PLEAD GUILTY to living in a society which (increasingly) I no longer recognize. Many in our culture become millionaires as YouTube “influencers,” meaning they sit in front of a microphone all day prattling on about literally whatever pops into their head. Moreover, there’s nothing such people won’t say or do in their relentless pursuit of clicks, scandal, engagement, and notoriety. I have no idea who has time each day to consume their content. Their “stream of consciousness” videos frequently last hours! Pondering this makes me feel isolated from our culture—and I’m not ashamed to admit it.
Children’s Choirs • What grounds me to the real world is teaching real children music in real life. On our blog over the last few months, we’ve featured repertoire for children. In the past, I’ve said the only important thing when teaching children is having an abundance of excellent repertoire. I would like to amend this statement, and below I mention two (2) more important ‘ingredients’ when it comes to teaching children how to sing.
Example #1 • Before I do that, let me share a brief “follow up” to the repertoire recommendations I made a few weeks ago. For the second time ever, the children’s choir I direct sang with us at Mass on the FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. Here is a live recording of them singing the Entrance Chant, including video footage from the rehearsal in the church basement before Mass began:
Example #2 • And now let me release a live recording of CREATOR ALME SIDERUM from the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal which alternates between unison with organ accompaniment and a 2-voice arrangement. (If you follow the link to the ‘Brébeuf Portal’ you can download the 2-voice arrangement completely free of charge.)
Example #3 • Finally, here’s their first attempt at singing polyphony. First, they sing KYRIE VI along with the entire congregation (the children serving as ‘cantors’ each time). Then they launch into the polyphonic section. I’m not saying what they do is perfect—and we still need to get our rhythm ‘lined up’ with greater accuracy—but overall I’m quite pleased. In particular, the ‘treble’ sections of KYRIE VI strike me as having a very pleasant, full sound:
First Additional Tip • When it comes to teaching children how to sing, I’ve suggested that it’s crucial to have excellent repertoire. But something else must be borne in mind: every few minutes you need to switch to something else—to keep them engaged and make sure their minds don’t wander. That means the teacher must have plenty prepared. In particular, the conscientious choirmaster must “look ahead” many months in advance, so that at each meeting your students can make a little bit of progress.
Second Additional Tip • I feel we should also be teaching the children things that have ‘perennial’ value. Therefore, I always include tiny lessons in Lingua Latina, church history, and theology. For example, we’re currently working on a TANTUM ERGO from the Motecta Trium Vocum collection by Kevin Allen. I insist that each child not only has the Latin memorized, but can also translate each word. Several literal translations can be found in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal, such as this one:
But when it comes to the children, I make them learn each word—as it’s printed in the Saint Isaac Jogues Illuminated Missal, Gradual, and Lectionary on page 195:
We find clever little ways to remember what each one means. For example, cérnui means “prostrate.” So I talk about someone sitting on a chair. But if the chair is taken away (“chair-NO-i”) then I must lie flat on the ground. Very silly … but such things help get the point across. I’m still trying to think of an aid for prǽstet. Please let me know if you have any ideas!
Concluding Thoughts • Finally, I’d like to share a quote I recently read in Catholic faith in the Holy Eucharist (1922), edited by Father Lattey, SJ, Professor of Holy Scripture at Saint Beuno’s College, North Wales. The quotation comes from the Council of Trent:
“Neque enim haec inter se pugnant, ut ipse Salvator noster semper ad dextram Patris in coelis assideat iuxta modum exsistendi naturalem, et ut multis nihilominus aliis in locis sacramentaliter praesens sua substantia nobis adsit, ea exsistendi ratione, quam etsi verbis exprimere vix possumus, possibilem tamen esse Deo, cogitatione per fidem illustrata assequi possumus et constantissime credere debemus.”
Translated into English:
“It is not a contradiction that our Savior should forever sit in heaven at the right hand of His Father according to the natural mode of His existence, and that nevertheless His substance should be present sacramentally with us in many other places, by a mode of existence which, though we can scarcely express it in words, we can see (with minds illuminated by faith) to be possible to God and which we must steadfastly believe.”
May our Lord Jesus Christ be praised forever.
