them to add organ accompaniments to their praiseworthy plainsong adaptations. Below is my attempt at a rehearsal video, although I don’t claimed to be a great singer:
* PDF Download • Singer’s Score (Treble Clef)
* PDF Download • ORGAN ACCOMPANIMENT (2 Pages)
Here’s the direct URL link.
Go Somewhere! • Something I discuss at length in my online seminar has to with “going somewhere” when one accompanies plainchant on the organ. In other words, the harmonization should have a “goal” to prevent monotony and staleness. Perhaps I can give an example from the ENTRANCE CHANT above. Notice how the bassline starts very low and ascends by stepwise motion:
Church music should be a delight; it should not be burdensome to listen to. A clever, fresh, vibrant, compelling accompaniment is a good thing not a bad thing.
1 In terms of what Fontgombault Abbey actually does when it comes to plainchant accompaniment on the pipe organ, that’s a subject for another day. For the time being, let me just say that their approach is frequently misrepresented.
