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 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 REV. LOUIS FITZGERALD BENSON, D. D. 
 
 BEQUEATHED BY HIM TO 
 
 THE LIBRARY OF 
 
 PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 1(0 + 
 
MANUAL 
 
 Church Music 
 
 PREPARED BY 
 
 r 
 
 WILLIAM JOSEPH FINN, C.S.P., Catholic University of America 
 PROF. GEORGE HERBERT WELLS. Georgetown University, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Prof. Francis Joseph O'Brien. Choirmaster Gesu Church, Philadelphia 
 
 WITH PREFACE BY THE 
 
 Rev. H. T. Henry. Litt.D. 
 
 Professor of Gregorian Chant, St. Charles Seminary, Overbrook, Pa. 
 
 AND 
 
 INTRODUCTION BY 
 
 His Excellency, the Apostolic Deleqate to the United States 
 
 Vl 
 
 UoSup^t) 
 
 Aa#? 
 
 Zhe Bolpbin press 
 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
•(Imprimatur 
 
 PATRITIUS JOANNES 
 
 Archiep. Philadelphien 
 
 Die 20 Septembris, IQ05 
 
 Copyright, 1905 
 
 Qhe Bolpbin press 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Apostolic IBclegatton. 
 
 Washington, D. C, 
 September 22, 1905. 
 
 Reverend and Dear Sir : 
 
 I am glad to learn that, notwith- 
 standing your incessant literary labors, you are about to publish 
 a Manual of Church Music, composed in accordance with the 
 rules and spirit prescribed by our Holy Father, Pius the Tenth, 
 in his Motu proprio of November 22, 1903. 
 
 I consider the publication of such a manual most opportune 
 at the present time, and I have no doubt that it will prove of 
 paramount importance in the solution of those difficulties, 
 which, in the mind of many, hamper the putting into execution 
 of the Papal instructions. 
 
 The names of your co-operators, who are esteemed as some 
 of the ablest choirmasters of America and Europe, are a suffi- 
 
 (Hi) 
 
,v MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 cient guarantee for the soundness of the principles you sustain, 
 and consequently the Manual cannot but recommend itself and 
 have every assurance of success. 
 
 Unfortunately the edict of our Sovereign Pontiff has been 
 received by many in this country with misgivings as to the 
 possibility of putting it into practice. I trust that this timid- 
 ity will be overcome by the help of your Manual and by the 
 encouragement given by the happy results already obtained in 
 those churches where the Reverend Pastors, in obedience to 
 the Pope's orders, have courageously undertaken the desired 
 reform, guided by methods more or less similar to the one you 
 advocate in your book. 
 
 Indeed, it is to be deplored that in a country like this, where 
 so much zeal is shown in promoting whatsoever tends to en- 
 hance the dignity, majesty, and sanctity of our Sacred Mys- 
 teries, any hesitation should exist in endeavoring to bring 
 about such a necessary reform in church music. And the 
 more so because if the Gregorian Chant may appear in some 
 places difficult of execution, the same cannot be said of modern 
 church music which is also permitted. For, whilst our Holy 
 Father in the said Motu proprio regards Gregorian Chant as 
 the only chant which possesses in the highest degree the quali- 
 ties proper to the Sacred Liturgy, yet, taking into consideration 
 the progress which the art of music has made, admits also in 
 the Church modern music, provided that it be sober and grave, 
 containing nothing profane and in no way unworthy of the 
 liturgical functions. 
 
 Such being the case, what is the cause of the deplorable 
 hesitation we witness in the banishment of profane music 
 from our churches? I am led to believe that the cause of this 
 procrastination is to be found in the fact that our taste has 
 been vitiated and our judgment led astray by the constant use, 
 m our earliest years, of sensational profane music, and 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 consequently we do not now fully realize the value of eccles- 
 iastical music, than which nothing in connection with the 
 Sacred Liturgy is more sublime and beautiful. 
 
 Yet this is a matter of the gravest importance and deserves 
 our serious consideration. 
 
 Here we have the command of the Supreme Pastor of the 
 Church, emphatically given and binding in conscience bishops, 
 priests, and people. The edict does not intend to introduce 
 an innovation in the Church, but merely aims at the restora- 
 tion of an ancient discipline, which is essential to the decorum 
 and splendor of the Church of God. 
 
 On the necessity of this reformation of church music the 
 highest ecclesiastical authorities of every age and country, in 
 accordance with the wishes of the Sovereign Pontiffs, have 
 never ceased to insist. Even here in America, the Fathers of 
 the Third Council of Baltimore proclaimed as an abuse any 
 other music during the celebration of sacred functions and the 
 solemn oblation of the Sacrifice of the Mass, except such as 
 would " more efficaciously raise the hearts of men to God and 
 thereby add greater glory to His worship." 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding all this anxious care on the part of 
 the authorities of the Church and the last fervent appeal of 
 His Holiness Pius the Tenth, as yet, comparatively speaking, 
 very few are the pastors who have earnestly set themselves 
 to work to correct a practice so vigorously condemned as 
 derogatory to the sanctity of the House of God. What is the 
 cause of this aberration? It is said that it is difficult to fol- 
 low out our Holy Father's instructions. But such is not the 
 case, because, once admitted that, besides Gregorian Chant 
 which to some appears hard and difficult, modern music, pro- 
 vided it be in harmony with the sanctity of the Sacred Liturgy, 
 is also permitted, all difficulties are removed; for the execu- 
 tion of church music is far easier than that of the intricate 
 
vi MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 passages of some compositions which to-day profane our 
 churches. 
 
 It is also argued that the exclusion of women from the 
 choir would prove detrimental to our church services. It is 
 true that this regulation will encounter difficulties, especially 
 in small parishes and in country places, until school-boys can 
 be properly trained; and consequently in exceptional cases the 
 matter is left to the prudence and zeal of the bishops and 
 pastors. Here too, however, measures should be taken so that 
 the laws of the Church be complied with quamprimum. As 
 regards large parishes and cathedrals, this regulation cannot 
 encounter grave difficulties. What has already been accom- 
 plished since the publication of the Motu proprio in some of 
 our American cathedrals and churches, can be accomplished in 
 others if the pastors will only manifest sufficient zeal and set 
 themselves to work with earnestness and perseverance for this 
 much needed reform. Women singers could still be of great 
 service in the church. They could play a better and nobler 
 part : they could act as leaders in congregational singing, 
 which should be introduced in every church. 
 
 . Again, Ave are told that the introduction of such a reform 
 would lessen the number of worshippers. But facts prove the 
 contrary. The churches where pure ecclesiastical music has 
 been introduced are more frequented than others. But ad- 
 mitted that such a falling off in attendance should be feared, 
 would it not be much better for such lovers of sensational 
 music to remain out of the House of God, which is the House 
 of Prayer, than to profane it by their presence? However, 
 it is a pleasure to know that the vast majority of the laity, 
 tired of the morbid and sensational singing in our churches, is 
 anxious to see the injunctions of the Holy See carried into 
 execution. I have received not a few complaints from some 
 of the most distinguished members of the laity protesting 
 
INTRODUCTION. vii 
 
 against this flagrant violation of the laws of the Church and 
 against the profanation of the House of God by unbecoming 
 music. It behooves pastors to whom the care of souls is en- 
 trusted and who have to look for their edification, to see that 
 such scandals are removed. The Instruction of our Holy- 
 Father Pius the Tenth is clear and evident. It is directed to 
 the whole Catholic world. No nation is exempted ; and it has 
 a juridical and authoritative binding character everywhere 
 and upon all Catholics. " We will," says the Holy Father, 
 " with the fulness of our Apostolic authority that the force 
 of law be given [to the said Motu proprio], and we do by our 
 present handwriting impose its scrupulous observance on all." 
 
 After this formal declaration issued about two years ago, 
 what would one be led to think of some pastors who have 
 not as yet made a single move toward the desired reform; 
 who even forget their sacred mission to such an extent as to 
 permit, in open disregard of every Church discipline, the 
 printing of pompous programmes of objectionable music with 
 the names of the soloists, etc., as is practised in theatres and 
 concert halls, and the distribution of the same during the cele- 
 bration of our most august Mysteries? A parish priest who 
 permits such abominations in the House of God, or who has 
 not the power or courage to put a stop to such sacriligious 
 abuses, is unworthy of his high and sacred office. 
 
 Reverend Sir, I heartily bless your work the object of which 
 is to eradicate these evils. May it have a large circulation and 
 be crowned with success. 
 
 With sentiments of the highest esteem, I beg to remain 
 Most faithfully Yours in Xto., 
 
 IrJc^tj&z^Jlz, <Z? i k^£^rz>z^ *^C^<^£*^*k 
 
 Apostolic Delegate. 
 The Reverend Herman J. Heuser, D. D. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE Instruction on Sacred Music, commonly referred to as 
 -*• the Motu proprio on the subject, was issued at the Vatican 
 on the Feast of St. Cecilia, patroness of Church Music, No- 
 vember 22, I903. 
 
 That a subject which had already been treated copiously by 
 the immediate predecessor of Pius X should have been one of 
 the very first to be taken up by the recently elected Pontiff, 
 has been widely commented upon as well by our separated 
 brethren as by those of the household of the faith. It was 
 thought that Leo XIII and Pius IX, in their various pro- 
 nouncements on the well-worn theme, had uttered fully the 
 mind of the Holy See ; and the world at large was looking for 
 some startling declaration on topics of ecclesiastical and state 
 polity, which should either re-affirm or contradict the policies 
 of the great Leo. The feeling of surprise was perhaps natural 
 in the circumstances ; and yet the declared desire of Pius X to 
 " restore all things in Christ " should have led a wise observer, 
 familiar with the legislation on liturgical music and its failure 
 to attain the desired results, to suspect that the new Pontiff 
 must at some time rehearse the old, old story. That the re- 
 hearsal should have come so soon is to be interpreted as a 
 papal view of the really extreme importance of the issues 
 at stake. 
 
 The peculiar emphasis thus laid on the subject of liturgical 
 music was not misunderstood; and it is not strange that a 
 large discussion should have followed the pronouncement. 
 But this fact will not explain the really vast interest created; 
 
 (be) 
 
x PREFACE. 
 
 the widespread activities that immediately followed; and the 
 various voices of protest mingled with those of praise, as well 
 as the commentary of misapprehension or misinterpretation 
 mixed with that of elucidation, which signalized the wide- 
 spread discussion of the papal Instruction. 
 
 The real reason for all this lies, not in the novelty of the 
 Pope's action, but in its juridical and authoritative and bind- 
 ing character. Leo XIII had earnestly and insistently re- 
 commended certain reforms. Pius X has commanded reform : 
 " We do therefore publish, motu proprio and with certain 
 knowledge, our present Instruction, to which, as to a juridical 
 code of sacred music {quasi >a codice giuridico delta musica 
 sacra), we will, with the fulness of our Apostolic authority, 
 that the force of law be given, and we do by our present hand- 
 writing impose its scrupulous observance on all." 1 
 
 These are very strong words, even for a command. But 
 since every law must rely upon executive activity for its en- 
 forcement, the Pope concludes his Instruction with words of 
 almost pathetic exhortation to all concerned : " Finally, it is 
 recommended to choir-masters, singers, members of the clergy, 
 superiors of seminaries, ecclesiastical institutions, and religious 
 communities, parish priests and rectors of churches, canons of 
 collegiate churches and cathedrals, and, above all, to the dio- 
 cesan Ordinaries, to favor with all zeal these prudent reforms, 
 long desired and demanded with united voice by all; so that 
 the authority of the Church, which herself has repeatedly 
 proposed them, and now inculcates them, may not fall into 
 contempt." 2 
 
 These words of entreaty appealed to the hearts of all con- 
 cerned, just as the preceding words of command had appealed 
 to their consciences ; and forthwith the literature of the newly 
 inaugurated movement for reform in church music sprang 
 
 1 See The Ecclesiastical Review, Feb. 1904, p. 115. 2 Ibid., p. 123. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 XI 
 
 into being and was marvelously multiplied. But, as was per- 
 haps inevitable, various minds interpreted differently certain 
 parts of the Instruction, sometimes as to the exact meaning 
 of the paragraphs, sometimes as to the binding character of 
 the particular portion of the legislation thus treated of. 
 Again, to some priests and to some choir-masters the diffi- 
 culties to be surmounted appeared so formidable as to justify 
 a dilatory compliance, an attitude of prudent hesitation while 
 the matter of " ways and means " might be more maturely 
 considered. 
 
 To the simple-hearted seeker for clear information and 
 definite lines of procedure in the carrying out of the Pope's 
 command, the wide discussion must indeed have darkened 
 counsel. In some cases the discussion appeared to be of a 
 minimizing character ; in others, of an undoubtedly obstructive 
 purport. Technical language, appeals to tradition, sestheticism 
 mixed with archaeology, the scarcely veiled antipathies of 
 schools of interpretation in Plain Chant, questions concerning 
 the possible employment of female voices in extra-liturgical 
 functions, etc., etc., — all these distracting features were found 
 in a discussion which, meanwhile, was not carried on con- 
 sistently in one quasi-authoritative organ where the literature 
 of the subject, however involved, might at least be easily read 
 and compared, but was spread out over months of time and in 
 a large variety of periodicals — quarterly reviews, monthly 
 magazines, weekly and daily papers, in all the languages of 
 Christendom; so that even an earnest student might easily be- 
 come so perplexed as to give the subject up in despair of 
 ever understanding it. 
 
