Posted on 04/05/2007 12:54:38 PM PDT by Pyro7480
**Americans need to understand again the theory of appropriate dress**
Agree all the way. Bumpo!
When I say hiring leaders I include staff singers. My former episcopal choir director took that one step further and started hiring all of his students from his university job until there were 15-20 staff people, and they weren’t necessarily any better than the volunteers. The attitude seemed to be if they could just get the volunteers (said with a bit of a sneer) out of the way everything would be great.
yeah, OLW.
That is a beautiful Church. I love the altar rails and high altar. It’s awesome.
Last night the fire alarm went off during the Procession to the Holy Sepulchre, during the singing of the Pangue Lingua. It goes off all the time, but that was particularly obnoxious.
We sang the Pangue Lingua in English and then the congregation simultaneously sang it in Latin, which I liked. I was feeling irritated that we do so much Anglo stuff and not enough Latin and then I realized that we had sung three anthems during the service and they were all in Latin.
When I’m in a mood to be POd, I’ll find *something* to be POd about.
I try to firgive them if they applaud AFTER the mass, particularly if it’s for the paid organist. During the service is definitely a faux pas.
It’s great except when the fire alarm goes off during the mass! It’s a new building, and I’m constantly amazed that a new church was done so well.
And the acoustics are incredible.
Jesus had nice enough clothes that the Roman Legionaires all wanted them.
The Catholic Church is "the people".
Both my current choir and my former ECUSA choir are/were very welcoming of volunteers. Current choir is no-audition (that wasn't true of the ECUSA choir - even regular members had to audition once a year).
The problem is the tension created by wanting volunteers on the one hand, and having certain basic requirements for the volunteers on the other. Singing difficult music takes not only serious application, but also certain basic talents such as recognizing and holding pitch, tone production, and sight-singing. If somebody presents themselves to sing and can't do those things, you have a choice to make . . . and that's where the trouble lies.
Staff singers ameliorate the problem somewhat, because even mediocre singers are like sheep - if they have no leader they just mill around and bleat, but if they get a lead over they can follow with confidence. So with staff to anchor each section, you can take people in the choir who otherwise wouldn't be able to manage.
I have no formal musical training, other than having taken piano lessons forever, and singing in church, high school, and college choirs more or less forever as well. But it's all O.J.T.
I guess I'm now a professional because I got paid for a wedding gig once! (only took me 50 years or so to become a professional . . . < g > )
:-). I meant the author, not you, but if you like the adjective, help yourself from the dictionary!
However, in reference to the author, I don’t think there’s anything good, true, or beautiful about going to Mass and focusing on what the rest of the congregation is wearing. Just my opinion, of course.
Two problems: they don't know how to sing in ensemble, and they have massive egos (you NEED a massive ego if you're going to survive in the cut-throat world of professional singing. I've stood on the sidelines and watched for almost 50 years, and my mom was a professor in the music department of a local university.)
Me, I'm just a journeyman alto without much of a voice in terms of quality or volume. But I have a good straight tone with no vibrato, a good ear, and I can read music. I study my part, and if I do get lost (I won't say I never lose my place!) I know the other three parts well enough so that I can jump back in within a measure.
That's more valuable for a choir than a coloratura soprano who can't blend and is used to an accompanist following her.
The music is so bad that I don’t want to hear it. There’s no way I’m going to sing it.
LOL! A lady in my Renew group was recently complaining about the “operatic” singing at her mother’s Methodist church. Maybe they hired college music majors ...
. . . slight pause to go to the piano to retrieve the music folder . . .
Palm Sunday: Vexilla Regis (chant), Popule Meus (Victoria), Nolo Mortem Peccatoris (Morley). Latin Mass parts (chant based, composed by our choirmaster) for first Sunday
Holy Thursday: Ubi Caritas (Durufle), Ave Verum (Byrd), and Pange Lingua (in its entirety)
Good Friday: Popule Meus, Adoramus Te (Palestrina), When Jesus Wept (Billings), O Bone Jesu (Palestrina), and O Vos Omnes (Victoria)
Easter Vigil: Mozart Mass in C Major (Spaur-messe, KV 258), Laudate Jehovam (Telemann), Litany of the Saints (Becker) (the only modern work in the Triduum . . . relatively inoffensive and we had to put something modern in to mollify the Haugen/Haas fans)
Easter Sunday: Same, with the addition of the Cesar Franck Psalm 150.
AND the best news of all . . . we have successfully jettisoned the Haugen "Massive Cremation"! We alternate two chant-based Masses of our choirmaster's composition, one in Latin and one in English. He's a very good composer (apparently unhandicapped by a doctorate from Juilliard).
Where is your church? I didn’t know there were churches that didn’t use Gather or bubble-gum “Jesus is my Boyfriend” music. :)
Well, the issue of people wanting to make a joyful noise when that’s ALL they can make is a constant one. We have a lady with Down’s Syndrome (funny how you only see them in CATHOLIC churches) who can’t read music or sing a lick, but she has her spot in the back behind the risers, and she vests, and processes, and goes to communion with us. Sometimes I’ll be trying to find a pitch and she’ll pipe up and make it even worse, but I don’t mind, don’t mind one bit.
As far as talent, I think if a parish has the ability to do difficult music, that’s great, but there is plenty of great music that is not difficult that even small parishes can do. There have been several volumes of ‘Easy Anthems’ published, as you know.
I think I’m a lot like you. I never get picked to sing solos, but I (almost) always know my part, and I *like* reading new music. I enjoy the adrenaline rush of preparing the music on a weekly basis and whoosh! on to the next piece. I get bored drilling and drilling and drilling a piece for a concert.
Methodists loooove the big vibrato. Sets my teeth on edge.
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