How to make plainchant work in a church service

One of the conversations that keeps coming up whenever I play for a funeral in a church is the frustration that so many clergy feel about the quality of the music in their regular services.

To take a random example, a perennial discussion I seem to get sucked into is that seemingly endless collective tantrum that is Catholic parish music.  I have long concluded that it would be better to stop thrashing such a dead horse -- the view that congregations must always sing something, anything at practically every Sunday mass.  This view usually cites various documents in the abstract without actually dealing with what the very items recommend, or demand.

About twelve months ago I was invited to attend a music committee meeting in one of the Catholic parishes where I occasionally play for mass.  An earnest gathering was warned by the music coordinator that something must be done to settle a steady repertoire of hymnody for the parish, sufficient to allow a reliable range of default music for the congregation.  This was after I remarked that the selection I saw on one week in the month seemed a bit narrow and failed to take account of the season.  I suggested that it might be more worthwhile to concentrate on singing the mass itself, rather than getting side tracked by hymnody.

These conversations, which are well-meant and arise out of sincere motives, miss the point.  So many Catholics cite "Vatican 2" in the abstract to say that things must be the way they are (which is to say, the Council Fathers seemingly decided music must henceforth be inadequate, always and everywhere).  Even a cursory glance at the documents of that Council, not to mention a host of other writings from the preceding century, suggests that the current hymn sandwich approach is far from ideal.  Looking further afield, Anglican music hasn't fallen over anywhere as spectacularly in the last 50 years, even where the Novus Ordo reigns supreme.  It would be better for Catholics to start with their own tradition if they want to find a way out of the rut of solemn low mass.

I'd like to focus here for a few paragraphs on introducing movements of the ordinary.  I have introduced movements of plainchant masses at each of the parishes where I have worked over the last few years.  Admittedly, I've phased them in during Advent and Lent, leading to the impression that they were a penance(!), but after they'd been mastered they became part of the ferial sound world as well.  This might help to explain my modus operandi.

My approach has rested on two pillars.  First, there needs to be a competent cantor, or a small group, that can lead the singing.  So many parishes spend valuable resources flying in cantors, who range in ability from cranks to geniuses.  It would be better to have three or four people who could collectively carry it off.  As a small group gets more confident, individuals become more willing to do short solos.  Better yet, a small group that makes a good sound, clearly enjoys the work they're doing and operates in a welcoming and affirming way, they will soon become a larger group.  Singers attract more singers.

Secondly, the chant really must be accompanied using the organ.  It is better to teach by ear, capitalising on the inherent call-and-response structure of items such as the Kyrie and Agnus Dei as a starting point.  The Sanctus can always be introduced using the echo method as well.  After a couple of weeks these short movements are usually part of the furniture enough to just jump straight in.  When two or three settings of these shorter movements have been mastered, only then is it time to move on with a Gloria or Credo to complete a cycle of mass movements.

There are several very fine collections of accompaniments for the ordinary of the mass, many of them available for free download.  Some useful resources can be found here and here.  Most congregants feel too exposed singing without some accompaniment.  In an Anglican parish, the simpler mass chants work well when approached this way, although they must be used in adapted forms to accommodate singing in English.  There are resources on the web that provide chant adapted to English words.  Pre-existing accompaniments can be adapted to fit these quite readily.

If music must be handed out, let it be transcribed into modern notation.  Purists might baulk, but the congregation must not be left floundering with a foreign style of notation if they are expected to join in.


Every time I get stuck in a discussion about Catholic parish music, I suggest this.  The response is invariable -- too hard, nobody wants to sing chant, and the organist isn't good enough to accompany it.  The fact is that some chants are harder than others, but, for example, Mass XI offers a straightforward setting that most people get to like fairly rapidly.  You don't have to start with the most difficult chants at the outset.  Most people outside the church think that plainchant is what we sing, and that's a factor that seems to be pretty blind to denominational differences.  And if your organist can hack their (mostly un-rhythmic, largely anti-musical) way through four hymns and selected movements of the parish's default mass setting, they might get something out of learning how to accompany chant.  Who knows, they may even enjoy it while improving their game...