 Meanwhile, the curious fact remains that the subject is, in 
 itself, by no means difficult to understand, if treated with 
 discrimination by competent students of liturgy and of music. 
 Let the whole subject be gone over patiently by those qualified 
 
XI 1 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 for such a task by knowledge and experience, and what seemed 
 a hopelessly confused mixture of chemical elements in con- 
 stant ebullition will be found solidified into a beautiful and 
 shapely crystal — clear, definite, compact. This is what has 
 been achieved by the writers of the present Manual of 
 Church Music. All the subjects touched upon by the 
 Instruction have been carefully gone over by experts in liturgy, 
 in music, in practical technique of choir-training. The volume 
 is not merely a symposium of views and of articles; it is a con- 
 sistent structure, each of whose parts is related organically to 
 the others. The writers have not worked separately at their 
 several themes, but have brought their combined expert know- 
 ledge, in their various fields of study and of practical experi- 
 ence, to bear upon the problems presented by the Instruction; 
 so that each chapter represents a problem solved adequately, 
 not by one of the editors but by all acting in conjunction. 
 
 A perusal of the volume will show the value of the method 
 pursued. The end constantly kept in view is an eminently 
 practical one. There is nothing merely academic in the treat- 
 ment. Principles have indeed been set forth with sufficient 
 elaboration, but the theory has been developed only so far as 
 to make the practice more easily intelligible and feasible. 
 Every priest, every choir-master, every singer — in a word, all 
 those to whose spirit of zeal the Pope appeals in the last 
 words of his famous Instruction — should not merely possess 
 the volume but should carefully master the contents, so that 
 all may be enabled to forward the " prudent reforms, long 
 desired and demanded with united voice by all," and so that 
 " the authority of the Church, which herself has repeatedly 
 proposed them, and now inculcates them, may not fall into 
 contempt." H. T. Henry. 
 
 Overbrook Seminary, Pa. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction, His Excellency, the Apostolic Delegate .... iii 
 Preface, Rev. H. T. Henry, Litt. D ix 
 
 PART L 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Call for Reform i 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Recent Legislation Concerning the Personnel of Church 
 Choirs 5 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Organization of a Choir n 
 
 I. Boys' Section 12 
 
 II. Adults' Section 16 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Number and Proportion of Voices 20 
 
 I. Number 20 
 
 II. Proportion 22 
 
 III. Alto-Section 24 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 General Hints for Maintaining a Choir 28 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Choir and Organ in the Chancel 36 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Choirmaster 43 
 
 (xiii) 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 PART IL 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Distinctive Feature of a Boy-Choir 53 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 The Training of Boys' Voices 57 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Current Views on the Use of the Registers in the Boy- Voice . 65 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 The Technical Training of the Choir 69 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Rehearsals and Rehearsal-Room 74 
 
 PART III. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Gregorian Chant 79 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 How to Teach the Gregorian Chant 87 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Classic Polyphony 95 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Modern Music 102 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Congregational Singing 113 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Modern Hymnody 119 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 PAGE 
 
 APPENDIX I. 
 V Motu Proprio," Pius X 127 
 
 APPENDIX II. 
 Summary of Regulations Regarding the Use of the Organ, etc. 140 
 
 INDEX. 
 Alphabetical Table of Topics ... 147 
 
PART I. 
 
 THE ORGANIZATION OF LITURGICAL CHOIRS. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 The Call for Reform in Church Music. 
 
 THE question of our Church music has become within the last 
 year an absorbing topic for discussion. Since the publi- 
 cation of the Mo tit proprio, in November, 1903, there has been 
 much interesting speculation among the priests and musicians 
 as to the precise meaning of the document. " What does it 
 all mean?" they ask. "Does the Encyclical really apply to 
 this country? What is the tenor and scope of the new legis- 
 lation? Are we held by it to dispense with the services of 
 our female singers, and to venture into the unfamiliar mys- 
 teries of chancel choirs and Plain Chant? and, if so, how are 
 we best going to effect the change?" 
 
 Such queries are heard every day, for there has been con- 
 siderable doubt here as to the mind of the Holy Father. The 
 clergy and musicians were ill-prepared to face an ordinance 
 so subversive of the existing conditions, and from this point 
 of view it was but natural to expect some hesitation and lack 
 of enthusiastic response. Pastors have been so busily en- 
 gaged here in their priestly work that their attention in many 
 cases had been quite diverted from the importance of the musi- 
 cal portion of their services. The chief problem touching 
 upon Church music which can be said heretofore to have in- 
 terested pastors to any great extent, was how to keep the 
 members of the choir in peaceful and amicable relations, and 
 this serious, and often impossible, question once solved, their 
 
2 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 consciences have been quite at peace ; a stormy sea once calmed, 
 they were glad to leave well enough alone. Hence this for- 
 midable set of decrees, which demands that more of their in- 
 terest be directed to the music, has not met a cordial welcome 
 everywhere. The loyalty displayed in dealing with the ques- 
 tion, however, and the readiness to conform as soon as possi- 
 ble to requirements of the Encyclical so universally expressed, 
 give assurance that the present endeavor to consider the prac- 
 tical problems of the situation is opportune. 
 
 The custom of employing " mixed " choirs to sing what 
 have come to be called the " Standard Masses " by some 
 strange incongruity and forgetfulness of the true ideals of 
 ecclesiastical music, has so long prevailed among us, that it 
 was only with difficulty that some were brought to see the 
 purpose and advantages of this radical reform. 
 
 Some Catholics in this country have known no other than 
 the "mixed" choir; and at the first suggestion, a church 
 choir without female voices seems an anomaly and an im- 
 possibility; they are incredulous when told that boys — and 
 young boys of twelve and thirteen years of age — can fill the 
 place of the trained and experienced women singers whom 
 the recent legislation of His Holiness has debarred from 
 singing as a part of the official choir. It would be unreason^ 
 able to expect that such a state of mind could easily and 
 immediately reconcile itself to a prospect of conditions that 
 imply such a different point of view and such new standards. 
 The Encyclical must seem strange and mystifying to those 
 of us who have not yet realized how absolutely and completely 
 the present state of our service-music contradicts every ideal 
 and tradition of the Church. 
 
 The writer does not forget that there have been many earn- 
 est advocates here of the higher and truly ecclesiastical stand- 
 
REFORM IN CHURCH MUSIC. 3 
 
 ard of Church music, — many whose souls have been wounded 
 and whose aesthetic sense has been offended by the seculariza- 
 tion and extravagance which characterize the general tendency 
 of the music ordinarily performed at the liturgical services. 
 There are many, it is true, who for years have been trying to 
 excogitate practicable plans for restoring sacred music to its 
 rightful place, whose obvious ambition has been to check the 
 speed with which the usage of our days is receding from the 
 majestic simplicity of the Catholic ritual-music. But these 
 ardent enthusiasts for better conditions have been in the minor- 
 ity. It is almost impossible to avoid concluding, from the 
 music sung in most of our churches, that the characteristic 
 attitude of those who have had the direction of it has not been 
 one of earnest solicitude for the highest and truest ideals of the 
 Catholic tradition. 
 
 From this state of indifference His Holiness has awakened 
 us. He has told the world, with the full weight of his apos- 
 tolic authority, that music has an important place in the liturgy 
 of the Church, and that it must be guarded and attended with 
 the earnest care which is due any integral part of the sacred 
 offices. He has defined with careful precision the criteria by 
 which musical compositions shall be judged worthy or un- 
 worthy of performance within the sacred edifice. He has 
 ordered banished forever from our churches all that detracts 
 in any way from the solemnity of the divine services; he has 
 published " with certain knowledge," a number of canons in 
 the form of a " juridical code of sacred music," and he has 
 imposed " its scrupulous observance upon all." 
 
 These decrees call for a root-and-branch reform; they in- 
 volve so complete a change from the former condition that 
 those concerned have been puzzled as to just where to begin. 
 But it is evident that the meaning of the legislation and prac- 
 
4 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 ticable ways for its observance in our somewhat difficult situ- 
 ation are gradually becoming clearer. Our clergy have shown 
 so much good-will toward the wish of the Holy Father, that 
 we could not remain long without finding some means of cop- 
 ing with the difficulties which at first sight seem to make 
 impracticable a literal observance of the Encyclical. In many 
 dioceses commissions have been appointed to draw up the 
 plans best suited for carrying out the reforms in their various 
 localities. Already signs of a movement in the right direction 
 have appeared which, although they are only beginnings, in- 
 dicate a growing appreciation of the principles to which the 
 Motu proprio has so forcefully directed our attention, and 
 give hope that in the near future, our Church music will be 
 thoroughly purged of all the unbecoming features of the 
 present-day style. 
 
 With the new light that has come, and with the Encyclical 
 as a guide, it should not require much thought, if people will 
 look fairly into the question, to see that there is a wide hiatus 
 between the music performed in most of our churches and 
 the holy end to which it should be consecrated. Reasonable 
 contrasting of the established ideals of sacred music with the 
 style of compositions and the method of producing them which 
 have been in vogue here, must reveal in the end that it is but 
 the rare exception to find any even slight proportion between 
 them. We feel that this fact is becoming more generally 
 appreciated. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Recent Legislation Concerning the Personnel of 
 Church Choirs. 
 
 THE crucial point of the present situation arises from some 
 uncertainty as to the decree which requires the use of 
 boys instead of women in the soprano and contralto parts. 
 Perhaps the reason behind this legislation may not be so evi- 
 dent as the principle which demanded a purer style of ecclesias- 
 tical song. At any rate, there can scarcely be any doubt that 
 it is a lack of understanding of the ideal here in question, and 
 the timidity with which those concerned approach the difficul- 
 ties involved in conforming to it, that are the greatest obstacles 
 to the progress of the reform. One can hardly avoid the sus- 
 picion that there has been a good deal of interpreting, modify- 
 ing and explaining away of this decree on the part of those 
 who have never taken a copy of the Pope's letter and sat down 
 before it to study out its meaning. The decree itself is so 
 clear as to preclude any possibility of misinterpretation : 
 " Whenever, then, it is desired to employ the acute voices of 
 sopranos and contraltos, these parts must be taken by boys, ac- 
 cording to the most ancient usage of the Church." The note 
 that is struck in the concluding phrase, " according to the 
 most ancient usage of the Church/' is dominant throughout 
 the Pope's decree. In a preceding canon he asserts that " with 
 the exception of the melodies proper to the celebrant at the 
 altar, and to the ministers, which must be always sung in 
 
 (5) 
 
6 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 Gregorian chant and without the accompaniment of the organ, 
 all the rest of the liturgical chant belongs to the choir of 
 levites, and, therefore, singers in church, even when laymen, 
 
 are really taking the place of the ecclesiastical choir 
 
 On the same principle it follows that singers in church have a 
 real liturgical office, and that therefore women, as being in- 
 capable of exercising such office, cannot be admitted to form 
 part of the choir." 
 
 Being Catholics, we are accustomed to the use of authority; 
 we do not argue about it. And apart from the consideration 
 of the pros and cons a decree of the Holy Father determines 
 finally our course of action. But, as is always the case, there 
 are valid reasons behind this authoritative pronouncement. 
 The story of the development of ecclesiastical chant shows that 
 from the very beginning there was a marked tendency to con- 
 fine the music of the liturgical services to a selected body of 
 male singers. In 320 the Council of Laodicea decreed, that 
 " No one is to sing in the church but the canonical singers 
 who mount the lectern and sing from the book." Leo the 
 Great, in the next century, established a choir of men to chant 
 the canonical hours, and later, we note the rise of scholae 
 cantorum for the training of the boys and men who were 
 selected to sing at the ecclesiastical functions. The fact that 
 these singers bore the title of subdeacons is significant of the 
 estimation in which their office was held. The words of Mr. 
 Edward Dickinson, perhaps the most eminent historian of wor- 
 ship music in this country, are to the point : x " It is certainly 
 noteworthy," he says, " that the exclusion of the female voice 
 which has obtained in the Catholic Church throughout the 
 Middle Age, in the Eastern Church, in the German Protestant 
 Church, and in the cathedral-service of the Anglican Church, 
 . Hi ■ History (J the Western Church, p. ; ; o. 
 
PERSONNEL OF CHURCH CHOIRS. y 
 
 was also enforced in the temple worship of Israel. The con- 
 viction has widely prevailed among the stricter custodians of 
 religious ceremony, in all ages, that there is something sensu- 
 ous and passionate (I use these words in their simpler original 
 meaning) in the female voice — something at variance with the 
 austerity of ideal which should prevail in the music of wor- 
 ship. Perhaps, also, the association of men and women in 
 the sympathy of so emotional an office as that of song is felt 
 to be prejudicial to the complete absorption of mind which the 
 sacred function demands. Both these reasons have undoubt- 
 edly combined in so many historic epochs to keep all the offices 
 of ministry in the House of God in the hands of the male sex. 
 On the other hand, in the more sensuous cults of paganism, 
 no such prohibition has existed." 
 
 The principle which debars women from participating in 
 the functions of the official choir, fits in with the whole liturgi- 
 cal economy of the Church. The male choir is the best fitted 
 to accompany the liturgical offices, for there is a peculiarly 
 religious timbre in the concert of the boys' pure soprano and 
 alto voices with the heavier voices of the men. The spiritual 
 effects possible to such a chorus are quite impossible to a 
 chignon- choir. The charm of a boy's well-trained voice sing- 
 ing at the Holy Sacrifice and at the other sacred services, is 
 quite indescribable; its power is marvelous and mysterious; 
 it seems to tell of holiness and simplicity. There is a plaintive 
 sweetness about it that appeals to the souls of the worshipers, 
 and helps them to realize the sacredness of their surroundings ; 
 it has power wonderfully to inspire a sense of the sublime 
 beauty of the ritual and to call forth floods of unawakened 
 religious sentiment. Some years ago Canon Oakeley was 
 quoted in the Dublin Review as follows ; 
 
8 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 " There is something about the voices of boys which is pre- 
 eminently suited to the true idea of Christian praise, whereas it 
 is exceedingly difficult for singers of the other sex, especially 
 when accustomed to professional exhibitions, to tone down their 
 mode of execution to the ecclesiastical standard. It will be said, 
 I know, that male singers who have passed from the age of boy- 
 hood are liable to the same serious defect. This I do not deny; 
 but it is a great point to have even one-half of a choir free from 
 it; while, if I be right in supposing that by the substitution of 
 boys for females in the treble parts the whole choir would be 
 gradually purified and Catholicized, there would be a remote ten- 
 dency in such a change to give a more ecclesiastical character to 
 the musical services in general." 
 
