Saturday, April 30, 2011

Mass of St. Ann


Hey all, just wanted to share the news that the Mass of St. Ann has been released, full score and CD. I know there are a lot of great, new settings out there, so I hope you won't mind one more!

Here's a link to World Library's Website: (there are sample pages and audio clips)

http://www.wlp.jspaluch.com/12130.htm

God bless.

Ed

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Different sounds make it…well…different.


Like most of you, I planned and played a ‘whole lotta music’ during the Triduum and Easter Sunday. While it is always a bit of a task to choose the music for every part of the liturgies, it is equally challenging to put together the musicians who will provide the arrangements…the sound…of every piece.


I like variety as much as possible. Even during college recitals I would get bored and fall asleep when it was too much of the same thing (i.e. all piano, all guitar, all soprano, etc.) even if the performance was great. I just wanted to hear different sounds from time to time. (Maybe that’s why I can’t seem to get through an entire album in one listening!) ANYway, I tried to apply that as much as possible to the different liturgies.


For the most part, the music for Holy Thursday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday was arranged for a contemporary band. We had drums, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, synth, and singers/choir. In addition, a trumpet, flute and violin on Holy Thursday and Holy Saturday added a nice change to the sound from time to time. With all of these musicians ‘at the ready’ it would have been easy to just tell them to play every song from beginning to end. Instead, the challenge…the fun…was to arrange each piece a little differently as need for the liturgical moment. One piece would start with piano, one with piano and violin, another with a full band. It just depended on what was called for by the moment in the liturgy.


Different sounds make it interesting. Different sounds add variety. Different sounds make it, well, different. When the assembly can predict exactly what they’re going to hear at the beginning of every song, the ‘surprise’ is left out. We don’t often hear violin in our parish (unfortunately) so when we started “Our Blessing Cup” by Marty Haugen on Holy Thursday for the Responsorial Psalm with violin and piano, you could almost sense the assembly’s surprise and delight. A well-executed soprano duet on verses 2 and 3 really enhanced it further, along with the addition of the bass guitar and choir (on the refrain only). We kept it light, which was a nice contrast to the Haas ‘Glory to God’ we had sung just moments earlier in all its ‘glory’ with full band and voices!


Many of you, I’m sure, use organ a lot more than I. It’s not the main, driving instrument at our parish. Piano is the norm. However, for Holy Thursday I really wanted to use the organ to create just the right tone for the transfer of the Eucharist. After choosing the right registration, I started playing “Pange Lingua Gloriosi” and it was a welcome change from the instrumentation we had been using up to that point. A solo voice cantored while the assembly joined in beautifully.


My main reason for choosing this subject for this week’s blog is that I’ve never heard so many comments about a single service before, namely the “Holy Thursday” liturgy. People couldn’t stop talking about the use of the violin throughout and the organ during “Pange Lingua.” It was different, it was special, and it was extremely musical. By adding some instruments, creatively arranging each piece, and begin sensitive to each moment, it really seemed like we truly “set the tone” for the music of the Triduum this year.






Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Holy Week...Whole Lotta Music

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I like to make a chart of all of my song selections on a dry-erase board in order to see the different weeks/liturgies side by side. It helps me to see all of the recent weeks at a glance for comparison sake. Needless to say, with the additional Holy Week liturgies, I began to run out of room in the music office! The white-board was full with the weeks leading up to Palm Sunday, so I had to add some extra paper for Holy Week: Holy Thursday, 3 Good Friday Services, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. A lot of blanks...a lot of songs. A challenge...and a privilege to choose the music our community will sing at these beautiful and important celebrations.

Every song choice is important.

Every song serves a purpose in the liturgy.

Add to that the fact that there would be many, many visitors to our parish liturgies in these coming days. The music needs to work for everyone. You can't just choose music your particular community is familiar with singing. It needs to appeal to everyone. It needs to engage everyone. It can't just be the latest, most popular songs. A good mix of tradition...combined with solid, familiar songs...combined with new and fresh music...that's my goal for this weekend's music.
 
And, for the most part, there will be different musicians at all the masses. Some will have drums and bass, some will only have piano, some will have a choir, some will have a solo cantor, etc.
 
I've spent a good deal of time going over the selections and instrumentation to do my best to help enhance these celebrations. It's been wonderful working with the rest of our liturgy and audio/visual team to find creative and effective ways to celebrate with our community. I've welcomed their comments about years' past and their suggestions for this Holy Week as well. We're a team. It's not MY music. It's not MY ministry. It's ours.
 
It's a lot to think about!!! 
 
So, this weekend we'll be singing everything from "Jesus Christ Is Risen Today," to "Pange Lingua Gloriosi," to "Revelation Song."  We're using everything from a contemporary band to a traditional organ.
 
I'm looking forward to sharing our experiences in next week's blog.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Make Musical, Liturgical Decisions...Not Personal Ones

Continuing on last week's theme, I thought I'd expand on some questions and comments I've consistently heard from liturgical musicians regarding planning and performing music at liturgy.

