Hearing voices...

One of my favorite classes in college was 18th Century Counterpoint. Loved it! Here, finally, were the rules I wanted to learn to follow and live by when writing parts for choirs, instruments, etc.  As a young student I was determined NEVER to stray from these 'proper' techniques.  Everything I would write or arrange would be correctly voiced from here on out.

Yep. Sure.

Well, aside from not having enough voices in my parish choir to carry full SATB on a regular basis, or the ability for all the singers to learn it quickly enough (especially for weekly liturgical songs), or simply because the song didn't require it...I had to learn how to adjust, and fast.

A lot of contemporary liturgical and worship music, for example, is voiced for SAT, leaving the basses wondering what they are supposed to be doing. Often times we are looking at a lead sheet with 2 or 3 voices written in. The first few times you give that to your choir the basses think they are part-less, and the tenors complain that their part is on the treble clef!  However, I think this can actually work to our advantage when singing and learning liturgical music.

The following excerpt from "O Saving Lamb" by Tom Booth can help me illustrate a few points. Here we have a beautiful melody with some simple, nice, harmonies surrounding it:

If I were to use this arrangement (and I do very often) I would teach it to my singers like this: sopranos sing the melody, altos take the bottom harmony, and the tenors take the top harmony an octave lower. It would look like this in lead-sheet format:

I would tell the basses to sing the melody in their octave/range. It would look like this on two staves:

Or like this in actual choral format:

Now that breaks a lot of 18th Century Counterpoint rules.  There is a lot of parallel motion, improper doubling, etc. But what are we trying to accomplish?  For me, this does a few things:

1. Having the basses sing melody instead of writing a separate bass 'part' adds the lower register to the melody, which makes it stronger and easier to hear, which makes it easier for the assembly to sing along. I want the assembly to sing with the choir on this song. If that's what we are trying to accomplish, this really helps. The melody is now sung by the highest and lowest voices.

2. Often times we find ourselves with fewer men in the choir on Sunday mornings. Asking for full 4-part singing is often difficult. Singing/arranging in the way I've described helps the guys 'hold their own', while helping out the assembly as well.

3. Having the tenors sing the upper harmony in their range (instead of the sopranos) keeps the voices closer together. If the sopranos sang that part in their range, they would be 'out-voicing' the melody, making it difficult to hear.

I am, in no way, suggesting that we abandon all classical training and skills in singing OR arranging SATB for choir.  I am merely saying that sometimes simplifying the arrangement can be very helpful for both the choir and the assembly.

SATB in 18th Century Counterpoint is awesome, but is not always the best method to apply. It depends on the song, and, perhaps what you trying to accomplish.

DECEMBER 30, 2012 – Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph 

(These songs are off of my planning notes for this particular Sunday, which means I am strongly considering using them on these days. After each title I’ve added some thoughts to consider.)

(Click on titles for links to their respective pages.)

In addition to the traditional Christmas hymns which are often sung on this day, here are a few other suggestions:
 

Better Is One Day by Matt Redman (CCLI) – A must-learn standard in contemporary worship music, easily singable by the assembly. In addition to worshiptogether.com's website, this music can be found in WLP's Voices As One vol. 2 and OCP's Spirit and Song 2. 

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Build a Family by Ed Bolduc (WLP) – "May we be holy in our lives." Originally written as a theme song for my own parish of Saint Ann's, this song has found place in many parishes as a theme song, and especially on the Feast of the Holy Family.

Suggested use: Entrance/Gathering, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Dismissal

Holy Family by Danielle Rose (WLP) – beautiful song from Danielle that speaks right to the heart of the Holy Family. "Mary, be our Mother, Joseph, be our guide...Jesus may your name be glorified." (From the CD I Thirst.) The assembly could learn the whole song, or just join in on the refrain.

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Lord, Bring Me Home to Your Temple by Paul Tate (WLP) – a beautiful bilingual setting with a very simple, recurring melody in the refrain. (From the CD Forever Will I Sing.)

Suggested use: Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

Love One Another by Feargal King (WLP) (From the Wedding Collection CD Love One Another)

Suggested use: Song of Gathering/Entrance, Song of Preparation/Offertory, Second Communion

 

 

No Greater Love by Matt Maher, Chris Tomlin, and Audrey Assad (CCLI) - "To the city, to the world we go...There is no greater love than this." An upbeat and engaging song of dismissal with a very 'catchy' refrain. A soloist could lead the verses, but all will catch on eventually if you use it often enough. (From the CD Alive Again.)

Suggested use: Dismissal/Sending Forth

 

Please share your song ideas with me and I will post as many as I can so we can all share our knowledge of resources. Remember, what works for one parish might not work for another. We should be open-minded to all styles and preferences of music. As long as the music serves the liturgy, it may be listed here.