A SPACE FOR MUSIC

            Initially, in Christian celebrations the congregation, choir and priests sang in dialogue or common prayer in the vernacular of the people.  With the mandate from Pepin III and Charlemagne to use Latin and the Roman liturgy, music specialists then sang the chants for proper and ordinary parts.  Vernacular song was largely excluded from the eucharist.  By the late Middle Ages the Sanctus was the last song sung by the people at mass.  Over the next century presiders gradually read what should have been sung and eventually read silently instead of audibly.  The sung "high" mass and the read mass began to be differentiated. (Foley 79)

            However, it was impossible to keep the people from singing, so devotional songs like carols developed in all languages.  This singing was excluded from eucharistic worship. The appeal to return the vernacular language and music to the eucharist and all liturgy was one of the original mandates of Luther.  Music was returned to the assembly.

            Music is a gift of God. Music in today’s liturgy must always point beyond self to the word proclaimed, the rite celebrated, and is never an end in itself.  “Word is an oral enfleshed event, seeking a voice, longing for fulfillment in song, hymn, or dance.” (Bangert, 189)  Music carries prayer and allows it to go beyond words. 

We need to ask why we sing.  Marty Haugen says we sing to remember who and whose we are.  He says, “The hard reality is that songs stay in our memory long after sermons and creeds are forgotten.  Our memory is shaped by the songs we know by heart.  If the words are not in our hearts, how can we expect our congregations to take the word home in theirs?”  For example, most parishioners cannot remember a verse of Psalm 8, but most of them know “On Eagle’s Wings” by heart.   This supports establishing a common repertoire of good theological texts set to singable music.  It discourages changing the songs each week.  Research has also shown that the recessional song is hummed and sung in our memories all week long.

Music also involves movement.  The “human community expresses the impact of the universe upon it” in “three fundamental forms…: dance (unity of mime and rhythm), poetry (unity of rhythm and recitation), and music (unity of rhythm and melody).” (Uzukwu, 6, 30)  Ways of incorporating liturgical dance, perhaps as a processional journey or incensing ritual, are options to be explored.

Today's choir has many options for placement.  There are two critical issues to remember in reviewing those options.   First, the choir is a minister to the assembly, to support and lead its singing.  They are servants of the word, the rite and the community.  They are not performers to it.  There may be an occasional presentation piece such as during preparation of the gifts, but that is not the choir's prime function.  This coral sound is distinctly different than the congregational led song.  The microphone is a great power symbol today.  They should be used with discretion.  Our music leadership should foster a conversation of mutuality. The community blends with the choir or cantor.  The community should be able to hear itself sing.  Choir and cantors are servants and enablers.  They must invite the community to join them, and not overwhelm or dominate the congregation’s voice.  The Church’s primary musical instrument is the human voice, and all the baptized share responsibility for making music.  We sing for those who are absent and unable to join us.

            The second critical issue is that the choir themselves are also members of the assembly.  They should feel connected to it and be able to celebrate with it.  Proximity to or position within the assembly will aid this.  Also caution should be taken to minimize physical barriers like half walls between the choir and assembly.

            Natural acoustics that surround the choir are important.  Hard reflective surfaces below, behind and way above the choir aid in natural projection minimizing the need for sound reinforcement.  When sound reinforced, care should be taken in the appropriate decibel level.

Depending on the size of the choir, it may need risers for proper projection.  The risers can be permanent or flexible.  Each level should be at least three feet deep, four if to be used for instrumentalists.  Ideally, a larger choir should be curved to allow members to hear each other.

            There may be more than one choir or ensemble to consider.  The needs of all should be equally considered.  The service where the "main" choir sings should not be seen as having prime importance.  Are not all parishioners that come to every mass equally worthy of good music?  Development of strong musical ministries should be a priority of all communities, and adequate budgets should be provided.  Good music is not an option.  It is a necessity.

            The music space should be accessible to all who wish to participate.  A church should consider going beyond the minimum demands of code for this.

            Ideally, the choir is in fair proximity to the ambo since the responsorial psalm is to be led from there.  The cantor's lectern, if one is anticipated, needs good visibility for most of the assembly.  The lectern can be 20-30 feet from the choir or organ without delay problems, but requires a confident cantor.

            Multiple instruments for music are also a consideration.  The organ console should be with the choir.  It, however, can be 30 feet from the pipes or speakers before time delay is a problem.  A space for a piano should be discussed.  Also think about floor space, lighting, and mikes for such instruments as trumpet, violin, and harp.  Even if the committee thinks your church would never use such for Sunday celebrations, weddings do use them.  Many well-developed music programs have or would like to have hand bell choirs.  They take up a significant space, and their shape is not flexible.  Such a possibility should be discussed.

            The future use of an electronic keyboard or music sub master should be evaluated because they not only need space and location, but also have special sound reinforcement requirements that need to be planned for.

            An existing pipe organ can be relocated anywhere and revoiced.  The organ company usually recommends upgrades at this time.  If they are not done, they can be planned for.  If a new or used organ purchase is a possibility, form an organ task group before the schematic phase.  Pipes and/or speakers have special requirements that the architect will need to know.  More than one church has found itself at a standstill awaiting this decision.

            Ideally, the music space is located when the seating formation is discussed.  Every effort should be made not to sacrifice or compromise this space.  The next generation may deeply regret it.

            The late Ralph Kieffer, a noted Catholic liturgist, said, “Liturgy works on us the way water works on rock.  The more that the ritual music is “in the bones” of the community, the stronger will be the “Amen!”  Just as we cannot celebrate any sacrament well with weak symbols or half gestures, we can not have limited participation and expect a rich experience of sacrament.  We must have good music for all, and written music is only as good as the ministers who use them.

Ed Foley - Age to Age (resource for first 2 paragraphs)

Marty Haugen – Keeping the People’s song Alive

Mark P. Bangert, “Dynamics of  Liturgy and World Musics”, in Worship and Culture in Dialogue, Geneva:Lutheran World Federation, 1994

Elochukwu E. Uzukwu, Worship as Body language, Collegeville: The Liturgical Press, 1997

                                                                                                Reinhard November 2006