 Travelers who have heard the boy-voice developed to its rich- 
 est possibilities — as at Farm Street, Westminster Cathedral, 
 Bfompton Oratory, St. Paul's Cathedral (Anglican), London, 
 etc., agree unanimously that it is in every detail and quality 
 thoroughly religious and ecclesiastical. And yet we meet peo- 
 ple here who are strangely opposed to boy-choirs. 1 " Boys 
 can do only mediocre work," is their argument; but one never 
 hears such an opinion from those who have listened to a 
 thoroughly-trained boy-choir. It is a misfortune that some 
 of the Catholic sanctuary choirs here have not been organized 
 or directed on anything like a scientific basis. There has 
 been a good deal of mediocre, if not inferior, work done at 
 times, with the natural result of prejudicing people against 
 the idea. It is almost impossible to exaggerate the effects 
 which can be produced with properly taught choirs, and it is 
 the earnest hope of those most interested in this renaissance of 
 holy traditions and better principles of Church music, that 
 
 1 " Boy-choir" has come to be used as a technical term designating a 
 choir of boys and men. 
 
PERSONNEL OF CHURCH CHOIRS. 9 
 
 those engaged in forming and directing these new choirs will 
 make their work a demonstrative argument, to all who fre- 
 quent their services, of the advantage of this reform. 
 
 It is sad to realize that we Catholics have let slip through 
 our fingers the rich heritage of the purer traditions of wor- 
 ship music, and that on being summoned to readjust our 
 customs to these traditions, we are driven to look outside the 
 fold for assistance. The affectionate care which has been 
 bestowed upon the music of other churches — especially by the 
 directors of the choral services of the Anglican Church — has 
 done much which will help us in confronting the difficulties 
 of perfecting our own Church music. For it must be con- 
 fessed that, with the exception of the Caecilien-Verein and 
 the Solesmes School of Plain Chant, there are few institutions 
 which have treasured up the traditions of the old Catholic 
 centuries and perpetuated what may be called the classical 
 music of the Church. And even these two schools just named, 
 though they help us in repertory, as shall be seen in the proper 
 place, give comparatively little assistance in the distinctive 
 training of boys' voices, for reasons more or less obvious. 
 
 " It is very interesting, and no doubt very profitable to talk 
 about the superiority of Gregorian and Palestrinesque music, 
 and the unique fitness of the boy-choir for church purposes," 
 is a common objection in these days; "but how are we, here 
 in America, a missionary country — where the Church is still 
 in its brick-and-mortar stage, where we have been glad and 
 grateful to furnish any kind of a respectable service — how 
 can we here and now make a change which involves such 
 difficulties and so many unpleasant issues?" 
 
 It is this practical view of the reform that is the stumbling- 
 block to many priests who have expressed a ready willingness 
 to enforce the decrees in their parishes. They are frightened 
 
IO MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 at the face-difficulties of the situation ; and, as has already been 
 said, the timidity with which they have been proceeding is 
 largely responsible for the comparatively little progress made. 
 That there are some difficulties in the way of an immediate 
 compliance with the letter of the law, even the ultra-enthusiasts 
 of the movement readily admit. But it must be stated, too, 
 that for the average city church, the installation and main- 
 taining of effective Gregorian chancel choirs is much easier 
 of accomplishment than the present attitude of some of the 
 clergy would indicate. 
 
 Whatever be the initial difficulty connected with the dis- 
 banding of the established mixed choirs, and the organization 
 of the others, it should be remembered that the results are 
 worth infinitely more. Loyalty to our Holy Father is at stake, 
 as well as the decorum of the divine services. 
 
 It is the hope of the Editors that this brochure will in some 
 way contribute to further a sympathetic discussion of the prac- 
 tical problems which the clergy and musicians are called upon 
 to meet and solve in the present crisis. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 The Organization of a Choir. 
 
 THE musical equipment of the average city church is some- 
 thing like this : there is a good pipe-organ in the choir-loft, 
 and an organist (frequently a woman) of fair talent and some 
 musical erudition; the personnel of the choir includes a paid 
 quartet, or at least some singers who receive reimbursement,, 
 and a chorus of men and women of the parish, who are usually 
 willing and reliable. The musical library consists of a col- 
 lection of the so-called " Standard Masses," and many figured 
 musical settings of the most frequently recurring offices and 
 anthems ; Palestrina or the later composers of the strict contra- 
 puntal school are but feebly represented upon its shelves, and 
 anything like an equipment for Gregorian services is con- 
 spicuously wanting. The pastor may think, further, that there 
 are but few boys in the parish who seem to be available for 
 choir purposes. Finally the church is built most likely with- 
 out a chancel, and the seating of a sanctuary-choir would be 
 a difficult problem. 
 
 Most priests conduct their choral services with an outfit 
 something like the one just outlined, and they are asking them- 
 selves questions like these : " In dismissing my mixed choir x 
 
 1-1 Mixed choirs" is not used here, and throughout this book, in its 
 technical but rather in its popular meaning, i. e., a choir of men and 
 
 women. 
 
 (ii) 
 
12 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 will I not be abandoning a sure means of conducting Solemn 
 Mass and Vespers for a very uncertain means? What assur- 
 ance have I that a sufficient number of boys and men can be 
 secured, and that it will be possible to maintain a sanctuary 
 choir for a number of years in this parish? Must the organ 
 in the gallery be brought down and crowded into the apse?" 
 These and such like are the questions that are demanding an- 
 swers now and until they are answered, it is vain to hope for 
 a general introduction of the reforms. 
 
 The subject that naturally is of paramount importance here 
 concerns the material which is to make up these liturgical 
 choirs. Boys and men must be secured who will prove effi- 
 cient and reliable singers; and not only must provision be 
 made for the first beginnings of a choir, but a plan must be 
 predetermined upon for replenishing the choir with fresh 
 voices. 
 
 II. 
 
 HOW TO ORGANIZE THE BOYS' SECTION. 
 
 First, then, as to the actual organization of the boys' section 
 of the choir. Where can we get suitable choristers? The 
 answer to this question is based upon two facts, — first, in the 
 average city parish there is a parochial school or at least a 
 Sunday-school of fair size; secondly, every boy between the 
 ages of nine and fifteen, who has a musically correct ear, and 
 sound vocal organs, is a possible chorister-boy. 
 
 Perhaps it is well to advert here to the fact that there is a 
 very large area in the United States where, on account of the 
 extreme paucity of the Catholic population, and the insuffi- 
 ciency of resources, the parochial school system has been but 
 inchoately developed. Dioceses in this area can scarce reason- 
 ably be held to a literal compliance with the recent decrees. 
 
THE ORGANIZATION OF A CHOIR. ^ 
 
 But an examination of the conditions of the churches in 
 the cities and towns of our flourishing dioceses reveals that it 
 is quite possible, and in fact comparatively easy, for very many 
 parishes to secure plenty of good choir material. The statis- 
 tics of one diocese, picked at random from a number where 
 the general conditions are about the same, will serve as an il- 
 lustration. Taking the reports of the English-speaking par- 
 ishes only, we find that in the four parishes of the diocesan 
 seat, there are three schools, one including 129 boys, another 
 50, and the third 69. Four other towns make the following 
 reports : 
 
 (a) 4 parishes; 3 schools of 92, 73, and 221 boys. 
 
 (b) 1 parish; a school of 130 boys. 
 
 (c) 2 parishes; 2 schools of 80 and 102 boys. 
 
 (d) 1 parish; a school of 168 boys. 
 
 Comparing these figures with the facts that almost every 
 boy can be developed by assiduous and careful training into 
 an acceptable singer, and that a choir of thirty boys is adequate 
 for any of our churches, it becomes quite evident that, in the 
 diocese just referred to, and in very many of which it is a 
 type, the average parish can get a supply of boys' voices 
 without much difficulty. 
 
 The parochial schools, and where these are wanting, the 
 Sunday-schools, are the sources from which our choir-boys in 
 most cases must be selected. In these, boys are ready at hand, 
 and, with an occasional exception, in sufficient numbers to al- 
 low of careful discrimination in the choosing. Catholic boys 
 are glad to sing in their churches, and rarely express any 
 serious disinclination to the various functions and obligations 
 which the office imposes upon them. The school undoubtedly 
 will solve the problem of inhere to get boys for most priests; 
 further argument about this is unnecessary. What boys to 
 
14 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 accept, and how to judge of their efficiency and capability are 
 questions that require more detailed consideration. 
 
 What, then, is the criterion of a boy's possibilities as a 
 chorister? If a choirmaster must judge of a boy's availability 
 by the present sweetness of his voice, and the present fluency 
 of his solfa-^ing, then, indeed, the question of organizing boy- 
 choirs is effectually closed. If the ultimate criterion of a boy's 
 suitability for choir purposes is the state in which his voice 
 development is found to be upon examination; and if we are 
 to proceed upon the principle of demanding a proof of results 
 already attained, and of rejecting all applicants who do not 
 show themselves ready for immediate service, then those who 
 are urging the installation of these new choirs, here, and exert- 
 ing themselves to point out the possibility of it, have associated 
 themselves with a vain cause. But it is not so. The criterion 
 of boys' usefulness in the choir is not quite so unreasonable. 
 Were it so, a chorister boy must needs be found ready-made, 
 with all such qualifications as perfect tonal production, actual 
 musical training, experience, and the rest. And yet we ven- 
 ture to say that it has been a common enough idea among 
 musicians (most probably not more than a vague, half-defined 
 idea) that only such boys could be made effective members of 
 the choir. Many have never realized that very often the 
 prize material of a choir is made up of boys who upon their 
 entrance examination displayed a minimum of capability. 
 Choir-boys are made, not born. Every healthy boy who can 
 follow the intervals of the gamut, — who does not repeat the 
 same note eight times thinking himself to be rendering an 
 ascending scale — is an available choir-boy, other things being 
 equal. Dr. Madeley Richardson, of St. Saviour's Collegiate 
 Church, London, in discussing the kind of boys that may be 
 used, writes as follows : 1 
 
 1 Church Music, pp. 58, 59. 
 
THE ORGANIZATION OF A CHOIR. l c > 
 
 " With the mixed choir much depended upon securing singers 
 already qualified, who simply required a little preparation for their 
 choir duties ; with boys everything depends not so much upon the 
 selecting and securing of voices as upon the efficient training of 
 the individuals when secured. This was not in the least under- 
 stood when boy-choirs were first introduced; * indeed it is very 
 far from being grasped by the average church-goer now. The 
 widely prevalent notion still is that boys' voices are naturally 
 good, bad, or indifferent, and that whatever they are to start 
 with that they will remain; the actual fact being that it is pos- 
 sible by proper and skilful teaching to make almost any boy's 
 voice sound perfectly well and satisfactory, and that the one 
 condition essential to success in a boys' choir is a competent and 
 expert teacher. ... In selecting boys it must be remembered 
 that it is next to impossible to tell what a raw voice may be 
 capable of after training. Cases of really hopeless material are 
 very rare. . . . Do not be guided by the sound of a boy's voice 
 so much as by his general appearance and personal character. 
 Choose quick, lively, intelligent boys; avoid heavy, sulky, and 
 stupid ones." 
 
 Of course boys who have absolutely nothing of musical in- 
 stinct must not be accepted; they are worse than useless, be- 
 cause they constantly and irremediably sing off the pitch. A 
 few such boys in a choir would suffice to turn the most glori- 
 ous harmonies into a hideous cacophony. 
 
 Apropos of the selection of boys, Mr. G. Edward Stubbs, 
 choirmaster and organist of St. Agnes' Chapel, Trinity Parish, 
 New York, writes : 2 
 
 " Boys are useful as choristers when they are between the ages 
 
 1 Dr. Richardson refers to the introduction of boy-choirs into the Angli- 
 can churches. 
 ' l Training of Choir Boys, p. 20. 
 
1 6 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 of ten and sixteen years. Under ten, although they may possess 
 good voices, they are too young to evince sufficient musical and 
 general intelligence to be of much service. Over sixteen, their 
 voices are on the verge of mutation. . . . Bright, nervous, 
 energetic boys who are fond of music make the best choristers. 
 Those who are naturally indolent or deficient in musical instinct 
 should be habitually avoided, even if they have superior voices. 
 Boys of steady habits and fixed purposes are especially desir- 
 able, because they are not likely to give up their choir duties after 
 the novelty of singing has somewhat abated. Changeable choris- 
 ters are highly undesirable." 
 
 Monsieur Philippe Bellenot, the maitre of the famous choir 
 at St. Sulpice, says that he takes boys when they are nine or 
 ten. " Very little importance," he writes, " is attached to 
 their musical acquirements, often insignificant, but we are 
 careful to select those who have a good ear." 
 
 III. 
 
 HOW TO ORGANIZE THE ADULT SECTION. 
 
 The men's section is made up of singers who live within the 
 parish limits. These men form the substratum of the adult 
 portion of a choir, and for many reasons, such as their proxi- 
 mity to the church and their local interest in the parochial 
 institutions, they should be urged to join. Churches that have 
 strong sodalities of men have in these a valuable source from 
 which to draw the senior members. Priests may find some 
 difficulty at first in securing a full number of adult voices, for 
 not a few men are strangely timid about exercising the vari- 
 ous liturgical functions imposed by the ceremonial, and some 
 are frightened at the first prospect of being robed in cassock 
 and surplice. With a little ingenuity and patience, however, 
 a priest can soon remove all such apprehensions. As a rule, 
 
THE ORGANIZATION OF A CHOIR. 
 
 17 
 
 these only exist in districts where chancel choirs have been 
 wholly unknown, and after a time these fears disappear of 
 themselves. It has been said that some Catholic singers re- 
 fuse to sing with boys, " because it is too much of a humilia- 
 tion." Such individuals should scrupulously be kept out of 
 a choir, for they can but lower its spiritual tone and blunt its 
 enthusiasm. Dispirited, unenthusiastic people are not the 
 right material for such loyal and self-sacrificing service as 
 Catholic chancel-singers are called upon to give. The young 
 men of the parish are generally more to be depended upon 
 than their seniors of the former mixed choir. It is not diffi- 
 cult to arouse the interest of these younger men; and if some 
 inducements are offered, much good talent can be obtained. 
 