1. Teens don’t like old songs.
Well, that’s just a broad, false, statement. The reality is that teens don’t like songs that don’t engage them. No one does. Don’t discount a song just because it was written a few (or many) years ago. If the song is a good song…use it…period! In the same way that you like to hear music on the radio that you know…songs that are familiar…songs that remind you…songs that are ‘old’…your assembly will embrace, often with enthusiasm, familiar songs with solid texts and melodies that enhance the liturgy.

The challenge is to choose a balance of old and new, familiar and unfamiliar, fast and slow. Make musical decisions; liturgical decisions, not personal ones. Remember, the assembly doesn’t think about these songs every day; they hear them once a week. You might think it would be too soon to repeat a song you did last week…but if it was brand new, and it went well, and it could support the liturgy…do it again. They will sing even more.


2. All of the planners and websites recommend this song over and over, but the assembly doesn’t seem to be engaged when we sing it at my parish.

Why doesn’t this song seem to be working? You like it, you enjoy playing it, but no one is singing the way you would expect. This is where it gets tough: sometimes we need to evaluate if our performance is affecting the song.

Tempo: Are you playing it too fast? Too slow? Are you rushing through the rhythms? Is the tempo dragging, putting everyone to sleep? BEFORE you start the song, sing through part of it in your head. Remember: the vocal part is crucial. Let that determine your tempo.

Vocal sound and style: How we sing/lead certain songs can really effect the overall presentation. Are you singing a pop-style song with a classical voice? Or are you using too many pop-style ‘licks,’ (turns, scoops, runs, etc.) distorting the melody so that the assembly can’t even recognize it? Or, simply, are you singing out of tune? It’s difficult to sing along with an out-of-tune melody. Setup a video camera and record your group. Listen back and evaluate your performance.

How is the balance of the instruments? Are the drums too loud? Is the piano too soft? Can you hear the singers? Too much guitar? All of these things can affect the overall presentation and invitation to sing. Listen and make appropriate adjustments.

Again, as we present and lead music week after week at our liturgies it’s important to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate our music and our musical performance. This is not to simply be critical of ourselves, but rather to be sure we are leading our assemblies the most effective way we can.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

How Often Should We Introduce New Music?

I get a LOT of questions from musicians who are leading ensembles/bands at different liturgies in their parishes. I thought it might be a good idea to share some of the most common ones here, along with answers that seem to stay consistent from  year to year.

How much new music do you do at your Mass?
Let’s face it– there are new songs being written every day. Some are incredible; some are average; some (like a lot of mine) never make it past the 1st draft. Still, the library of songs from which we can choose continues to grow leaps and bounds. That’s a great thing! We should celebrate that musicians are being moved by the Holy Spirit to share their gifts. So, how do we comb through all of it and choose what’s right for us? To what degree do we need to keep updating our repertoire?
Tough question. Obviously, we want to keep our music fresh, but not so that people don’t recognize the music when it comes time to sing. Too many new songs at one mass might be new and “fresh,” but it would also be a lot of unfamiliar music. Every song would be a challenge, maybe even intimidating; there would be nothing they knew. People would tend to sing much less.

At the other extreme, never introducing new music would assure the assembly knows the songs, but there is the danger of becoming stale. Even the best songs played every week will get old, not to mention the fact that you would be depriving your parish of some wonderful, new music.

So what’s the answer? How much new music should we do at Mass? Only you can answer that question. Every parish is different. Every music ensemble is different. Every liturgy is different. We need to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate how well we are performing our ministries, in this case, music. One suggestion would be to keep an ongoing chart of the songs played at a particular liturgy. Every week add a new column with the song titles. This way you can see ‘at a glance’ what songs have been played in recent weeks. Also, TALK TO YOUR PARISHIONERS! Casually ask them about the music. Ask them what they think of the songs. Do they feel invited to sing? Etc.

Keep track of what new songs really stand out; seek out which new songs are the most popular. Follow the publisher’s websites: OCP (spiritandsong), WLP, GIA, CCLI, etc. Which songs are they highlighting? Which songs get strong reviews? Which songs are consistently listed in the planners? Usually, this means the songs are solid, singable, and very useable for liturgy. But, check them out for yourself. Choose the ones that will work well for you.

Consider choosing a balance of songs for every liturgy: 2 solid stand-by’s, something leaning toward traditional, something contemporary, and something new. It’s a start­-­ a rough template to work from. It won’t always work, but it can be a good guide to get you thinking consistently and more balanced.

As we present and lead music week after week at our liturgies it’s important to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate our music and our musical performance. This is not to simply be critical of ourselves, but rather to be sure we are leading our assemblies the most effective way we can.

For more on choosing music, check out my January 20th blog, "A Lot to Consider." (scroll down to the list below)