HEN I ENTERED the conservatory, its director was SIMON CARRINGTON. Since the choral program had 650 singers, Professor Carrington was part of a large faculty. The head of choral methods was Dr. James Daugherty, and he often emphasized that a choral sound only begins once you have a minimum of three singers on each line. (With only two, one voice will always dominate the other.) Something I have stressed constantly on this blog is that an ensemble of soloists isn’t the same as a choir. The sound can be beautiful—but it’s different than a true choral sound. Many professional “choirs” aren’t choirs at all; they’re soloist ensembles. But an “ensemble of soloists” will never sound the same as a true choir. It’s helpful to remember that the term GREGORIAN CHANT in German is: Gregorianischer Choral. The plainsong repertoire has specific moments for soloists: e.g. the middle section of each Alleluia or the verse of each Gradual.
Before I continue, here’s a live recording of our ladies singing the ENTRANCE CHANT on 8 December, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Listen to the section starting at the 0:37 marker:
Kaitrin Drost • That was our volunteer choir singing. At the last moment, I asked my friend Kaitrin Drost if she could sing the soloist sections. Don’t you agree the results were excellent? There’s something fabulous about alternating between a true choir and an ensemble of soloists or cantrix. The ear likes contrast.
Ecclesia Dei • I have spent my life involved with religious orders currently known as “formerly Ecclesia Dei institutes.” In many ways, they truly prioritize the sacred liturgy—and this is marvelous. But in other ways, they don’t. Consider a certain TLM conference that took place several years ago. There were something like 200 seminarians and priests along with bishops and cardinals. But the choir providing the music for the entire conference consisted of four (!) singers. My friends, this is not respect for the sacred liturgy! Sacred music is integral to the rite. Why could they only muster four singers? The ‘choral’ sound was quite faint—so weak it was barely perceptible. Many TLM parishes have 30 or 40 altar boys carefully dressed in cassock & surplice, but only a handful of singers. This is not healthy. I submit to you that there’s room for improvement in this area.
Concluding Thoughts • While I don’t want to ‘bash’ our culture, there’s something wrong with us. We no longer sing. But Monsignor Skeris reminds us: “the new man sings a new song.” He is speaking of humanity, which has been redeemed by Christ.
1 They justify doing this because hiring a lot of singers is expensive. But an ‘ensemble of soloists’ isn’t the same as a true choir. For example, it would be incorrect to call four (4) barbershop singers a “barbershop choir.” That’s a quartet: an ensemble of soloists … not a choir.