 After a choir has been organized a few years, the men's 
 section will be reinforced by quondam boy-choristers, who 
 commonly return to their choir duties when their voices have 
 changed. A well-known writer on " Church Choirs " has 
 said that, " the effect of educating boys for the service of the 
 choir will be that of supplying facilities for obtaining male 
 singers to take the lower parts as time goes on. Some of the 
 best tenors and basses in our London Catholic choirs have 
 been choristers in Catholic churches in their earlier years, and 
 the great advantage which they enjoy over singers who have 
 not had this preparation is that they are thoroughly acquainted 
 with the ecclesiastical portion of their work." It is certainly 
 noteworthy that those who have entered a choir as boys are 
 frequently its most enthusiastic supporters and very reluctantly 
 give up active service when business occupations or change of 
 residence prevent regular attendance at the rehearsals. 
 
 The number of men required will be determined by the 
 number of soprano boys. The correct proportion of parts 
 which must be maintained will be seen in a further chapter. 
 
18 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 With regard to the inducements which will serve to ensure a 
 supply of men when it is impossible to offer any financial 
 reimbursement, Mr. Stubbs writes : 
 
 " There are, nevertheless, many parishes of limited means 
 where the payment of numerous salaries is out of the question. 
 In such places the success of a choir depends upon the personal 
 influence of the rector and the musical abilities of the choir- 
 master. When no salaries are paid, the incentives to choir 
 work are : first, sense of duty in helping on the church by volun- 
 teer performance; secondly, musical interest engendered by the 
 choirmaster through his successful training, leading on to a 
 desire to sing from educational motives and for musical pleasure. 
 However selfish this latter incentive may seem, it is practically 
 the one to which, on the choirmaster's part, chief attention must 
 be paid. . . . The better the choir, the greater will be the num- 
 ber of volunteer singers." 
 
 Offer the men a good, practical and theoretical musical edu- 
 cation. Propose concerts and oratorio work. Promise to be 
 fair in assignments to the Requiem and Nuptial High Masses. 
 Many young men Avill be attracted to a choir that offers good 
 opportunities of developing and using their musical talent. 
 The rehearsal hours can be made instructive and recreative to 
 the highest degree, if the choirmaster or the priest in charge 
 is at all ingenious. Short talks on the life and influence of 
 the composers whose works the choir is studying; systematic 
 and careful study of excerpts from the compositions of the 
 masters ; occasional " smokers," sociable meetings, etc. ; all 
 these, and anything else that promotes interest, enthusiasm, 
 and good feeling, should be considered powerful means of 
 drawing men to the choir. In a word, if it is known that 
 a choir is conducted on thoroughly modern and up-to-date 
 methods, there will always be plenty of applicants. 
 
THE ORGANIZATION OF A CHOIR. IO/ 
 
 " When I began my choir," says Mr. Victor Hammerel, 
 choirmaster of the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, Provi- 
 dence, Rhode Island, " I tried 256 boys and 79 men. Out 
 of that number I selected the best voices, and kept a list 
 of those with good voices, but who were not needed just then. 
 All those belonged to our parish, which is not a very large one. 
 Now, after one year of existence, the difficulty for me is not 
 in finding singers, but in keeping them away." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 The Number and Proportion of Voices. 
 
 WHAT number of voices is necessary for an effective 
 chorus ? 
 It is needless to answer that no absolute norm can be estab- 
 lished for guidance in this matter. The quantity and quality 
 of the individual voices, the size and architectural form of 
 the church, — these and the other things which differ so in 
 various places make impossible a standard which can be ap- 
 plied with success everywhere. Yet it must be said that it is 
 a mistake to think large choirs necessary. The most perfect 
 boy-choirs in the world are comparatively small. Mr. S. B. 
 Whitney, choirmaster of the Advent Church, Boston, discusses 
 this point succinctly : 1 
 
 " It has become quite the custom in some of the larger churches, 
 especially in the West, to have large choirs of fifty, seventy-five, 
 and even a hundred voices; but this has never been found 
 necessary in the churches abroad, and though the church build- 
 ings are very much larger than ours, the conventional cathedral 
 choir will hardly ever number more than thirty or forty voices. 
 The choir of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, numbers fifty-four 
 voices, thirty-six boys and eighteen men. If this choir is ade- 
 quate for a church that can seat easily six or eight thousand 
 people, certainly we have no call for choirs in this country 
 
 1 New England Magazine, April, 1892. 
 
 (20) 
 
THE NUMBER AND PROPORTION OF VOICES. 2 I 
 
 numbering over thirty voices. The excuse for large numbers 
 is that a boy's voice by cultivation becomes softer, and therefore 
 the more cultivated it becomes the greater will be the number 
 of choristers required; certainly a mistaken idea, for, as we have 
 mentioned, in all preliminary vocal practice, the young chorister 
 is cautioned to sing softly, yet when the voice is thoroughly es- 
 tablished and located, constant daily practice will soon make it as 
 full and strong as it ever was before ; besides, it is now a musical 
 voice, and a musical tone will travel farther than a mere noise. 
 The most noted and effective choirs, either in England or on the 
 Continent, are, comparatively speaking, small choirs." 
 
 Mr. John Spencer Curwen, Fellow of the Royal Academy of 
 Music, London, quotes Dr. E. J. Hopkins as deprecating the 
 use of large choirs : " Nowadays," the passage runs, " every 
 one is for quantity, no quality, and coarseness is a prevailing 
 vice. We are .told of surpliced choirs of thirty-six voices, and 
 if we go to hear them, what do we frequently find ? A great 
 racket and shouting, certainly not music." 
 
 The present writer does not intend to condemn the use of 
 large choruses. By no means; for these are often wonder- 
 fully effective, and produce results which are altogether im- 
 possible to smaller choirs. He has quoted the statements of 
 these eminent authorities to make it plain that heavy choruses 
 are not necessary. In great cathedrals, however, the unison 
 parts of the Gregorian chanting would seem to call for a 
 large number of voices. But, as it is possible to get excellent 
 musical and religious effects from large and small choirs alike, 
 the matter is left to the tastes of individual priests and choir- 
 masters. Monsieur Bellenot's famous choir at St. Sulpice is 
 made up of " twelve soprani, eight alti, four tenors and four 
 basses, not counting the seminarians." The choir at the new 
 Cathedral at Westminster (a vast edifice) numbers only forty 
 
22 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 voices, — sixteen men and twenty- four boys, with eight of the 
 twenty- four boys in the probationers' class; and yet we are 
 hearing every day fresh reports of its marvelous effectiveness. 
 On the other hand, there are two well-known choirs at home 
 here — the best perhaps in Catholic churches — whose personnel 
 includes anywhere from seventy to eighty-five voices, — the 
 Boston Cathedral sanctuary choir, and the choir of St. Paul's 
 Church, in Fifty-ninth Street, New York. 
 
 II. 
 
 The proper balancing of the parts should be carefully 
 thought about, before a choirmaster selects his material. A 
 top-heavy choir can never rise above mediocrity. It is abso- 
 lutely essential that a correct proportion of voices be main- 
 tained, and yet we have had boy-choirs here, in which the so- 
 called alto section seemed to be ever striving to divert attention 
 from the sopranos, and in which baritone-tenors have been 
 introduced in such numbers as to make it almost impossible 
 for the listener to catch anything of the melodic theme in a 
 concerted piece. Occasionally, too, one hears a choir where 
 the soprano boys seem to be now stridently asserting their 
 rights against a disproportionate section of bassos, and now 
 plaintively pleading with them for their allotted share in the 
 ensemble. A choir of unbalanced parts can produce only 
 indifferent effects. A choirmaster in organizing, then, should 
 first have a definite idea of the number of soprano boys he 
 expects to employ ; from this he will be able to determine, ap- 
 proximately at least, the number of altos, tenors, and basses 
 which will be needed. A choir carelessly organized in this 
 respect — and unfortunately these are not altogether unknown — 
 always lacks that " something " which gives such an inex- 
 plicable charm to a well-balanced chorus. The usual advice 
 
THE NUMBER AND PROPORTION OF VOICES. 23 
 
 is this : sopranos should form one-half of the whole choir; the 
 basses should be next in prominence ; and there should be about 
 an equal number of tenors and altos. "As to balance of 
 voices/' says Dr. Richardson, " the aim should be to have 
 a fairly equal number of each of the three lower parts, with 
 a slight preponderance of basses, but a good deal will always 
 depend upon the power of individual voices. One bass voice 
 may occasionally be found which will equal in volume of 
 tone three others; and in these cases we must be guided by 
 tonal rather than by numerical strength. The number of 
 boys' voices should greatly exceed that of any one of the 
 lower parts. A good balance is obtained when they are 
 made to equal the sum of all the other voices together." 
 (Dr. Richardson evidently refers to choirs where the adult 
 male alto is employed.) Mr. John Spencer Curwen calls the at- 
 tention of his readers to the following table given by Mr. H. 
 B. Roney of Chicago, instructor of the famous Blatchford 
 Kavanagh. 1 
 
 Sopranos 
 
 12 
 
 17 
 
 25 
 
 37 
 
 50 
 
 Altos 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 14 
 
 Tenors 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 11 
 
 14 
 
 Basses 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 16 
 
 22 
 
 25 35 5o 75 100 
 Mr. Stubbs agrees that " when circumstances permit, there 
 should be as many men as boys in the choir." (He, too, is 
 thinking of choirs where the boy-alto is not employed.) " For 
 example," he continues, " to balance eighteen well-trained 
 sopranos, there should be eight basses, six tenors, and four 
 altos, if the alto part be sung by men. But voices differ so 
 much in force and carrying power that no definite rule can 
 1 The Bays' Voice, p. i5. 
 
24 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 be laid down as to proportion of parts. The best results, how- 
 ever, are obtained only where the choir contains a full number 
 of men. Care should be taken that the alto and tenor parts be 
 not too prominent." Mr. Stubbs adds a footnote, which has 
 a particular significance for our choirs which will render so 
 many parts of the services in unison : " Besides the harmonic 
 gain, bold unison passages ring out with telling effect when 
 the choir is plentifully supplied with adult voices. In small 
 choirs, where the boys are supported by a few men, unison 
 music is generally ineffective." 
 
 III. 
 
 This brings us to another important point, — the necessity of 
 care in forming the alto section. There has been a general 
 enough tendency to slight this part of the choir and to minimize 
 its importance. This is not fair to the alto voice, which is of 
 a very telling timbre and must be guarded and developed with 
 as much assiduity as the soprano. Sometimes, unfortunately, 
 it has been thought necessary to assign the alto parts to broken- 
 down trebles, boys whose soprano notes have become a pleas- 
 ant memory. This substitution of a counterfeit for the legi- 
 timate alto can never wholly be concealed, for each of the 
 four parts demands its proper and distinctive voice. 
 
 There has been much discussion among musicians as to the 
 availability of the boy-alto voice. Some have even felt that 
 such a voice is an anomaly, and that the real, genuine alto 
 quality which, it has been thought, comes only with mature 
 physical development, is exceptional in boys. Some men emi- 
 nent in boy-choir work have taken this side of the controversy, 
 while many other noted directors have been insistent in their 
 defence of the boy-alto. The question at best is not decided, 
 but we judge from the personnel of most choirs here — 
 
THE NUMBER AND PROPORTION OF VOICES. 
 
 25 
 
 Catholic and non-Catholic alike — that the preponderance of 
 opinion in this country is for the boys. It is important that 
 choirmasters who are about to engage in sanctuary-choir 
 work, should be thoroughly conversant with the state of the 
 question. 
 
 The man-alto and the boy-alto (we are convinced there is 
 such a voice) are two really distinct voices; the former is 
 merely a falsetto baritone and the latter is a pure and natural 
 voice. • In this connection John Spencer Curwen says : 
 
 " In English cathedrals, the alto part has been given ever since 
 the Restoration to adult men, generally with bass voices singing 
 in the ' thin ' register. . . . For this voice Handel wrote, and 
 the listener at the Handel Festival cannot but feel the strength 
 and resonance which the large number of men-altos give to the 
 harmony when the range of the part is low. The voice of the 
 man-alto, however, was never common, and is becoming less com- 
 mon than it was. It occupies a curious position, never having 
 been recognized as a solo voice. . . . This voice is entirely an 
 English institution, unknown on the Continent. Historians say 
 that after the Restoration, when it was very difficult to obtain 
 choir-boys, adult men learned to sing alto, and even low treble 
 parts, in falsetto in order to make harmony possible. 
 
 " The dilemma is that in parish churches, especially in country 
 districts, the adult male alto is not to be had, and the choice is 
 between boy-altos and no altos at all. There is no doubt, more- 
 over, that the trouble of voice management in the boy-altos can 
 be conquered by watchfulness and care." 
 
 Mr. Curwen, in preparing his book on The Boy's Voice, has 
 collected much information on this subject. We will here 
 quote two extracts of letters which he received from English 
 boy-choir directors. Mr. Taylor, organist of New College, 
 Oxford, is quoted as follows: "I can confidently recommend 
 
26 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 boy-altos in parish or other choirs, provided they are carefully 
 trained." And Dr. Garret, organist of St. John's College, 
 Cambridge, writes, in part : 
 
 " If I could have really first-class adult altos in my choir, I 
 should not think of using boys' voices. At the same time, there 
 are some advantages on the side of boys' voices. ( I ) Unless the 
 adult alto voice is really pure and good, and its possessor a skilled 
 singer, it is too often unbearable. (2) Under the most favorable 
 conditions, it is very rare, according to my experience, to find an 
 alto voice retaining its best qualities after middle age. (3) The 
 alto voice is undoubtedly becoming rare. 
 
