Andrew J. Lerner is Director of Activities at the Latin Mass Society of Benedictine College and Treasurer at Benedictine College Knights of Columbus. Follow him @ravenorganist on Instagram.
I HAVE PLAYED for both the Novus Ordo Missae and the Usus Antiquor semi-professionally in Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Texas. All of them had very different instruments, musical selections, budgets, and expectations; but nevertheless shared universal common problems.
The primary problem was that they didn’t clearly specify what was expected of their musician: when he could practice, where he could practice, when to play, when not to play, and what he could play. Ergo, the organist could play the most beautiful rendition of a Bach chorale prelude, but did it at a time that within the Mass observed in the parish as one of profound silence and angered the congregants and priest.
Therefore, if your parish has a tradition of rotating organists, do them all a courtesy and provide a comprehensive guide to the Liturgical Structure of your Masses. Indicate periods which are suitable for music, the type of suitable music, and approximate estimations of time these periods take.
The next problem is universal to every choir in existence: a lack of capable voices for the selected hymn repertoire. Parish choirs most often consist of incredible amounts of soprani and baritone voices, rendering alto and tenor lines impossible to sing well.
The solution: know basic vocal range. Any piece of music with an alto line reaching lower than a low A; a tenor line higher than E-Flat; or bass line lower than a low F should be avoided at all costs.
Next up is tuning: the nightmare of every choir director. Tenore and soprani voices are prone to go more sharp, while alti and bassi voices are perennially flat. One trick that volunteer choir directors don’t learn is that certain key signatures are easier to lose tuning than others. But as luck would have it, most every mainstream hymnal only provides hymns in these very keys!
F and C major are all fine and dandy, but because they are so well known, any inconsistency sticks out as much as a beginner keyboard student fumbling the harmony to “Twinkle Twinkle little star”. My rule of thumb for working with choirs who struggle to stay in tune is that accidentals are an insurance policy for this issue, and more accidentals is akin to a more expensive coverage.
Unfortunately, key signatures with more than 3 accidentals will send the organist into a nervous meltdown. Solution: spare him the trouble of having to learn at all and boost your choir’s competency by singing a cappella. If the music is written in C, provide the pitches in B or in D-flat. The only singers who will experience difficulty singing in a key other than the score-specified indicated are those with the affliction of perfect pitch, and as that consists of ~0.01% of the population, their frustration will be easier to deal with than that of the entire parish.
Lastly, remember the KISS of peace: Keep It Simple, Stupid. The most understated problem of church music programs is beautiful music sung in an unbeautiful fashion. Anyone and everyone will complain about Marty Haugen and David Haas due to their questionable origins, theology, and utter lack of musical and poetic effort. Lazy writing is indeed a major issue, but lazy performing is easier to fix.
Occam’s Razor and Murphy’s Law are a question of when, never a question of if in any musical setting: secular or religious, instrumental or vocal. Quality of the performance of music during Mass will more efficaciously lift the hearts and minds of the congregants to God rather than the quantity of impressive musical techniques used by the music. The mode I Jesu Dulcis Memoria with a good vocal blend will attract more people to the Church (and by extension: the parish’s music program and ledgers) than the Missa Papae Marcelli sung out of tune by a choir of retired opera singers and chainsmokers.
Go, and make a beautifully prayerful song unto the Lord. Saints Cecilia, Gregory the Great, and all choirs of the Holy Angels, pray for us!
We hope you enjoyed this guest article by Andrew J. Lerner.
