St Martin's Episcopal Church in New Bedford MA
Our Choir
The Role of the Choir
A. Liturgical Role
[1 Corinthians 14:15, RSV]. First and foremost, then, choir members in their liturgical role must evaluate themselves according to the following guidelines:
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Take the time to be spiritually focused before beginning a worship service.
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Be on time and ready to sing when the service begins.
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Concentrate on the worship service, actively participating by making the sign of the Cross, standing, reverencing, and praying whenever appropriate.
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Learn about the structure and meaning of the various services and the changing cycles of the ecclesiastical year.
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Understand the meaning of the hymns and their significance in the service.
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Search for spiritual meaning in everything you sing. Remember, singing or chanting is not simply a performance, but an act of worship – “singing is believing.”
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Participate in the sacramental life of the church, such as receiving frequent communion.
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Refrain from creating distractions, thus separating yourself and others from the worship experience (e.g., milling around, passing notes, talking).
As St. John Chrysostom writes, “When we sing church hymns, we must be careful that we do not pronounce only the words with our tongues while our hearts wander elsewhere.” Every hymn, every phrase, every verse of the church service must be rendered clearly and fittingly. This requires singers who are inwardly committed not just to the music, but also, and primarily, to the Faith.
Choir of 2010
Choir of 2011
Choir of 2014
C. Outreach Role
Choir members offer significant amounts of their time and talents to the church, and thus serve as examples to others. The choir member’s role does not end on Sunday when the Divine Liturgy ends – rather, there are opportunities to encourage others to participate in the parish’s music programs.
Encourage others to join your choir.
Be supportive of those in the process of joining the choir – make them feel welcome and comfortable.
Be a “mentor” to newcomers by assisting them with the music, robes, line-up, and the like.
Be generous with your help and support of young people who come to sing with you.
D. Educational Role
Again, because choir members are not always trained musicians, they should take advantage of as many opportunities as possible to improve as church musicians. Choir members should participate in learning experiences that offer opportunities for them to grow in the use of vocal techniques, introduce them to new repertoire, and help them learn more about the services, music, and tenets of our faith. Likewise, choir directors, priests, and parishes should support their choir members’ quest for additional knowledge.
Work to improve your music knowledge even if you are not a trained musician. Continue to improve your music reading skills and vocal techniques, through the help of your director and/or by attending local, regional, or national church music events.
Work to improve your knowledge of the Liturgy, worship services, and the changing cycles of the year, through the help of your priest, your director, and/or by attending local, regional, or national religious education events.
B. Musical Role
Not all choir members are trained musicians, able to read music and experienced in singing with a group. However, even with “amateurs” and “volunteers,” choir members can grow in their knowledge of music and create a sound that matches the beauty of our services and their surroundings – the music, the chanting, the icons, the vestments all strive to be as perfect and beautiful as possible as we offer up worship to God. Choir members can enhance their church musicianship by attending to the following:
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Attend rehearsals. A choir is not a group of individuals wearing the same robe; it is a unit, a team, each supporting the other. This teamwork is learned through participating in rehearsals.
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Be punctual for rehearsals and all church services.
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Be respectful of each other, the priest, and the director. Even though singers may have good suggestions to offer during rehearsals, the director has the final word and works with the priest to plan and coordinate the music for the worship services of the parish. If you do have a suggestion, it’s best to offer it before or after the rehearsal so rehearsal time doesn’t get bogged down with discussion.
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Be open-minded to learning new music - refrain from “we have always done it this way.”
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Keep your eyes on the director for direction and cues.
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Mark your music with the director’s instructions and keep your music in proper order.
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Be sensitive to tempo, balance, dynamics, articulation, and phrasing when singing, according to your director’s instruction.
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Warm-up your voice before rehearsals and services, and use your singing voice at other times during the week.
E. Spirituals Role
St. Athanasius the Great, a Church Father of the 4th Century, beautifully summarizes for us the roles and responsibilities of choir members: “When a choir sings with the tongue and also with the mind, they greatly benefit not only themselves but also those who hear them. To recite the psalms with melody is not done from a desire for pleasing sound, but it is a manifestation of harmony among the thoughts of the soul.”
The great labor of a singer consists in this, that all the strengths which have been given to him from the Lord's talents he unremittingly applies to the glorification of God. Sing to the glory of the name of God, sing not only with lips and voice, but sing with heart, sing with mind, soul, will, desire, and zeal—with all your being. This is what it means to sing with understanding. The singing of the choir passes over to the hearts of those who are praying; if the singing proceeds from the heart, it meets the heart of the listener and so influences him to rouse him to prayer, to incite reverence even in those minutes when the heart itself is distracted and hard. Often it happens that those who enter the church without any eagerness toward prayer, begin to pray fervently and tearfully, and leave the church in quite another frame of mind, in a spirit of tender feeling and repentance. Such a revival is produced in them by the magnificent service and fine singing. And conversely, often it happens that those who enter the church with the intention to pray from the soul, to pour out before the Lord their sorrowful soul, when they hear scattered, careless singing and reading, themselves little by little become distracted, and instead of profit they find harm and they receive no consolation. Strive with all your strength to concentrate attentively on the words which you pronounce; pronounce them in such a manner that they come from the depth of your soul, which is singing together with your lips. Then the sounds of the vivifying current of your hymn will pour into the souls of those who hear them, and these souls, being raised from the earthly to the heavenly, having laid aside all earthly care, will receive the King of Glory Who is borne in triumph by the Angelic Hosts.
Amen…