 " On the other side, you have to consider: (1) The limitation 
 in choice of music, as there is a good deal ... in which the 
 alto part is beyond the range of any boy's voice. (2) A lack of 
 brightness in the upper part of some trios, etc." 
 
 It is not to the purpose to go further into this controversy. 
 It is sufficient to have indicated that there are valid reasons 
 for both sides. For our present practical purposes there can 
 scarcely be any doubt about the advisability of using boy-altos. 
 The writer has visited many choirs in which there is excellent 
 material for good alto sections among the boys. Two of the 
 most remarkable boy singers he has had the pleasure of listen- 
 ing to were altos. 
 
 Mr. J. C. Ungerer, of the New York Cathedral, expresses 
 it as his opinion that " the use of adult male altos should not 
 be encouraged; although they answer the purpose when com- 
 petent readers (boys) cannot be found." And Mr. A. B. 
 Meyers, choirmaster of St. Vincent's, South Boston, writes, 
 " Men-altos are desirable from the point of view of expediency, 
 but the rich quality of the real boy-alto is, in my opinion, 
 preferable." Mr. Meyers adds, that he thinks this real boy- 
 
THE NUMBER AND PROPORTION OF VOICES. 27 
 
 alto a very rare voice, and admits that he finds it necessary 
 " to take larger boys from the soprani to fill up the ranks 
 of the alti." 
 
 Mr. Hammerel of Providence expresses himself as " de- 
 cidedly against using adult male altos," and finds no trouble 
 in securing good boy-altos and more than enough. Some- 
 times, however, one is driven by circumstances to give the 
 alto parts to second trebles, in order to make concerted sing- 
 ing possible, but choirmasters should make every effort to 
 obtain the real alto voices. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Hints for Maintaining a Choir. 
 
 THE personnel of a boy-choir is always changing. At the 
 age of fifteen years or thereabouts, the boys begin to " lose 
 their voices." The process of development from boyhood to 
 man's estate, is accompanied by a deepening and thickening of 
 the larynx, and during a period of three or four years the voice 
 should not be used for singing. A choirmaster will be seri- 
 ously handicapped in his efforts to keep the choir up to a 
 high standard, if some reliable means have not been provided 
 for offsetting the inevitable leakage occasioned by the mutation 
 of the boys' voices. It is very necessary, therefore, to organ- 
 ize the choir, in the beginning, in such a way that the loss of 
 a few sopranos and altos each year, will not be a serious 
 obstacle in the way of the choir's progress. 
 
 Naturally we look to England, the home and nursery of 
 the highest type of the boy-choir, for advice and suggestions 
 in this matter. The system which secures to all the great 
 choirs there such a continual supply of competent choristers 
 merits examination. 
 
 In almost all the cathedral churches, and in very many 
 smaller places of worship, the boys are divided into two 
 groups. The first, or senior group, consists of those already 
 equipped for regular service in the church; the second, or 
 junior group, is made up of younger boys who form a pre- 
 paratory class, and attend all the rehearsals. The senior boys 
 
 (28) 
 
HINTS FOR MAINTAINING A CHOIR. 2 g 
 
 are called, in choir nomenclature, " choristers," and the 
 junior boys " probationers." A choir that maintains a good 
 class of probationers enjoys great advantage over choirs where 
 this or a similar system of replenishing the parts does not 
 obtain. 
 
 Probationers may begin their career as young as seven 
 years of age. The boys enter the choir at Westminster Abbey 
 at nine or ten, never older. 
 
 The advantages of such a plan are manifest. A boy's re- 
 lationship with his choir lasts through a period of more than 
 seven years; his voice is trained from the beginning on dis- 
 tinctive methods and with a view to church work; by such 
 long attendance he becomes thoroughly familiar with all the 
 Offices, and knows a considerable portion of the service-music 
 by heart; when a chorister's voice gives warning of the ap- 
 proaching change, the choirmaster has merely to announce a 
 competitive examination to the probationers, and to award the 
 place of the retiring chorister to the winner. Readers are re- 
 ferred to Mr. Curwen's book (Boy's Voice, p. 58, seqq.) for 
 many interesting facts about England's great choirs. Re- 
 ferring to the success of the choirmaster at Temple Church, 
 Oxford, he says : " He lays stress on the fact that he takes his 
 boys at eight years of age. For a year or more they are 
 probationers. . . . They undergo daily drill in musical 
 theory and voice training, but in church they have no responsi- 
 bility and do little more than listen. When, however, the 
 voice of one of the older boys breaks, a probationer takes his 
 place, and is much better for the training." 
 
 The writer has already referred to the choir recently estab- 
 lished at our new Cathedral at Westminster. It will be re- 
 membered that this choir, too, is made up of choristers and 
 probationers. Mr. Robert Gannon, organist and choirmaster 
 
3Q 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 at the Mission Church (Redemptorist Fathers), Boston, writes: 
 " The school here is a great help for furnishing material. I 
 have a class of probationers who attend the rehearsals and 
 vocalize with the regulars, and recently I admitted ten boys 
 to the regular choir. They were between the ages of nine 
 and eleven." Dr. Martin, of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, 
 writes : " In a working choir of about sixteen boys, the ages 
 of the children should be arranged thus : 
 
 4 boys from 12 to 13 years of age 
 4 " " ii to 12 " " " 
 
 4 " " 10 to II " " " 
 
 4 " " 9 to 10 " " " 
 
 There should also be at least four probationers from eight to 
 nine years of age." 
 
 In short it is the rare exception to find a choir of any pre- 
 tensions without a preparatory class of some sort. 
 
 If music had a more conspicuous place in the schools, the 
 problem of meeting the leakage in the boys' section would 
 be effectually solved. Mr. Ungerer writes : " We make an 
 unpardonable mistake in depriving our children of a thorough 
 musical education in the schoolroom. Progressive work be- 
 gun at the earliest possible stage would show great results. 
 Every child ten years of age is a chorister. This would be 
 method." 
 
 There is no doubt that if music were taught more thor- 
 oughly and intelligently in our parochial schools, sanctuary 
 choirs could be maintained with much less difficulty. Father 
 Young, the noted Jesuit musician of St. Francis' College, New 
 York, is quoted in the New York Sun as saying: " I am very 
 much encouraged by the success I have had with my boys in 
 the parochial school, and I am more than ever convinced that 
 
HINTS FOR MAINTAINING A CHOIR. 3I 
 
 every reform desired by the Pope could be brought about if 
 the children were now taught the Gregorian Chant in our 
 Catholic schools. " 
 
 The music commission of the Archdiocese of New York has 
 also expressed a conviction of the necessity of a thorough 
 musical education in the schools in recommending to the 
 priests " that systematic teaching of music be required in all 
 Catholic schools; that examinations in it be regularly made 
 by the diocesan school inspector as in other studies; and that 
 where no Catholic school exists, a music class for men or 
 boys, or both, be formed at once. The teaching, to be ef- 
 fective, is to comprise (a) sight reading; (b) voice training; 
 (c) the study of the various chants of High Mass, Vespers, 
 and Benediction." The Right Reverend Bishop of Portland, 
 Maine, in a pastoral letter, has also enjoined upon his priests 
 the careful training of school children in " the principal hymns 
 of the liturgy, such as the Salve Regina, Alma Redemptoris, 
 etc., and the Ordinary of the Mass according to the Gregorian 
 notation." 
 
 It is quite generally held that the boy choristers should re- 
 ceive some honorarium — trifling though it be — in recognition 
 of their services. The advantages which accrue from paying 
 the boys, make this suggestion worthy of serious consideration. 
 The choirmaster has, thereby, a sure means of procuring 
 prompt and regular attendance at the services and rehearsals ; 
 the power of imposing fines and suspension for repeated mis- 
 demeanors, which this system provides, has a disciplinary value 
 in the management of naturally mischievous and inattentive 
 boys. Furthermore, it is but fair to give the lads some 
 slight compensation for all the sacrifices which the frequent 
 rehearsals and the long and numerous services demand of 
 them. They are only boys, and they have boys' hearts and 
 
32 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 boys' points of view. It should be remembered that regular 
 attendance often requires heroic virtue of them, for they 
 must forego many football games in the autumn, coasting 
 and skating in the winter, and — the greatest sacrifice of all — 
 baseball in the spring. Prove to them that their services are 
 appreciated — not by patting them on the head and calling them 
 " nice boys " and prophesying great careers for them — but 
 by giving them some stated reimbursement at regular intervals. 
 Do this and you will suffer but little annoyance from tardi- 
 ness or carelessness about the meetings. Choirmasters who 
 have had much experience with boys, find that choirs where 
 some system of compensation prevails, are much more reliable 
 than the others. We quote a paragraph from Dr. Richardson : 
 
 " Whenever possible, boys should be paid, however small a 
 sum ; but it should be made clear that the amount given is to be 
 regarded as pocket money in recognition of the work and self- 
 sacrifice involved in attending practice. . . . Payment by num- 
 ber of attendances is to be deprecated. A certain fixed sum 
 should be given weekly or monthly, out of which a large por- 
 tion should be deducted as a fine for absence without leave. 
 This fine should be prohibitive, so as to make it clear that irre- 
 gularity cannot be tolerated." 
 
 In parishes where Requiem and Nuptial High Masses are 
 frequent, and where the custom prevails of paying those who 
 in regular turn sing at these services, the payment of regular 
 stipends can be more readily dispensed with; but the advant- 
 ages of allowing to each boy a monthly wage of fifty cents 
 or a dollar cannot be minimized. 
 
 It is impossible to consider here all the circumstances which 
 may arise to retard the progress of a choir. The suggestions 
 which are offered in this chapter have been culled from the 
 experiences of able men, and the writer hopes that they may 
 
HINTS FOR MAINTAINING A CHOIR. 33 
 
 serve to lighten the labors and insure the success of those 
 who have sought instruction in these pages. 
 
 There are two further points which may here be considered 
 as bearing closely upon the subject-matter of this chapter, 
 
 ( 1 ) on the part of priests — interest in their choirs — 
 
 (2) on the part of choirmasters — intelligent disciplinary 
 methods. 
 
 With regard to the first, it should be said that the clergy have 
 it within their power to inspire enthusiasm and choir-spirit to 
 a high degree, or to create dissatisfaction and indifference 
 among the choristers. The priests should encourage the choir- 
 master and singers heartily and upon every possible occasion. 
 They should appear sometimes at the rehearsals, and lend a 
 willing ear to propositions and projects which are designed to 
 further the best interests of the choir. The attitude taken by 
 the pastor or the curates toward the choir has often a determin- 
 ing influence upon the members. Priests who wish regular 
 attendance and enthusiastic service should second the choir- 
 master's efforts to make singing and the other choir-duties a 
 pleasure rather than a duty. A word of congratulation after 
 a well-rendered service, and other slight tokens of appreciation 
 sometimes infuse new life into a choir, while on the other 
 hand, singers are often much disappointed and chagrined if 
 their special efforts pass unnoticed. 
 
 The importance of maintaining intelligent discipline can- 
 not be overestimated. Corporal punishment and rough treat- 
 ment of any kind are among the elements which tend to dis- 
 band a choir. Mr. Henry Duncan, a New York choirmaster, 
 writes of " The Real Choir-Boy neither an Angel nor a 
 Deliberate Sinner — Just a Boy." We refer our readers to 
 an instructive and amusing article under this naive title, in 
 the New York Sun of April 17, 1904. 
 
34 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 The management of the choir will offer no trouble to priests 
 or choirmasters where the boys are taken from parish schools. 
 The school Sisters are always actively interested in anything 
 that concerns the children, and their influence in the dis- 
 ciplinary matters of the choir is paramount. Choirmasters 
 who have had the help of Sisters in this direction, know well 
 how to value it. The writer can attest from personal experi- 
 ence the great relief that comes to a choir-director from their 
 kindly cooperation in fitting the boys for their choir duties. 
 From the start, an intelligent discipline should be maintained 
 as well at rehearsals as at services. Where a lax discipline 
 obtains much valuable time is wasted, and eventually the lads 
 lose respect for the director. But there is no place for 
 punctilious orderliness or rigorous silence; these do very well 
 for the schoolroom, but cannot be brought into the choir- 
 hall without tiring the boys and destroying spontaneity. The 
 choir-room should be made popular. The choirmaster should 
 be loved. There should be a spirit of easy freedom about the 
 rehearsal; the lads ought to feel that a certain amount of re- 
 laxation is legitimate, and that they can converse quietly and 
 enjoy themselves during the intervals when music is being 
 distributed, or when, for any other reason, there is a temporary 
 cessation of work. Boys appreciate these little liberties, and 
 when the signal is given to resume the practice, they begin 
 again with fresh vigor. Choir-boys ought to be granted every 
 concession and privilege consistent with respectable discipline. 
 A certain code of choir rules should be drawn up with care 
 and hung in a conspicuous place in the choir-hall. Serious and 
 frequent infractions of these should be punished with propor- 
 tionate severity. Connivance at violations of regulations is 
 an infallible way to lose control of choir-boys. Where some 
 system of reimbursing the boys is in use, fines for tardiness, 
 
HINTS FOR MAINTAINING A CHOIR. 35 
 
 absence, misbehavior, etc., may be imposed with good effect. 
 " Reproof," says a director of long experience, " should be 
 administered in private/' Mr. Curwen thinks well of the 
 plan of an eminent choirmaster " who advocates a choir guild, 
 and would have in the choir-room a library, games, puzzles, 
 footballs, bats and balls, Indian clubs and dumb bells." " Of- 
 fensive manners," once wrote a director of music in a cathe- 
 dral, " on the part of the trainer quickly endanger the exist- 
 ence of the choir. . . . ' I cannot think why that boy does 
 not sing in tune; I have boxed his ears/ said a cathedral 
 organist to me quite seriously. ... I fear there is a vulgar 
 notion (only half defined, most probably) that irascibility in 
 the musical trainer is a mark of genius." 
 To sum up : 
 
 Under ordinary circumstances, the maintenance of a liturgi- 
 cal choir will present no difficulty, if 
 
 ( 1 ) a number of probationers is enlisted. 
 
