Choir Conundrum

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I honestly don’t think it would cross anyone’s mind here to go look for someone to sing the Exsultet! from outside the parish, let alone outside our territory.
 
@emesine, easy solution: get your wife to be lector/psalmist and she can sing the psalm after the first reading. Easy as that, no conflict involved. And the psalms change every Sunday so there will be plenty of work and repertoire.
 
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I’ll need some help understanding this. Firstly, I need a kind youngin’ to help me with my jaw that’s dangling near my ankles. Would you be so kind as to pick that up for me? Secondly, The Exultet!?!? Thirdly, I was under the impression that recorded music is strictly verboten in the Catholic Church. Has this changed? Fourthly, My most profound condolences.
 
pianistclare said:
Ours flew in from D.C.
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Can you give me an idea of how you proceed to find a qualified person? Do you require your tenor to be Catholic? I’m very curious.

I’m also wondering what doing that would have cost your parish? For us to bring in someone from outside would cost at least 1/2 of the priest’s salary for the month. Just as an example, I’m flying out to our daughter-in-law’s mom’s funeral on Friday. It’s a 2 hour flight to the next province and just the flight cost me over $1000.
 
I never said he wasn’t a member of the choir. He’s away at Catholic University in D.C.
He flew home to do it over Easter break.
He’s the finest singer we’ve ever had in the choir, sang for the President, etc. Military performing choir, etc.
If he’s ever available we use him.
 
Oh, sorry, I misunderstood. Unfortunately we have no one with such talent on whom we could count for things like the Vigil.
 
That’s a shame…that part of the Liturgy is very moving when beautifully done.

I have, in the past, had many friends in the Community chorus, and have approached an accomplished tenor to come and sing it for us. He was a Methodist, and felt VERY honored to have been asked. He studied the music diligently, met with me for tips and to rehearse, and viewed it as a special privilege. He refused a stipend even.
It can be done. Ask around your community Someone always knows someone. 😉
 
My parish had a cantor do it because neither our priest nor our deacon can carry a tune all that well.

I echo those who say that they’re almost sure that prerecorded music in Mass is a big nono
 
Keep an ear out! Almost every parish has a hidden gem that the choir director has been working on for awhile, and sometimes they just ned a push over the proverbial edge.
 
Maximilian75 said:
Keep an ear out! Almost every parish has a hidden gem that the choir director has been working on for awhile, and sometimes they just ned a push over the proverbial edge.
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Not in our parish, and from what I’ve heard in the Anglican and United congregations, not there either, unfortunately. Our de facto choir director is learning it now so hopefully she’ll have it by next Vigil. The problem is that she has no problem with the recorded one so no incentive to buckle down and get it done.
 
Well, this may help you:

From Sing to the Lord A letter concerning sacred music by the USCCB
  1. Recorded music lacks the authenticity provided by a living liturgical assembly gathered for the Sacred Liturgy. While recorded music might be used advantageously outside the Liturgy as an aid in the teaching of new music, it should not, as a general norm, be used within the Liturgy.
 
I’m not in the US and, unfortunately, the only one who seems to concern herself with documents is me, from as far back as the day when I discovered there were documents that regulated practically everything in Liturgy. I can hand any number of relevant documents to this person and I’m going to receive the same response, “I’m sure God doesn’t mind.”

Thankfully, we’ve progressed a bit since the night that in a Liturgy meeting a priest stood up, shook his finger at me and, so red in the face that we feared he’d have a stroke, yelled, “We’ve never listened to Rome on anything before and we’re not about to start now!”
 
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The Pastor and or Bishop may have rules about who can cantor, but, if the Pastor is okay with a non-Catholic that is fine. There is no “rule” about it. Many parishes hire non-Catholics.
 
I’ve been in a number of parishes in Central America where there were no music books and you either knew the music or you didn’t. I wonder if it’s a financial issue in some places in North America as well.
 
EvelynEVF said:
I’ve been in a number of parishes in Central America where there were no music books and you either knew the music or you didn’t. I wonder if it’s a financial issue in some places in North America as well.
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In our case I don’t think it was has a financial basis.
Unlike many on these forums, before Vatican II we had never experienced a Dialogue Mass involving the congregation. The response to Dominus vobiscum came from either the choir or the altar server, never the people in the pews.

The community struggled when the Mass changed and the congregation was expected to respond. It took years before we heard more than a mumble because people were simply not comfortable with speaking in church. We had never sung in church either and we were not encouraged to do so then. Easy not to sing when you’re not provided the tools to do so.
 
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