Help! Bad Music

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Miss_Renee

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About a year ago our pastor hired a new organist and gave her total control over the music and liturgy. At first everything was fine as she was a competent organist. But as time went by she decided to make some changes. One of the changes was the addition of cantors (our previous organist never used them).

Unfortunately, she brought with her a belief that a lack of musical ability was no impediment to being a cantor or a choir member. A fact that she is quite proud of as it shows how “welcoming and inclusive” our parish is. Needless to say, it has been a disaster for the PIP. Every Sunday we are subjected to the worst off-key caterwauling you have ever heard. They (the musically untalented) have even taken over the choir as the members who sang well simply gave up and quit. We have even had parishioners say they could stand it no longer and leave for other parishes.

We believe that the time has come (its past time actually) for someone to speak up and let it be known how unhappy many people are with the situation. So the question is…what is the best way to approach it? Should I go directly to the organist (who truly believes she is doing a bang up job) or to the new administrator (as the pastor who hired her as left)? Or is it a waste of time to even try? I truly don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings but the situation really does need to be dealth with before even I flee my beloved parish of many years. Any suggestions anyone?
 
I would approach the pastor. Going directly to the organist would probably hurt feelings and the message would get lost (or not be received at all).
 
Does the rest of the congregation sing as they should be doing? If everyone sings then the less talented members of the choir will have their voices blend in and sound much better…
 
Ilroy,

Yes the congregation does sing and often quite robustly if the hymn is a of a more traditional flavor versus say Lord of the Dance (shudder). Unfortunately, the cantors have been told to sing directly into the microphone the entire time which simply drowns out the congregation. Of course, they sing the psalms and during communion without the congregation. I considered offering the organist a copy of the USCCB’s “Sing to the Lord” which includes instructions for proper way to canter but figured it would come off as an insult.
 
Miss_Renee said:
Ilroy,

Yes the congregation does sing and often quite robustly if the hymn is a of a more traditional flavor versus say Lord of the Dance (shudder). Unfortunately, the cantors have been told to sing directly into the microphone the entire time which simply drowns out the congregation. Of course, they sing the psalms and during communion without the congregation. I considered offering the organist a copy of the USCCB’s “Sing to the Lord” which includes instructions for proper way to canter but figured it would come off as an insult.
Click to expand...
Aaaah…the old microphone trick to showcase themselves huh? I feel your pain then…
There might be a way to give them a copy of Sing to the Lord without coming across as insulting…maybe just come to her excitedly and say something like…“WOW, I came across this on the Bishop’s website and thought it would be a wonderful addition to our music here”…or some such thing that just makes it seem like you want to help the music ministry…?
Then, if it falls on deaf ears you might go to the pastor in a non-confrontational manner and see what he has to say…since he’s not the one who hired the organist, maybe he has the same thoughts as you and just needs to be backed up on this…?
 
Miss_Renee said:
Ilroy,

Yes the congregation does sing and often quite robustly if the hymn is a of a more traditional flavor versus say Lord of the Dance (shudder). Unfortunately, the cantors have been told to sing directly into the microphone the entire time which simply drowns out the congregation. Of course, they sing the psalms and during communion without the congregation. I considered offering the organist a copy of the USCCB’s “Sing to the Lord” which includes instructions for proper way to canter but figured it would come off as an insult.
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t necessarily give the organist “Snig to the Lord” because the document is flawed on a few things. However, the pastor needs to review the proper procedure with her. Do you not have a diocesan direvor of Divine Worship who can help? There are a lot of resources out there. Sometimes, when the diocese has a seminar, they will cover topics like this.
 
Miss_Renee said:
About a year ago our pastor hired a new organist and gave her total control over the music and liturgy. At first everything was fine as she was a competent organist. But as time went by she decided to make some changes. One of the changes was the addition of cantors (our previous organist never used them).

Unfortunately, she brought with her a belief that a lack of musical ability was no impediment to being a cantor or a choir member. A fact that she is quite proud of as it shows how “welcoming and inclusive” our parish is. Needless to say, it has been a disaster for the PIP. Every Sunday we are subjected to the worst off-key caterwauling you have ever heard. They (the musically untalented) have even taken over the choir as the members who sang well simply gave up and quit. We have even had parishioners say they could stand it no longer and leave for other parishes.

We believe that the time has come (its past time actually) for someone to speak up and let it be known how unhappy many people are with the situation. So the question is…what is the best way to approach it? Should I go directly to the organist (who truly believes she is doing a bang up job) or to the new administrator (as the pastor who hired her as left)? Or is it a waste of time to even try? I truly don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings but the situation really does need to be dealth with before even I flee my beloved parish of many years. Any suggestions anyone?
Click to expand...
I once had to endure a similar musical experience in a parish. I just offered up the experience as a weekly one hour mortification.