 (2) a course of music is provided in the parish school. 
 
 (3) the choristers are allowed a monthly stipend. 
 
 (4) the priests in charge display sufficient interest in mat- 
 ters pertaining to the choir. 
 
 (5) the choirmaster adopts and enforces a sane and con- 
 siderate method of discipline. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 The Choir and Organ in the Chancel. 
 
 WHEREVER it is possible, a liturgical choir should be 
 seated in the chancel. The liturgy by its very construc- 
 tion demands the services of choristers who occupy stalls not 
 far distant from the sanctuary and the High Altar. Sur- 
 pliced chancel-singers are just as necessary for the complete 
 ritual of a solemn service, as the ministers and altar boys. 
 The Roman rite of Solemn Vespers, for instance, could never 
 be carried out in detail, without the presence of singers in the 
 chancel. The logic of the ritual demands a sanctuary-choir; 
 there is no need of argument about this, for were it otherwise, 
 the considerable portions of the Ceremoniale (see Martinucci) 
 which are devoted to the functions and duties of the choir- 
 singers would be obviously superfluous. Nor is it necessary 
 to insist that the elaborate ceremonies which require a chancel- 
 choir, in order to be carried out in their entirety, are not meant 
 to be confined to cathedral, conventual or collegiate churches, 
 where the choirs are composed chiefly of clerics. It is clear 
 that wherever the Roman rite extends, and wherever the 
 solemnity of that rite is observed, every choir, even when made 
 up of laymen, is meant to fulfil the office of the choir of levites. 
 We have this from Pope Pius X himself : " the liturgical chant 
 belongs to the choir of levites, and, therefore, singers in 
 church, even when laymen, are really taking the place of the 
 ecclesiastical choir." Says Mr. Wilfrid Anthony (Eccles- 
 
 (36) 
 
THE CHOIR AND ORGAN IN THE CHANCEL. 37 
 
 iastical Review, June, 1904) : " Since there is to be in every 
 well-appointed church a chanters' choir composed of men and 
 boys, the question arises where this liturgical choir is to be 
 placed. The choice is twofold. The first is to place it in 
 front of the sanctuary, that is, between it and the nave, and 
 on a somewhat lower level than the former. . . . The plan 
 is, moreover, in accordance with the Ceremonial of Bishops. 
 Graduated stalls may be placed choirwise for the accommo- 
 dation of the organist and director on one side. The organ 
 may be located on one or both sides of the choir. The alter- 
 native disposition of the liturgical choir is to place it back of 
 the sanctuary. This is more rarely done, and when adopted 
 it is chiefly in churches built in the Romanesque or the 
 Byzantine style, as in the case of the new Cathedral at 
 Westminster." 
 
 But we have no chancels, is the first objection that con- 
 fronts one here. Yes, it is true, we have few churches with 
 this essential complement of a perfect church building; and, 
 " Oh, the pity of it !" says one who knows, " they are building 
 a $700,000 cathedral here in ' trade ' Gothic ; and there is no 
 chancel" But if we have not many deep chancels, we have at 
 least sanctuaries of comfortable dimensions, and these can 
 be made to serve the purpose. Of the two diagrams given here, 
 Fig. I represents an ideal way of arranging the choir, and 
 Fig. II a very satisfactory adaptation of the sanctuary of the 
 average American church to the purposes of a sanctuary 
 choir. When the singers are seated according to the plan 
 suggested by Fig. I, the rubrical division of the choir is ob- 
 served, and the choirmaster seated behind the High Altar, can 
 see and direct both sides unobserved by the congregation. 
 This plan is realized in the Church of St. Paul the Apostle 
 (Paulist Fathers) New York, and in the Blessed Sacrament 
 
38 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 Church, Providence, Rhode Island. Although Fig. I does not 
 meet all the requirements of Baldeschi's diagrams of the tradi- 
 tional chancel, yet it has illustrious precedents in the churches 
 of St. Sulpice, Paris, Notre Dame, Paris, St. Germain de 
 
 Fi 3 . 
 I 
 
 A — Organ Console. B and B'— Choir. C — High Altar. D — Celebrant's 
 Bench. E and F — Side Altars. G— Sanctuary Rail. 
 
 E 
 
 E Jhhkkhhh 
 
 U U kt, U h k K U h U 
 hkkhhKhk'hh K 5 
 
 hhhhhhkhhhh 
 
 Fig. 
 E. 
 
 c 
 
 iDl 
 LJ 
 
 A— Organ Console. B— Choir. C— High Altar. D— Celebrant's Bench. 
 E and F — Side Altars. G — Sanctuary Rail. 
 
 Pres, Paris, the dartres cathedral, the Church of the Freri, 
 Venice, etc., and it lends itself to the full ceremonial of the 
 most solemn offices. If the matter of remodeling a sanctuary 
 
THE CHOIR AND ORGAN IN THE CHANCEL. 39 
 
 to meet the specifications of Fig I seems impracticable, or too 
 expensive, for some of our smaller parochial churches, it must 
 be said that there are very few sanctuaries in city churches 
 that cannot easily and at a moderate expense be rearranged 
 according to Fig II. 
 
 The letter A in both diagrams indicates the position of the 
 key-board or console of the organ; the organ pipes can be 
 set up in any convenient niches — even in the gallery — pro- 
 vided that resonance is not destroyed. 
 
 It has been objected that " a chancel choir placed according 
 to either of these two diagrams, will find its chief function in 
 being ornamental. " Whether this will prove true or not in 
 particular churches depends entirely upon the musicianship and 
 ability of the man in charge of the choir. It is unnecessary 
 to give here the long list of world-famed choirs which have 
 been seated in the manner suggested. The choirs at St. Sulpice 
 and Westminster Cathedral seem to have succeeded in being 
 more than ornamental. And who can point to better choirs 
 or choirs which sing more difficult polyphony in this country, 
 than those singing regularly at St. Paul's Church, New York 
 City, Holy Cross Cathedral, Boston and the Blessed Sacra- 
 ment Church, Providence, Rhode Island? 
 
 In churches where it is altogether impracticable to arrange 
 the choir gracefully in the sanctuary, it will do very well to 
 seat it choirwise in the west-end gallery. The choristers in 
 any case, should be surpliced. (See Motu proprio, section 
 V, § 14.) 
 
 The art of organ-building has made such progress during 
 the past few decades, that it is now a comparatively simple 
 matter to put effective instruments into places that fifty years 
 ago would have been considered irremediably unsuited to 
 any kind of an organ. The invention and perfecting of the 
 
4 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 " tubular-pneumatic," and " electro-pneumatic " actions, have 
 made it possible to separate the pipes from the console, or 
 controlling-desk, at any distance ; and we seldom hear in these 
 days of any large organ that is not provided with a movable 
 console. These recent developments of organ construction 
 remove the obstacle which — if only the " tracker " organ were 
 still known — would render the erection of sanctuary organs 
 impossible in our ordinary churches. In churches where 
 there are large transepts, the organ pipes can be very readily 
 set up in these, — the entire organ in one, or the " swell " or- 
 gan in one and the " great " organ in the other. Where there 
 are no transepts or available niches, or no triforium, the pipes 
 may have to be placed in the gallery. Even this arrangement 
 proves very satisfactory. The hiatus between the depression 
 of the keys at the console in the sanctuary and the speaking 
 of the pipes in the gallery at the opposite end of the building, 
 can be reduced to a minimum, and will rarely annoy an organ- 
 ist after he has become accustomed to it. There are some very 
 well-known organs divided in this way, notably the majestic 
 instrument in St. Bartholomew's Church (Episcopalian), New 
 York, built a few years ago by the Hutchings-Votey Com- 
 pany of Boston. The specification of this organ includes 
 fifty registers in the chancel division and forty-nine 
 registers in the gallery division, with all the necessary push- 
 knob and oscillating-tablet combinations, etc., and the entire 
 organ is operated at one console connected with the organ 
 by a flexible cable one hundred and fifty feet in length; the 
 organ can be played from any part of the church. For those 
 who think it a great disadvantage to have the organ built so 
 high above the choir, we quote a comment on the new organ 
 built at Symphony Hall, Boston : " It may be that the height 
 gives it a clearer reflection from the roof of the auditorium, 
 
THE CHOIR AND ORGAN IN THE CHANCEL. 4I 
 
 for we all recall some cathedral organs in Europe which are 
 also built high above the worshiping congregations, yet reflect 
 down their tones from the vaulted roof above with glorious 
 power and perfect preservation of those minute vibrations 
 (overtones) which constitute the quality of every musical tone." 
 
 Priests may well ask here about the expense incurred in 
 fitting up churches with these chancel organs. 1 In answer to 
 this question, it must be said that in very many churches the 
 organs now in use are unnecessarily large. Although bril- 
 liant organs add an unmistakable charm to the musical per- 
 formance, yet they are not necessary, and in treating of an 
 outfit for conducting the musical services on the principles of 
 the reform, we are speaking primarily of what is necessary. 
 The writer saw the specification of a chancel organ recently 
 built in a Catholic church by the Austin Organ Company; 
 compared with the average gallery organs of our larger 
 churches, this instrument is small, and yet it is more than ade- 
 quate to accompany a choir of sixty voices. It is a mistake to 
 think that we must have expensive organs of $12,000 and 
 $15,000. There is no need for the fancy and costly orchestral 
 stops — the Tibia Plena, Tuba Sonora, Orchestral Oboe, 
 Philomela, Hohlpfeife, etc. — which are expected in the up-to- 
 date concert organ. Our organs are intended to accompany 
 the voices, and very inexpensive instruments can be made to 
 serve this purpose satisfactorily. 
 
 The initial cost of equipping the church with the various 
 facilities for successfully carrying on choir work should be 
 considered in the light of the increased attendance at the 
 solemn services, which invariably comes with the introduction 
 
 'We call them chancel-organs, even if the pipes are in the gallery, for 
 as far as the choir and the congregation are concerned, the music is prac- 
 tically emanating from the console in the sanctuary. 
 
4 2 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 of a good boy-choir. The objection that " people will give 
 up their pews when the mixed choir is disbanded " counts for 
 nothing when compared with the fact that, wherever a well 
 organized, carefully trained and thoroughly equipped boy- 
 choir has been introduced, the congregations at the musical 
 services have become notably larger. A prominent pastor of 
 an Eastern diocese here, has written to say : " They may say 
 what they like about boys' choirs not being popular, but we 
 cannot seat the people at our High Mass, and all the other 
 churches are half empty at High Mass." If a choir is con- 
 ducted carefully and intelligently, it will pa»y for itself. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Choirmaster. 
 
 HPHE choirmaster is the very soul of the choir, animating 
 ■■" and governing it," says Dr. Haberl of the Ratisbon Cathe- 
 dral. "As the choirmaster is, so the choir will be," may be a 
 truism, but it can well bear repetition in these days, for the 
 degree of proficiency and popularity to which a choir will 
 attain depends finally, and after everything else has been said, 
 upon the man to whose musical direction it is entrusted. If 
 he is a thoroughly competent director as well as organist, and 
 if besides musicianship, he brings into his work enthusiasm 
 for the details of choir-training, and some appreciation of the 
 responsibilities of the maitre de chapelle, it is highly probable 
 that the results of his labors will be satisfactory, and if on 
 the other hand, he is mercenary, assuming and holding the 
 position merely for the sake of the prestige or financial gain 
 that may accrue therefrom, it is equally probable that his choir 
 will be only indifferently effective. 
 
 It is important then for pastors to be most circumspect and 
 discriminating in their choice of choirmasters. And it should 
 not be difficult to secure leaders of the right type, for the 
 Catholic musicians of the United States are men of marked 
 talent, and can very readily fit themselves for successful 
 careers as directors of liturgical choirs. And they will, — if 
 the priests urge them. Let the clergy make it known that 
 there is pressing demand for well qualified chancel-choir- 
 masters, and the supply will come quickly. 
 
 (43) 
 
44 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 Our musicians must learn to feel the dignity of the choir- 
 master's position in a parish. If they look upon themselves 
 as hirelings, it is scarce likely that they will devote themselves 
 to the arduous labors entailed in maintaining the correct type 
 of musical service, with sufficient interest to be proof against 
 the inevitable discouragements which come from time to time, 
 particularly during the first years of a choir's existence. 
 
 There is, of course, more than a professional side to a choir- 
 master's relation to a church. His obligations to a parish 
 are not satisfied when he has fulfilled the requirements of a 
 contract made out upon a business basis. He has the exalted 
 vocation of assisting the people to pray, and of preaching to 
 their hearts of God and the holy things of religion by the 
 subtle eloquence of the musical art. What greater vocation 
 is there than to help men to come near to God ? Does he not 
 share this privilege with the priests ? Says Dr. Haberl, " No 
 matter how great his musical talents otherwise may be, the 
 choirmaster who cannot identify his way of thinking with that 
 of the Church as expressed in her liturgy, and who fancies 
 that he adequately discharges his duty by merely making music 
 whilst a religious function is being gone through, is deficient 
 in one of the most important qualifications for his position." 
 The priest who assists his choirmaster to realize the dignity 
 and responsibility of the office he exercises, will win sympathe- 
 tic cooperation in the matter of providing music worthy of the 
 ritual it is permitted to accompany. 
 
 It is the purpose of this chapter briefly to summarize the 
 qualifications which, in the opinion of experienced men, seem 
 necessary for the master of a liturgical choir. The subject 
 will not be treated exhaustively here, because in the various 
 other chapters of this brochure the requirements of efficient 
 directorship are made sufficiently evident. 
 
THE CHOIRMASTER. 45 
 
 The office of choirmaster is not only musical, but liturgical 
 also. He is a second Master of Ceremonies, as it were, and 
 should be thoroughly acquainted with everything that bears 
 upon the perfect rendering of the musical portions of the ser- 
 vices. The ideal choirmaster combines the musician, the 
 liturgist, the rubrician. 
 
