Posted on 06/02/2014 1:42:10 AM PDT by markomalley
One of the more prominent features of Protestant denominations over the decades was hymn singing. Get in your time machine go back 50 years, to any Protestant denomination, and you would find every member of the congregation on their feet, hymnal in hand, singing quite loudly, even harmonizing the old familiar hymns: Onward Christian Soldiers….Amazing Grace….When the Roll is called up Yonder….More About Jesus….Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow!
Catholics congregations were rather different. Low Masses in Latin were common where there was little or no singing. High mass featured complex music that a trained choir largely handled. And the few hymns the Catholics did know quite well, were generally not sung with the gusto anywhere near that of the Protestants.
I’ll admit, I’m a big fan of the metrical hymns of the Protestant tradition. One of the regrets I have is that, in the years just after the Second Vatican Council when vernacular songs were permitted, was that we did not borrow more heavily from the English and German traditions of hymns.
Hymns are stately, easy to learn, and have memorable melodies. They were also metrical, which meant that they were sung to a steady beat and almost never had the complicated rhythms of many modern church songs. Congregations have a hard time singing syncopated rhythm (a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected which make part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat).
Many of the old Protestant hymns, especially those from the English tradition, are actually magnificent translations of the Latin hymns of the ancient Catholic Church. Many of them also beautifully paraphrase the Psalms. As such, their themes were biblical, and richly theological.
A beautiful example of this is the English translation of a verse from the beautiful Hymn by St. Ambrose (Veni Redemptor Gentium):
Thy cradle here shall glitter bright,
and darkness breathe a newer light;
An endless light that shines serene,
Where twilight never intervenes.
And there is this line from the well-known English him For all the Saints:
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long;
Steels on the ear a distant triumph song
and hearts are brave again and arms are strong
Alleluia!
One final example is from the grand hymn O Worship the King:
Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
I love to sing and listen to these old hymns, I love to play them at the organ.
But lo and behold, it seems the old hymns are dying out, even in many of the Protestant denominations, especially those of the Evangelical sort. Paradoxically, many of the old mainline Protestant denominations which are theologically and morally very liberal are one of the few places where the old hymns are still sung. Many of the Evangelical denominations which adhere more closely to biblical teachings and morality are now using Christian contemporary music which seems to have largely replaced the old hymns.
But most Christian contemporary music, is really music to listen to more, than to sing, and certainly is not designed to be sung by a large group of people.
Here are some excerpts from a recent article article at the Holy Soup Blog by Thom Schulz: (I add a few remarks of my own in plain red text)
Looking around the church last Sunday I noticed that the majority weren’t singing….That’s been the case for years now–in churches large and small. What used to be congregational singing has become congregational staring…. (Looks and sounds like a average Catholic Congregation)
What happened to the bygone sounds of sanctuaries overflowing with fervent, harmonizing voices from the pews, singing out with a passion that could be heard down the street? I suspect it’s a number of unfortunate factors.
Increasingly, the church has constructed the worship service as a spectator event….It seems it’s paramount for church music to be more professional than participatory. The people in the pews know they pale in comparison to the loud voices at the microphones. (Yes this is certainly the case in most megachurches which are even built like theaters and many of the services look more like a production than a worship service.
[Further] The musicians’ volume is cranked up so high that congregants can’t hear their own voices, or the voices of those around them, even if they would sing. So they don’t sing. What would it add? The overwhelming, amplified sound blares from big speakers, obliterating any chance for the sound of robust congregational singing. Yes, I learned this as an organist, that if I played too loud, people stopped singing. The singing of the faithful needs to be supported and accompanied, not drowned out and overwhelmed. In some Catholic parishes volume from musicians and even lectors and preachers is a problem too where even smaller church structures have massive PA systems that overload the listeners rather than enhance their listening).
Sometimes people refrain from singing because the songs are unfamiliar, hard to sing, or just cheesy…I long for an environment that evokes my real heartfelt vocal participation. As stated above it is really rather difficult to get a larger congregation to sing syncopated music. Clear metrical music is better if congregational participation is desired. Just because some song by a soloist sounds nice doesn’t mean its easy to sing. I get the impression that a lot of Catholic contemporary music is really written for soloists and then forced on the congregation who vote with their mouth which stays shut during the song. All the wild flaying of a cantor’s arms doesn’t really change the situation either. If something is singable for a congregation, the wild gesticulation of the lady cantor is not needed.
At any rate, I’ll just conclude again by saying that I favor metrical hymns for congressional singing and there is a noble history of some five hundred year on which to draw. There are some nice Gregorian Hymns too. I know the combos is bound to find more than a few comments about ditching hymns too and sining the Introit, gradual, etc. But honestly the number of parishes that can accomplish that reasonably are few. Further, even if a trained schola exists in your parish, the topic here is conjugational singing. Sadly, that reality seems to be disappearing even in the denominations which once resounded with hymns and enthusiastic singing by most of the congregation. Its too bad really.
I’m interested in your experience of congregational singing. I find in most parishes that less than 20% even make a pretense of singing. My own congregation is a bit of an exception since we use a lot of Gospel hymns and music that are very easy for the congregation to sing; lots of refrains and memorable melodies. What of your parish?
The Church of What's Happenin' Now!
"Bringing in the cheese
Bringing in the cheese,
We shall come with George and them,
Bringing in the cheese."
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
That's a good one! :-)
Kid's have also been known to deliberately change the lyrics of some songs. I remember this version of the chorus of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" when I was very young:
"Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!
Teacher hit me with a ruler
I knocked her on the bean
with a rotten tangerine
Now there ain't no teacher no more!
Baritone or upper bass(2nd bass) to a lower tenor(2nd tenor). Just a “dime a dozen” baritone.
We can use anybody who can manage anything near the tenor range - most of our basses are the basso-profundo type and they complain bitterly when they have to sing baritone. I sometimes wind up singing tenor in a pinch, but I don't like to because it contracts my upper range if I do it too much (I'm a true contralto with a range from about D3 to (sometimes) F5.)
My old high school chorus teacher hoped I would become a show singer someday...alas other priorities...think Gordon McCrae (Oh what a beautiful mornin’...oh what a beautiful day) and that is my range though I can handle all the Messiah bass parts(when I’m fortunate enough to be a part of a choir that’s singing it during the Christmas or Easter seasons). When I’m warmed up and singing in a small group I can manage a decent sotto voce and squelch the vibrato when I need to.
Legato, legato... May God keep you connected and smoothly flowing in his Spirit, American Mother!
Our choirmaster likes to hit the 'sweet spot' between the absolutely straight "Anglican tone" and too much vibrato.
He says it should be used for emphasis only and not as a matter of course.
You just missed our "Messiah". We sang quite a bit of it at my daughter's wedding too. We also sing the Purcell "Rejoice in the Lord" a/k/a the Bell Anthem, which is fun for bass/baritone. They have some really good bits.
The Bell Anthem as sung by Alfred Deller (one of the first modern countertenors) and the Deller Consort, long, long ago! (I remember this recording from my youth in the 1960s!) - I also remember Gordon MacRae - our usual Sunday musical program was Bach before church and musical comedy afterwards.
Of course, we don't have a viol consort which is the way it's supposed to be performed. But so it goes (I don't imagine there are 3 viol players in the entire city).
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