:: St. Stephen's Musings ::

:: Thursday, May 20, 2004 ::

Liturgical Gripes Part IV: The "minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum" Problem

Part I
Part II
Part III

While Orthodox worship does not aim, primarily, at a pleasing aesthetic, the lack of well-trained choir directors in many parishes in the US is very sad.

Thankfully, this is not true in my home parish where our presbytera is a nationally recognized chanter nor was it true at at my previous parish where the choir director was a professor of music at a local college and first rate musician.

The point needs to be stressed that choirs really need to make sure they are committed to learning how to chant to the best of their ability so a) that the whole parish can clearly hear what is being proclaimed and b) that the music we offer to God is of the highest quality possible.

Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to plain chant? It is hauntingly beautiful and easy to learn. If we can't pull off classic Byzantine music let's not even try.

This is just a continuation of the previous point but parishes that have a dearth of musical talent should still join the choir in chanting or saying, at minimum, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed. The choir should be a leader in laity response, not a substitute.

Or, as I heard one choir director publicly announce to the parish: "This is church not a choir concert, folks."

:: Karl :: 7:56:00 AM [Link] ::