F YOU SCROLL towards the bottom of this article, I provide a charming liturgical ROUND (“canon”) which I’m currently teaching to my children’s choir. We’ve been featuring some articles by colleagues—such the one by Dr. Alfred Calabrese and the one by Andrea Leal—which provide excellent repertoire for children’s choirs. Horowitz told Harold C. Schonberg: “If you grow up playing only Kalkbrenner, Henselt, and Czerny etudes, you will never become a pianist. Never! Impossible. You must know the great music from the beginning, be saturated with it.” But the tricky part is finding excellent repertoire for children. I mean repertoire that’s truly artistic, yet still within their reach. Repertoire that—when performed by your children’s choir—sounds impressive, dignified, and delightful.
(1 of 3) First Attempt • A few weeks ago, our children’s choir sang at Mass for the first time. They were supported by the females in our ‘normal’ parish choir. Here’s how the ENTRANCE CHANT (source) came out:
(2 of 3) First Attempt • The children’s choir also joined in singing GAUFESTRE, which they have been learning in preparation for the feast on 9 November (which replaces a Sunday). On that day, we will sing the Hymn by Father Thomas à Kempis arranged for 2 voices. Here is how GAUFESTRE sounded ‘live’ with the kids:
Round in honor of Saint Bryant • If you’re directing a children’s choir, you might want to consider using this LITURGICAL ROUND in honor of Saint Alexander Bryant (d. 1581). Saint Bryant was a Jesuit martyr who was tortured and put to death by Anglicans in 1581AD.
The ROUND is based on a work by Max Exner. In this edition, it’s been married to “Kyrie Rex Genitor” (Editio Vaticana) so that it works in the Ordinary Form as a choral extension.
On page 2, you’ll notice I created a harmonization for the ROUND. That is only to be used when teaching the ROUND to the children. I also provided a harmonization of the KYRIE from Mass VI (“Rex Genitor”) to facilitate participation by the congregation. For the record, that ROUND’s melody reminds me of a tune in the Brébeuf Hymnal called “Wareham.”
(3 of 3) First Attempt • I mentioned that my children’s choir recently sang at Mass for the very first time. One piece they sang was “Urbs Jerusalem Beata” as printed in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal. I like hearing the choir break into SATB harmonies at the refrain:
That was the first time
many of these children had
ever sung in SATB harmony!