 The musical equipment which is indespensable for the suc- 
 cessful direction of liturgical choirs, implies roughly : 
 
 ( 1 ) Skill as an organist and harmonist. 
 
 (2) Proficiency in the art of training boys' voices. 
 
 (3) Knowledge of Gregorian Chant. 
 
 It should be said here, that notwithstanding opinions to the 
 contrary, there seems to be great advantage in embodying the 
 director and organist in one man. Nothing is more obvious 
 than that in choirs where Gregorian Chant is to be the pre- 
 dominating style of music used, the organist must have the 
 reins in his hand absolutely. Any organist of skill who has 
 also had charge of choirs or bodies of singers, will realize 
 that there are subtle ways, which, indeed, he himself cannot 
 explain, but by which, with his fingers on the keys, he can so 
 wield his singers as to produce any desired impression upon 
 their minds. In these days of opportunity for the able or- 
 ganist, he should not be content merely to be a mechanical 
 automaton while another man as director holds the authority 
 and represents the greater brains of the combination. Much 
 better results can be obtained if the offices of leader and organ- 
 ist are combined in one. A further advantage to the parish 
 would be in the proportionately less expense. And so in this 
 chapter, and throughout the book, consistently with this view, 
 we have considered the organist and director as embodied in 
 one man, who is designated the choirmaster. 
 
 The average organist of our city churches will find the 
 
4 6 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 process of acquiring the necessary equipment neither lengthy 
 nor expensive; he can in a short time familiarize himself with 
 enough of the principles, included in the branches specified, 
 to make a safe and intelligent beginning with a choir. But no 
 one should venture to assume the responsibility of preparing 
 a liturgical choir for its share in the ceremonies of public 
 worship, until he has fully realized and mastered the funda- 
 mental points of differentiation between the choirmaster's 
 functions and other musical activities. 
 
 I. 
 
 Were it not for the growing tendency to engage men as 
 choirmasters whose musical education has been confined chiefly 
 to the pianoforte, and whose touch and method of registration 
 (if alternate use of great and swell and if and pp can be dig- 
 nified by such a name) are totally at variance with the first 
 rules of organ-playing, it would be superfluous to say that, 
 as organist, a choirmaster should be thoroughly trained in the 
 technicalities of organ-playing, and well versed in the classics 
 of organ literature. Pianists are not organists ; the piano and 
 organ are essentially different in character — they are alike 
 in this only that they are operated by means of similarly con- 
 structed keyboards. Hence the necessity of the player being 
 a genuine organist. 
 
 A practical knowledge of harmony and counterpoint is 
 scarcely less important than facility in playing the organ. In 
 these days of the restoration of the Gregorian melodies, the 
 necessity for skill in these branches is even greater than here- 
 tofore. The organist's education was at no time complete un- 
 til he had mastered the theory of harmony and counterpoint, 
 and now he is seriously handicapped, if not altogether in- 
 capacitated for accompanying a choir, if he is not in possession 
 
THE CHOIRMASTER. 
 
 47 
 
 of a practical working knowledge of these. There have been 
 published many harmonizations of the Gregorian Masses, 
 motets, etc., but these by no means remove the necessity of 
 each organist being personally capable of arranging and har- 
 monizing the chant for himself. 
 
 II. 
 
 A choirmaster should be aware of the peculiar properties of 
 the boy-voice, and have learned how best to realize its rich 
 possibilities. The matter of the training of the choir is dis- 
 cussed in Chapters IX, X, XI and XII, and it is unnecessary 
 to say more here, save that choirmasters should devote them- 
 selves assiduously to the study of the tendencies which char- 
 acterize the development of the child-voice. They should be- 
 come familiar, too, with the current methods for clarifying the 
 distinctly spiritual quality of the boy's soprano, and the various 
 processes for effecting and preserving that imperceptible fusion 
 of its two registers which has brought such perfection to the 
 great English choirs. 
 
 It is a pity that there have been some choirs here in which 
 the mention of a special system of training the children's 
 voices would have been as much a surprise to the directors as 
 to the choristers themselves. The necessity of using a method 
 of voice culture which would be especially applicable to the 
 vocal and physical conditions of boys from eight to fifteen 
 years of age seems not to have been appreciated by all who in 
 the past had announced themselves as competent directors 
 of boy-choirs. The singing of indifferently trained boys, and 
 even the singing of boys who have received a certain amount 
 of intelligent vocal instruction but not according to the prin- 
 ciples and methods which constitute the art of teaching chancel- 
 choirs — a distinct branch of the musical profession — is often 
 
48 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 intolerable, strident and unrefined, lacking in flexibility, 
 smoothness and general finish. 
 
 Within the past few decades the science of chancel-choir 
 training has made great strides, and there is no question that 
 bears upon the correct managing and training of choirs and 
 choristers that has not been to some extent solved by the 
 investigations and experiences of the last quarter of a century. 
 The names of some of England's and America's most famous 
 musicians are associated with the development of this unique 
 branch of the musical profession. We subjoin a list of the 
 most pertinent literature which has been published in English 
 upon the subject. Every choirmaster should possess the fol- 
 lowing books, for in these he will have a valuable compendium 
 of the theory of training, managing, and conducting chancel- 
 choirs. It is likely that they are to be found upon the shelves 
 of the larger public libraries : 
 The Boy's Voice, J. Spencer Curwen (G. Schirmer & Co., 
 
 New York). 
 The Art of Training Choir Boys, Dr. G. C. Martin (Novello, 
 
 Ewer & Co., New York). 
 A Treatise on a Practical Method of Training Choristers, Dr. 
 
 J. Varley Roberts (Henry Frowde, 91 Fifth Ave., New 
 
 York). ' 
 Practical Hints on the Training of Choir-Boys, G. E. Stubbs 
 
 (Novello, Ewer & Co., New York). 
 The Child's Voice, Emil Behnke (G. Schirmer & Co., New 
 
 York). 
 Voice, Song and Speech, Browne and Behnke (G. Schirmer & 
 
 Co., New York). 
 The Voice in Singing, Madame Seiler (G. Schirmer & Co., 
 
 New York). 
 Studies in Worship Music, J. S. Curwen, (1st series) p. 312 
 
 scq. (G. Schirmer & Co., New York). 
 
THE CHOIRMASTER. 49 
 
 Church Music, Dr. A. Madeley Richardson (Chapter IV) 
 (Longmans, Green & Co., New York). 
 
 III. 
 
 Although the singers can be spared much of the theoretical 
 study of the chant, the choirmaster must go properly into its 
 technical analysis, and to that end he cannot do better than to 
 study the Rev. Dr. Haberl's M agister Choralis (Fr. Pustet 
 & Co., New York) translated from German into English, 
 French, Italian, and several other languages. It is a most 
 valuable and lucid compendium, and in its second division 
 (sectio theoretical) the student will find in concise form all 
 that is necessary for him to know as to the modal structure 
 of the chant. Another useful text-book is Lemaistre's 
 Complete and Practical Method of the Solesmes Plain Chant, 1 
 adapted and translated from Dom Birkle, O. S. B. 
 
 It has been said by some that proficiency in the chant and 
 the right appreciation of its peculiar genius come only after 
 many years spent in its study. This may be so, but it is also 
 true that men who have gone through a good course in gen- 
 eral musical theory can in a few weeks and without extra- 
 ordinary difficulty, so master the general principles of the 
 subject as to be able intelligently to apply their knowledge of 
 the same to practical purposes. 
 
 The well informed instructor in Church music should also 
 have a fair knowledge of the Latin language. He should 
 scrupulously strive to qualify himself upon this essential point, 
 for the intelligent rendering of vocal music requires, first of 
 all, an understanding of the verbal text. " Without a fair 
 knowledge of Latin/' writes Dr. Haberl, " he cannot under- 
 stand the sentiments conveyed in the words, and therefore 
 
 1 Joseph F. Wagner, 9 Barclay St., New York. 
 
50 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 give the just expression to these words or to the melody in 
 which they are clothed; for it should be ever remembered, 
 that in ecclesiastical chant the ' text is the master, the notes 
 
 the slaves ' It is also desirable that he should know 
 
 how to use the ecclesiastical calendar (Ordo), in order that 
 he may find the chants prescribed for the day or season, and 
 regulate their performance with the requirements of the 
 rubrics." 
 
 The foregoing are in general outline the qualifications which 
 should distinguish a really competent choirmaster. Com- 
 plete mastery of the organ, a grasp of practical harmony and 
 counterpoint, skill in developing the child-voice, and know- 
 ledge of Gregorian Chant, are about what is necessary and 
 sufficient in the way of musical equipment, for the present-day 
 choirmaster. It is understood, of course, in addition to these, 
 that he should have a proper appreciation of the spirit of the 
 Church's liturgy and knowledge of the details of the various 
 solemn ceremonies. In the words of the great Kapellmeister 
 of Ratisbon, " the choirmaster who seeks to discharge his 
 duty faithfully, must allow this spirit of the Liturgy to take 
 possession of him; he must as it were live with the Church 
 and enter into her feelings ; weep with her in her sorrow, and 
 exult in her joy; — otherwise he can never realize for himself 
 or those under him, the meaning of the occasion which she 
 solemnizes, or of the word* which she employs." 
 
PART II. 
 
 THE TRAINING OF A BOYS' AND MEN'S CHOIR. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 The Distinctive Feature of a Boy-choir. 
 
 THE characteristic which differentiates the boy-voice, clearly 
 and beyond any doubt, from other human voices, is essen- 
 tially this, that it is absolutely free from any even remote sug- 
 gestion of personal sentiment. It is not colored by the ex- 
 aggerated emotion or the latent passionateness which must to 
 the end unfit the female voice for use in purely ecclesiastical 
 music. Boys are capable of religious emotions, but anything 
 like a personal, passionate, human sentiment is altogether im- 
 possible in their stage of physical development. Boys can ex- 
 press only such ideas as are inseparably connected with the 
 spiritual tone of a composition. Women, on the other hand, 
 can hardly avoid adding something of their own personal senti- 
 ment and mood; their tones insinuate something at variance 
 with the strictly sacred and ecclesiastical character which should 
 pervade all the music performed at the Offices of the Most 
 High. And so it may be said that the feature which makes 
 boys' voices par excellence the perfect instrument for the 
 rendition of the chant and the other legitimate styles of ritual- 
 song, is something negative if compared to the female voice, 
 and something positive if compared to the coarse and strident 
 tones of boys before they have been trained. 
 
 Obviously, then, the sine qua non of the success of boy-choirs 
 is the correct formation and development of those qualities 
 which make the boy's soprano and alto preeminently the best 
 
 (53) 
 
54 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 vehicle for the expression of the religious sentiments of 
 Catholic ritual-music. 
 
 The scientific cultivation of the boy-voice is a department of 
 vocal art which is entirely distinct, in method, from all other 
 systems of voice culture. The average boy is endowed with 
 a natural voice practically identical in quality and timbre with 
 that of the girl of like age. The physiological construction 
 of the vocal organs is the same in both boy and girl, and 
 continues up to the inevitable time of mutation in the boy- 
 voice, which occurs generally between the ages of fourteen 
 and sixteen. The purpose of vocal training during the four 
 to six years' period of the boy's usefulness as a singer, is to 
 produce a similar quality of tone and a uniform degree of force 
 throughout the range of his voice. In order to produce this 
 desired quality of tone and uniformity of force, the boy's 
 voice must be subjected to an entirely different system of 
 training irom that ordinarily applied to the development of 
 the female voice. Herein we perceive a leading principle 
 which must be carefully borne in mind by the instructor of 
 boy-choirs. The reason for this radically different method 
 of dealing with the boy-voice is that the work done is usually 
 a task of reconstruction, not of building upon a first founda- 
 tion. Before the application of correct principles of vocal art 
 to his case, he has in most cases unwittingly accustomed 
 himself to certain incorrect usages of his most accessible tones, 
 and the serious faults thus acquired must be entirely overcome 
 by a special kind of training peculiar to his case. The strenu- 
 ous life which the average American boy leads from cradle 
 to long trousers, has endowed him with a forcible tone of 
 speech and song which he emits with all the vigor of muscular 
 power at his command. Baseball, football, wrestling, and 
 singing are to him but so many ways of working off his sur- 
 
THE DISTINCTIVE FEATURE OF A BOY-CHOIR. 
 
 55 
 
 plus energy and asserting the sturdy prerogatives of his mas- 
 culinity. The spirit in which he sings a song is much the 
 same as that in which he kicks a pig-skin or breaks a race-tape, 
 — his main idea being to " win out." In consequence, the ex- 
 quisite voice with which he was gifted by nature has given 
 place to a hoarse, strident, and even blatant voice which by 
 careful methods of culture — proved invincible by widespread 
 usage — must be restored to its pristine state of sweetness. 
 The quiet domestic life of the average girl of the same age 
 has fostered the best qualities of her voice and, generally 
 speaking, the development of her voice requires no marked de- 
 viation from the conventional methods. A girl's voice during 
 girlhood cannot compare in charm of tonal beauty with the 
 boy's voice; it can never attain to "that indefinable some- 
 thing " — to quote Mr. J. Spencer Curwen, F.R.A.M. — which 
 is inherent in the ideal boy-voice. The voice of the cantatrice 
 is always personal; the boy's voice scarcely ever so. And 
 yet the impersonality of the boy's voice is by no means the 
 greatest of its charms. Its boundless upward range elicited 
 from Caryl Florio the admiring eulogium, " There is no top 
 to a boy's voice." The tribute which the eminent scholar and 
 critic, Mr. H. E. Krehbiel, once paid the then famous Harry 
 Brandon of New York, was couched thus : " He can soar into 
 realms where few living prime donne can follow him, and 
 his voice is so flexible that he sings the most florid music 
 without difficulty." We might multiply ad infinitum the en- 
 comiums which the boy-voice in its perfect state of culture 
 has elicited from the votaries of music. We might quote the 
 endless comparisons of the ideal boy-voice with the cultured 
 female voice, in which the former has won by the contrast. 
 
