Society of Saint Gregory

Here are a couple of useful devices I am trying out for the forthcoming 7th Sunday in ordinary time (C): (1) Communion Antiphon. My parish priest, who chooses all our hymns, wants to have the 'hymn' 'O Sacrament Most Holy' sung at communion. It has only one verse; so, as it stands, if you want to ex...

Picking up on the role of choirs exercising a liturgical ministry: It is worth noting that this can separate choirs from congregations. Certainly, this was what happened in the nineteenth century, both in the Catholic and Anglican churches. Note too that the 1958 Instruction by the Sacred Congregati...

It might be worth noting that 'choirs' come in all shapes and sizes; and their modus operandi can therefore be very varied. Before we accept or reject what they do, we perhaps need to be clear about what sort of 'choir' we are referring to. Here are some basic distinctions: but I am sure many more c...

Personally, I am not too concerned about definitions. However, I note that amongst many Catholics (and members of other Christian denominations) 'folk groups' have very negative connotations. The reasons for this seem to be twofold: (1) Complaints about the style of what they call 'happy clappy' mus...

Possible (new) composition technique/exercise for responsorial psalms/gospel acclamations using Gelineau type psalmody. Take the melody/motif used in your response and build it into the accompaniment (or instrumental descant) of your chant chord sequence as a piece of counterpoint. I tried this rece...

Arranging music for instruments: some notational tips: slurs, articulations, and phrase marks. When scoring music for instruments, it is worth noting that slur and articulation marks mean different things with different instruments and, for that matter, voices. Here are some useful pointers: (1) If ...

I note that the thrust of many comments here focus on the quality of performance and arrangement of music. In other words, perceptions of the worth of such music are in part determined by how effectively it is executed. If that is so, you might be interested in looking at and - better still - adding...

Can someone please tell me who originally said this, and if so, where/when? I once heard that it was attributed to St Augustine.

Thomas (Muir)

Some (possibly) useful odds and ends. (1) The second article about composing music by Alan Smith is out in the latest issue of 'Music and Liturgy'. (2) Useful technical exercises I sometimes have to do. Try rearranging an accompaniment designed for piano (or at any rate a keyboard with a sustaining ...

Writing for Upper Voices Here is something I recently picked up from a friend of mine. Apparently most women have the 'break' in their voice at roughly the same point. Consequently, those who can reach above an e or f (10-11 notes above middle C) can usually only manage this if they use vibrato. Tho...

If you are concerned about the quality of music composed for the Catholic Church, why not add some concrete technical suggestions to the thread 'tips for composers'? Better still, come along to meetings of the composers group - next one at Clifton Cathedral (Oct 14th). You might also find the first ...

You might note some useful tips about the use of Sibelius software in the 'Sibelius Software and instant Responsorial Psalms' thread. Personally, I like to work out material on manuscript paper and then transcribe it onto my Sibelius programme. Observe, though, that some of the ranges it gives for i...

Many thanks for this example, which I can confirm is quite correct. However, in this case, other readers might note that such results were only achieved in the context of compulsory weekly practices conducted in a ruthlessly efficient - and highly impressive - manner. It also built on a long traditi...

Just a little bit of history concerning the linkage between plainchant and the Latin liturgy. Plainchant in the Gallican Liturgies (many still in Latin) of C18th France was promoted as something for congregational singing. This theme was taken up by plainchant protagonists in the nineteenth century....

Picking up on one or two remarks about singing in mining villages, I just to correct a misconception. When I wrote about the attitudes of the congregation I work with, I was referring not to Durham, but to the Ribble Valley in Lancashire. I am afraid I have no first hand knowledge of miners singing....