Paul
 
Sure you’re not at our parish? 🙂

Now, I’m not one to feel superior to anyone with regard to singing; I simply cannot carry a tune, and my total inability to sing is a sorrow, as I would love to be able to sing out in church. (When I “auditioned” for our high school chorus that allowed everyone, I was told to simply “mouth the words” for anything past my range of about half an octave…)

BUT…though there are a few folks in our choir with pretty voices, they are few and far between. The folks who most often, and enthusiastically, cantor have voices that are cringe-inducing (one of them is a fixture at local karaoke clubs, as well; clearly, he has no idea what he sounds like.)

Bless their hearts for giving of themselves, but can they not teach CCD instead??? It’s not as if we are a small parish - there are several thousand members, SOME of whom must be able to sing!!!

The pastor actually has a background in music, and the music director is a very talented man, but that choir.:eek: I’m afraid this is a fairly common situation, considering what I’ve heard in various churches. 🤷

I don’t know what to tell you, as I clearly haven’t had any ideas to help our own parish.
 
Trust me, I feel your pain. But I also sympathize with the organist. These singers may not be her first choice either, but she might feel that she has no right to “judge” or expell a singer based on their ability (or lack thereof). Why don’t you gather up some of the more talented in your congregation sign up for the choir together? Or at least take the opportunity to talk with her and volunteer to assist her in some way. Then you can subtly make changes that take you back to how it used to be.

My second choice, only slightly more passive-aggressive, is to steal the AV equipment. No mics, no problem!! 😉
 
kmleo said:
My second choice, only slightly more passive-aggressive, is to steal the AV equipment. No mics, no problem!! 😉
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Hah. That would make a great headline: “Microphones Stolen From Catholic Church, Perpetrator Says Music Is Horrible, (S)He Is Doing Congregation Favor”

Miss Renee, can you sing well? Maybe you could offer up your services and once everybody starts raving about how, “Oh, Miss Renee is such a good cantor, I wish they all sang like that!”, they’ll get the hint. 😃
 
Our parish has been bleeding members to other parishes and to the local Baptist Church. We hired a consultant to advise us how to staunch the flow. His encapsulated advice was, good singable music, good homilys, and a welcoming friendly congregation. We have good homilys, Father fired the liturgist-cum-music director, and we haven’t found a way to make grim, puritanical looking congregants hospitable yet. The music is improving. It is at the point that it is obvious to the casual observation by any weekly attendee that the Church is a lot emptier than it used to be. My advice:don’t wait around hoping things will get better. Act now. 👍
 
Thanks for all the great suggestions! I have been at my parish for many years and had no idea so many parishes suffered from the same problem. Guess we were fortunate to have an exceptionally talented organist (the prior one) for 30+ years.

I certainly wish that I could round up the good singers but, alas, they have all pretty much left for greener pastures. I used to sing in choir and trained quite vigorously for about 5 to 6 years, but age and lack of use has left my voice with much to be desired. But the idea of contacting the organist to volunteer my experience, such as it is, for the betterment of the choir was an excellent one. And then perhaps bring about positive changes. Who knows, it might work if she’ll go for it.

Otherwise I’ll have to go with contacting the administrator. I have never relished being reduced to complaining but its not nearly as bad as watching my lovely parish continue its decline (musically that is).
 
Two questions:
  1. Was she hired as ORGANIST–or as Organist-Choirmaster?
  2. Is this a VOLUNTEER choir, or paid choir?
Something else: Usual professional ethics call for the organist and choirmaster to resign after the new pastor come in; they remain in their positions only if the new pastor approves.
 
As an organist,I can tell you that if your organist does not appreciate some feedback, then she isn’t really doing this for God. I for one appreciate feedback from the congregation. I don’t want to hear that everything is great all the time…I want to hear about things I can improve on!
Approach her in a sweet way and try to talk to her. Or go to the priest. One or the other. This situation has to stop!
 
Was she hired as ORGANIST–or as Organist-Choirmaster?

She was hired as a Music and Liturgy Director and was given control over all music activities including the choir. I do know that she has no training or experience in music except for piano (yes, she put a piano in the choir loft - another travesty 😦 ) and organ lessons (but neither did our previous organist).

Is this a VOLUNTEER choir, or paid choir?

It is a volunteer choir, which was never a problem in the past as our previous pastors required a pleasant singing voice to join. That rule was eliminated upon her arrival.

RWMorris - I once offered feedback to her on behalf of a group of ladies (she had asked people to speak up) re: purchasing new hymnals. Our Collegeville hymnals were not old. I told her we all felt there was no reason to purchase new ones as our current ones were still in good condition. When she announced that she was purchasing Gather Comprehensive she told everyone that no one in the parish had objected to new hymnals (!) I guess she really wanted them. She is nice but rather aggressive (she wants what she wants 🙂 )
 
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