Y COLLEAGUES, Andrea Leal, Jeff Ostrowski, and Dr. Alfred Calabrese have recently written articles with helpful tips on working with young singers. Today I’ll chime in on this topic and offer repertoire suggestions of my own. On September 15, Andrea wrote, “I cannot claim to have advanced scholarly knowledge of music and choirs,” but then provided practical tips I believe to be much more useful than scholarly knowledge anyway. I echo Andrea’s assertion that “children make the best choristers.” And I’ve come to similar conclusions about the need to tailor rehearsal lengths and formats to the ages of the students.
Irreplaceable Pipeline • The most important takeaway here is that choir directors who underestimate children risk missing out on a reliable pipeline of singers. I’m grateful to the many “choir families” in my parish who bring child after child to my door. Church music requires a major time commitment, but families form strong friendships as they all earn countless merits together. On September 23, Alfred wrote, “It takes a steady hand and a strong personality to start and grow a children’s choir program.” Indeed! A choir director must manage people of various temperaments and levels of development, showing fatherly or motherly love while enforcing appropriate standards of artistry and conduct.
As Alfred notes, it’s essential to build a strong parent support system. A youth choir can’t survive without buy-in from parents. Years ago, I encountered a Mom who refused to bring her daughters to mid-week rehearsals because she felt they were already the best singers in the choir. This was a parent who didn’t understand what a choir is, how it functions, and why it exists.
Three Ideal Motets for Children:
Let’s assume you’ve navigated all the pitfalls and established your youth choir. What to sing? I was glad to find myself unfamiliar with most of the works my colleagues recommended. Isn’t it comforting to know that there are countless good pieces of music out there for those who care to look? Now, our parish doesn’t have a separate children’s choir, nor do I select pieces specifically for children. Like Andrea, I believe young singers can and should form the soprano section of our SATB parish choir. Having said that, I’ll recommend three pieces that I believe are simple enough for children to learn yet satisfying enough for the full choir to want to sing.
(1) “In Te, Dómine, Sperávi” (Hassler). As I noted in a 2021 article on this website, the thought of attempting Renaissance polyphony with a young choir may seem intimidating. But this canon by Hassler is straightforward, and the soprano and alto lines imitate each other at an interval of a fifth. You could have your young voices learn both the soprano and alto parts, and then divide them up evenly before bringing in a quorum of tenors and basses to flesh out your choir. By the way, my colleague, Jeff Ostrowski, recently posted a wonderful round (“canon”) which children love.
(2) Adoro Te Devote (Ferrari). I trust you’ll be starting off your children’s choir with a healthy dose of Gregorian chant. Not only is chant the official music of the Catholic church, but it will teach your youngsters how to listen and blend. Once they’ve learned the Adoro Te Devote chant, consider having them learn Ms. Ferrari’s rendition, which I wrote about in 2023. This motet revolves around the chant melody, supporting it with simple harmonies. If your kids can manage the chant, they can learn this motet.
(3) “Mission” Ave Verum. Many years ago, before I had arrived at my parish, a choir member discovered a delightful two-part Ave Verum in a book of music from the California missions. He made copies for the whole choir, and the piece became an instant hit. There was only one problem: the fancy old-fashioned script made the piece hard to read. So a few years ago, one of my current choir members transcribed the piece with modern music notation software. For this Ave Verum, have the children (and any women) sing what looks like the lower part, which begins on an F. You’ll recognize that it’s the traditional Ave Verum chant placed in a time signature. Have all the men sing the part that begins on an A. Since their voices will come out an octave lower than those of the children, they’ll be singing a sixth below the melody for the entire piece. This may sound too simple, but believe me, it’s a delicious piece.
Once You’ve Begun, Keep Going:
Working with young singers has its ups and downs. As my colleagues have stated, children can amaze you with their aptitude, enthusiasm, and progress. But you’ll have sessions where everyone seems “off” and you get little done. (The first music class or rehearsal after Halloween is always a struggle, for some reason.) Remember, we only have two choices: join everyone else in lamenting the current state of Church music, or keep training the next generation of skilled Church musicians. Don’t give up. Your work with young singers today will continue to bear fruit for decades after you die. And some of your best students will far exceed your accomplishments. Think of how many parishes will enjoy their contributions and how many students they, in turn, will train.
This is how we win, folks. So let’s get to work.
