Lucy E. Carroll has never actually attended a Catholic Mass in which a cantor belted out, \u201cHe\u2019ll be coming \u2019round the altar when he comes! He\u2019ll be coming \u2019round the altar when he comes!\u201d At least, that hasn\u2019t happened yet.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cI know that some people have used Stephen Foster music in a Mass,\u201d said the musical director at the Carmelite monastery in Philadelphia. \u201cI\u2019ve heard about people using the melody from the waltz scene in \u2018Beauty and the Beast\u2019 for the \u2018Gloria.\u2019 And I\u2019ve heard more than one report about people singing the \u2018Agnus Dei,\u2019 which means \u2018Lamb of God,\u2019 to that old song \u2018Send in the Clowns.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n\n
In many parishes, she said, pop songs and the modern hymnody inspired by them have all but replaced traditional hymns and, heaven forbid, ancient chants and actual Catholic anthems.<\/p>\n\n
This is old news. What many outsiders may not realize is that many Catholic parishes have, in the past decade or two, followed the lead of Protestant megachurches and now feature plugged-in \u201cpraise bands\u201d and worship-team singers \u2014 complete with solo microphones \u2014 who sway in the Sunday-morning spotlights.<\/p>\n\n
Legions of Catholics like this music, admitted Carroll. But many do not, including some younger Catholics who are drawn to candles, incense, sacred art and the mysterious melodies of ancient chants. In many parishes, she said, it may be time \u2014 as shocking as this may sound \u2014 to start a choir.<\/p>\n\n
Carroll is an unrepentant choir director. She believes there is more to being a Catholic musician than the ability to play some guitar chords while singing, \u201cHere I am Lord, Is it I Lord? I have heard You calling in the night.\u201d She can speak words like \u201cVictoria\u201d and \u201cPalestrina\u201d without flinching.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cMost people who lead music in our churches today are not trained to be liturgical musicians,\u201d said Carroll, an adjunct professor at the Westminster Choir College at Princeton University. \u201cThey do not understand that there is music that is sacred in nature and then there is music that is secular in nature. There is Christian music that would be totally acceptable at a revival service or a youth rally, but it is not \u2026 acceptable in a Catholic Mass.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
What should someone do if they want to start a choir? Carroll recently published a list of tips in the conservative Adoremus Bulletin (www.adoremus.org) that included:<\/p>\n\n
* Obtain the full support of the priest, including a pledge that he will praise the choir from the pulpit and cooperate with its efforts.<\/p>\n\n
* Find a choir director and an accompanist. It helps to have money to hire someone and the person must understand worship as well as musical notes on a page. Carroll suggests that parish leaders search at local high schools and colleges, perhaps even seeking out talented students seeking practical experience.<\/p>\n\n
* The best way to find singers is by personal contact. Do not, she emphasized, advertise with phrases such as \u201cDo you like to sing in the shower?\u201d The goal is to find choir singers, not soloists whose volume control is cranked up to \u201cwater buffalo.\u201d Avoid people who say, \u201cI\u2019ll be there for Mass, but not rehearsals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
* Start slow, perhaps singing at the same Mass once a month. Resist the temptation to hide your fledgling choir under a wave of instrumental sound. Train the singers to handle some traditional, a cappella (voices alone) music.<\/p>\n\n
* Start with unison music then let the choir sing \u201cantiphonally,\u201d with women singing one line and men the next. Then attempt canons and rounds, such as the anonymous \u201cDona Nobis Pacem\u201d that congregations have enjoyed for generations. Eventually, the director will learn who can sing soprano, alto, tenor and bass. At that point, the choir can try two-part chants and then easy anthems from a traditional Catholic hymnbook or by modern composers who write sacred music for use in Mass.<\/p>\n\n
The goal is for the choir to become a close-knit family of musicians who lead the church family in worship, said Carroll. She is convinced that soloists with microphones inevitably turn into performers.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe have to get away from the rock bands and the folks groups and the polka players and everybody else,\u201d she said. \u201cWe need to stop entertaining our people and get back to our own worship tradition \u2014 which is leading our people in the worship of God.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lucy E. Carroll has never actually attended a Catholic Mass in which a cantor belted out, \u201cHe\u2019ll be coming \u2019round the altar when he comes! He\u2019ll be coming \u2019round the altar when he comes!\u201d At least, that hasn\u2019t happened yet. \u201cI know that some people have used Stephen Foster music in a Mass,\u201d said the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[168,171,514,578,934],"class_list":["post-1384","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-catholicism","tag-ccm","tag-liturgy","tag-music","tag-worship-wars"],"yoast_head":"\n