N PREVIOUS YEARS, my colleague ANDREA LEAL (whom I admire immensely) handled the interviews for the Sacred Music Symposium. This year, I’m in charge of interviewing the candidates before each dossier is reviewed by faculty members. I’m really enjoying meeting (and speaking to) those who have applied. Something tells me this year’s conference is going to be the best one yet. If you haven’t yet applied to Sacred Music Symposium 2025, I strongly urge you to do so. There’s no application fee this year, so you have nothing to lose!
Attendance Policy • Something we’ll be discussing quite a lot this coming summer at the symposium is “the best attendance policy” for volunteer choirs. You won’t want to miss this.
Accepting Reality • Some choirmasters refuse to reveal samples of their choirs saying: “Some of our best singers were missing that day—so it’s not a fair representation.” The conscientious choirmaster realizes there will always be absences; one must learn to expect that. Today, I’m doing something unusual. Recently, several of my most proficient1 female singers were absent. In spite of this, do you agree our choir still sounds quite nice?
No Microphone Can Capture • No microphone can accurately reproduce a true choral sound—but hopefully that ‘live’ recording gives you a rough idea how we sound (even without several of our most proficient females). On a different Sunday, a whole bunch of our men were absent. Nevertheless, I think our choir sounded fine. Here’s a sample from that Sunday:
* Mp3 Download • Polyphonic “Extension” (HOSANNA)
—On this particular Sunday, many of our male singers were absent.
Fabulous Acoustics • What follows is another sample (from that same Sunday) singing Hymn #202 from the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. I think you’ll agree the acoustics of our church are superb—and those who will participate in this year’s SACRED MUSIC SYMPOSIUM will have an opportunity to experience these acoustics firsthand.
* Mp3 Download • Hymn Number 202
—On this particular Sunday, many of our male singers were absent.
(1 of 2) That Entrance Chant • When the ENTRANCE CHANT is sung at Ordinary Form Masses, it’s supposed to come from the Graduale Romanum. The texts printed in the priest’s SACRAMENTARY are only for private Masses (or Masses without music). In November of 2007, Bishop Donald Trautman—at that time CHAIRMAN of the USCCB Committee on the Liturgy—made the following declaration:
“Recent research, confirmed by unofficial discussions with officials of the Holy See during the past several years, has made clear that the antiphons of the Order of Mass were never intended to be sung, but are provided without notation to be recited whenever the Graduale Romanum or another song is not sung. The antiphons of the Missale Romanum, which differ substantially from the sung antiphons of the Roman Gradual, were never intended to be sung.”
The “Spoken Propers” are often referred to as the ADALBERT PROPERS since they were created in 1969 by Dom Adalbert Franquesa Garrós (d. 2005).
(2 of 2) That Entrance Chant • Listening to the ENTRANCE CHANT (see above), you probably noticed the phrase “weeping before the Lord.” If you look at the ADALBERT PROPERS, you’ll see that those words were removed. Nobody knows why Dom Adalbert insisted upon his copious modifications. He published a document attempting to explain why he changed the ancient prayers, but his explanation is bizarre, inexplicable, and possibly heretical. For instance, Dom Adalbert says that unless certain parts of Sacred Scripture are sung to particular melodies they “lose almost all of their meaning.” In another place, Dom Adalbert says: “The offertory antiphons rarely offer a text of pastoral worth.” He declares the propers for TRINITY SUNDAY “inappropriate”—yet offers no explanation for why he feels that way! I could continue, but you get the point. In my view, it’s best to stick with the ancient propers from the GRADUALE ROMANUM.
In Conclusion • By showing you recordings of my choir even with many singers absent, my intention has been to demonstrate it’s possible to arrive at a viable attendance policy. I will have much more to say about this at the Sacred Music Symposium during this coming June. I hope to see you there in person!
1 When I say “most proficient” I’m referring to singers who have years of experience singing in public. Not everyone has such experience. Not everyone has run their own vocal studio (private voice lessons) for decades. I love and value all my singers equally—but that doesn’t mean each of them has the same amount of experience and proficiency. When it comes to singing in public, one must take into consideration each singer’s level of expertise. Many of my singers are just starting out, and it’s thrilling to watch them develop and grow.