 But we must now proceed without further preliminaries to 
 the choir-room, which is to be the scene of future labors, 
 
56 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 and where we are to meet the young lads who have been 
 selected according to the principles enunciated in the first pages 
 of this manual. Bearing in mind the fundamental distinctions 
 between the methods of training the boy's and girl's voice 
 respectively, we will now reduce to application the chief prin- 
 ciples of training the former, which the best authorities, 
 English, Continental, and American, advocate as the desidera- 
 tum for successful practice. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 The Training of Boys' Voices. 
 
 THE training of the boys must be of two kinds, — vocal and 
 technical. Let us first concern ourselves with the vocal 
 training of the soprano-boys. Technical training will be con- 
 sidered in a further chapter. 
 
 The first step is to see that the tones of the scale are re- 
 cognized and produced according to their proper pitch by each 
 boy separately. The choirmaster will at once detect two en- 
 tirely different methods of singing in the same pupil. Up to 
 a certain point in the ascent of the scale, he will observe a 
 coarse, heavy quality of tone, in the production of which, 
 force and conscious effort are conspicuous. About that point 
 — which varies with different boys — the voice is clear and of a 
 flute-like character, enriched, in some exceptional instances, 
 by a most desirable suggestion of horn-like quality. These 
 higher tones are produced without effort, and so entirely dif- 
 ferent are they from the lower tones of the scale that it is 
 difficult to believe that the different qualities of sound eman- 
 ate from the same lad. Hereby is manifested the dual prin- 
 ciple upon which every human voice in the abstract is con- 
 structed, — that is to say, its natural division into two general 
 registers. 
 
 "A register," says Emil Behnke, " consists of a series of 
 tones which are produced by the same mechanism." The two 
 registers of the boy's voice, respectively denominated the 
 
 (57) 
 
58 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 head and chest registers, are commonly called in England, the 
 thin and thick registers, these adjectives having reference to 
 the quality of voice rather than to the placing of the tones. 
 Some authorities term the high head-notes upper thin, and the 
 chest notes, lower thick, thus making four registers; but as 
 these two added registers are merely extensions of the two 
 stated ones, head and chest, and as the same exercises are 
 used in their development, they need not be separately con- 
 sidered. 
 
 If the average boy undertakes to sing without instruction, 
 or after imperfect teaching, he will inevitably force his chest 
 tones far up into the range of the head register. This forcing 
 of the chest-tones produces a most unpleasant quality, and 
 incidentally injures a voice. 
 
 Having discerned the break in a voice w T hich occurs in sing- 
 ing an ascending scale, the choirmaster should now have his 
 pupil descend the scale, commencing at F (fifth line). The 
 break, as we may now call it, is soon in evidence again; but 
 this time it occurs at a lower point in the scale. In this is 
 revealed the vital point which should be borne in mind through- 
 out the entire process of blending the registers. 
 
 The chest-voice cannot only be forced up into the domain 
 of the head-voice, but the head-voice can be made to overlap 
 the chest-voice in the descending scale. 
 
 By applying to all the members of the boys' section ex- 
 periments similar to those outlined above, the choirmaster will 
 discover the same characteristics existing among them all, 
 though sometimes an exception is found. Obviously, then, a 
 boy is unfit for use in the choir until he has overcome the 
 break between the registers. Had he the voice of a seraph 
 in his upper tones, he is useless as a chorister while his lower 
 tones resemble those of an auctioneer. The purpose of scien- 
 
THE TRAINING OF BOYS' VOICES. 
 
 59 
 
 tifix: training is apparent. By constant training only can the 
 entire voice be brought into focus and made uniform in quality 
 and degree of force. The voice of the individual chorister, 
 and of the ensemble, must be treated upon definite and re- 
 cognized principles of instruction. It is the purpose of this 
 paper to indicate and emphasize some of the most important 
 of these principles. 
 
 The elementary principles of correct practice are laid down 
 by Dr. George Martin of St. Paul's Cathedral, London : " Boys 
 should be taught to open the mouth properly, and never to 
 sing with the teeth closed. The tongue must not be curled 
 up, the tip slightly touching the lower teeth. Many masters 
 enjoin an unnatural extension of the mouth in singing. The 
 best plan is to make each boy place his thumb edgewise as far 
 as the first joint. Then the mouth is opened in its natural 
 position for singing. The thumb is then to be drawn gently 
 away, leaving the teeth in the position they occupied when the 
 thumb was between them. The head should be held erect 
 and any tendency toward throwing forward the chin should 
 be checked at once." Elsewhere he says : " The quality of 
 tone produced by the boys in the practice-room, and by the 
 whole choir combined, should be pure and free from harsh- 
 ness, and the enunciation as clear as possible. The shape of 
 the resonance box formed by the hollow of the mouth ma- 
 terially affects the quality of the tone produced. The master 
 should be careful to check all that kind of singing which is 
 called ' throaty,' but which might be more accurately described 
 as tonsillitic, and stop every form of nasal production." 
 
 The boys correspond readily with an intelligent system of 
 instruction, and they soon learn to carry the thin register 
 downward so as to include the notes in the vicinity of the 
 " break." How then shall the choirmaster proceed to reduce 
 the necessary instructions to a definite system? 
 
60 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 He should bear in mind first of all, that the fundamental 
 principles underlying the successful training of the boy's voice 
 are, — (i) soft singing; (2) downward practice of scales. 
 Commencing with F (fifth line), single tones should be sus- 
 tained softly during a slow emission of breaths to the syllable 
 " 00," and this process should be continued in chromatic in- 
 tervals as far as the thin register can be made to descend. Re- 
 turning then to high F, groups of three, four, and more 
 tones in any descending form may be taken to the same 
 syllable " 00." It will not be necessary to confine the prac- 
 tice of the higher tones of the thin register to downward pro- 
 gression only. That portion of the voice may be dealt with so 
 as to add to it new upper tones ; and as such tones are added, 
 they should form the starting-point for the downward practice 
 of exercises designed to conquer the break between the regis- 
 ters. The vowel sound " 00 " is generally adopted as the 
 basic syllable for the tone-practice of boys, as it tends to im- 
 part a mellow, flute-like character to the voice. Furthermore, 
 it betrays at once any tendency toward nasal or throaty tone- 
 production, so that such tendency may be corrected in its 
 incipiency. The advantage of using this vowel sound is in- 
 creased by prefixing a consonant like K, or a combination like 
 WH; these serve to project and " place " the vowel sound 
 properly. " Having the necessary number of boys," writes 
 Dr. Tozer, F.R.C.O., " I should then make them sing scales 
 downwards to ' Koo/ and very easy diatonic intervals to the 
 same syllable. They can never sing in the chest register, if 
 taught to use Koo for their exercises. Strangle, at once, any 
 attempt to sing chest notes above A (second space) and get 
 them to carry the head voice quite low, say E or D. Never 
 mind if the quality be poor (it is sure to be), it will develop. 
 Give them no words to sing till they see for themselves the 
 
THE TRAINING OF BOYS' VOICES. 6l 
 
 difference between the right and wrong way of singing; 
 then when they do sing words, take care that the notes 
 belonging to them are produced in the ' head ' or ' fluty ' 
 register." 
 
 For the purpose of gaining flexibility, " OO " and "AH " 
 may be used alternately in moderately rapid passages, thus, 
 commencing with F on the fifth line: 
 
 F G E G D G C etc. 
 AH OO AH OO AH OO AH 
 OO AH OO AH OO AH OO 
 
 Mr. Robert Louis Gannon, Choirmaster of the Mission 
 Church (Redemptorist Fathers), Boston, secures excellent 
 results in the way of fluency by the use of an exercise of 
 this sort. 
 
 One important point to be kept in mind is that in practical 
 choir singing, the soprano part must be of a tonal character 
 which will blend consistently with the other parts. We have 
 all heard " overtrained " boy-sopranos, where soullessness of 
 voice is in evidence in spite of faultless production, and whose 
 frigidity of tone is like the coldness of the polished marble 
 shaft. The boy's voice has been called " angelic " ; but it 
 must be remembered that it has the essential characteristics 
 of the vox humana. When it is blended with the active voices 
 of a church choir, the vibrating string-like character should be 
 in evidence in the soprano as well as in the deeper parts. 
 Where this quality is lacking, the ensemble effect is much the 
 same as that obtainable in an orchestra in which there are no 
 violinists, the upper parts being assigned solely to flutes and 
 light reed instruments. 
 
 I have endeavored to indicate the general scheme upon 
 which the cultivation of the boy- voice must be based, if the 
 choirmaster is to secure the best results. It is recommended. 
 
62 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 however, that he familiarize himself with some established 
 system of vocal exercises which have produced recognized re- 
 sults in choirs of international reputation. Dr. Martin's ex- 
 cellent book * should be in the hands of every boy-choir 
 leader. This book embodies some exercises from the pen of 
 Sir John Stainer, which for twenty years have been used 
 daily in the famous choir at St. Paul's, London. 
 
 " The results derived from correct training," says Mr. 
 Stubbs, " are many, but the most important may be summed 
 up as follows : 
 
 " i. Beautiful timbre — a limpid, fluid quality, which causes 
 a peculiar blending effect, making many voices sound as one. 
 
 " 2. Extension of compass, bringing high notes within very 
 easy reach. 
 
 " 3. The total absence of the ' break.' 
 
 " 4. Singing ' a capella ' without deviation from the pitch. 
 
 " 5. Ability to sing for a long time without fatigue — the 
 voices at the end of a three-hour service being as fresh as 
 at the beginning. 
 
 " 6. Longevity of the treble voice — the signs of mutation 
 appearing in many cases after the age of seventeen." 
 
 Theoretically, the subject of proper breathing should be 
 treated before that of tone-production; practically, in the case 
 of boys, it should not be enlarged upon until after they have 
 been taught once or twice to produce tones. But for the 
 production of sustained notes a regular system of correct 
 breathing must be taught in the first days of instruction. For 
 exercise in breathing, we can do no better than quote again 
 Dr. Martin: 
 
 " At the outset the boys must be made to stand in an upright 
 
 1 Readers are referred to Chapter VII for a list of other valuable books 
 on this subject. 
 
THE TRAINING OF BOYS' VOICES. 63 
 
 position, both feet being firmly planted on the floor. During the 
 breathing exercises the hands should be placed behind the back in 
 as easy an attitude as possible, so as not to cramp the body in 
 any way. The mouth must be slightly opened, and the air drawn 
 gently in. When a full breath is taken, the chest, ribs, and abdo- 
 men must be enlarged and expanded. Any tendency to raise the 
 shoulders must be considered a sign of bad breathing. Four slow 
 beats should be counted during this process, and the breath should 
 be taken slowly, silently, and very evenly. The breaths thus 
 drawn must be carefully retained in the body without the slightest 
 escape, while four is counted. Then with a strong effort of will 
 and command of the muscles, the breath must be evenly and 
 gradually expired while another four of equal measure is counted. 
 Thus twelve beats will be used. Four to take breath, four to 
 
 hold it, and four to let gently forth It is most important 
 
 that the teacher should explain to the boys that considerable men- 
 tal force is required to prevent the air from rushing out too 
 quickly at the beginning of the process of expiration." 
 
 It is also most useful in breathing-exercises to have the lads 
 stand with arms akimbo and palms of hands on the hips; this 
 arrangement affords even greater freedom to the chest and ab- 
 dominal muscles than when the hands are placed behind the 
 back. At least five minutes of every rehearsal should be de- 
 voted to an exercise of this sort. 
 
 We have treated thus far of the training of the boy- 
 sopranos. How does the choirmaster proceed with the altos ? 
 By precisely the same method, applied to a range of voice lower 
 in the scale. The break in the alto-voice must be located, and 
 with the application thereupon of the same method of treat- 
 ment the boy-alto will develop a timbre of voice which will 
 readily and beautifully blend with the flute-like quality of 
 the sopranos. 
 
 The men, too, should be trained along some such definite 
 
64 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 line of voice-culture as can be applied to them en masse, in 
 sections, or as individuals. If they are young men, just be- 
 ginning their musical career, they will appreciate such training, 
 and it will go a long way toward securing their steady co- 
 operation in choir-work. It is most desirable that the men 
 should use their voices according to some fixed plan, and 
 that there should not be left loose among them one individual 
 with personal peculiarities in voice or tone production. We 
 all know what harm one twangy, nasal tenor, or one chesty 
 basso, can do even in reasonably large choirs. The boy-choir 
 is no place for either of them. The purity of tone which the 
 ideal choir of boys and men can and should attain to is, as it 
 were, the clearness of crystal. Natural flaws of voice in the 
 deeper parts can be largely corrected by the use of proper 
 vocalizing, and choirmasters will do well to adapt any of the 
 recognized methods of voice-production for tenors and basses 
 to the use of the men of the choir. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 Current Views on the Use of the Vocal Registers. 
 
 WE come now to a much mooted question among choir- 
 masters, and the distinguished authorities arrayed on 
 each side of the question well indicate the force of the argu- 
 ments which the supporter of each side can produce in favor 
 of his contention. I refer to the two opposite ways of over- 
 coming the break in the registers. 
 
 The first way is to smooth over the break by blending at 
 that point the two registers of the voice, and subjecting the 
 lower register to treatment which will greatly modify it, but 
 by no means obliterate it. The other way is to eliminate 
 absolutely the chest register, and to make the chorister use his 
 thin register throughout the entire range of his voice. Let 
 it be said at the outset that it is the conviction of the writers 
 of this symposium that for the purposes of rendering our music 
 the first of these methods is unquestionably the better. The 
 difference of opinion has existed for many years, and is likely 
 to last for many years to come. 
 
 Mr. G. Edward Stubbs emphatically claims superior re- 
 sults for choirs where the thin register is used exclusively. 
 " The habitual use of the thin register," he writes, " through- 
 out the entire vocal compass is looked upon by not a few 
 voice-trainers as a ' fad,' encouraged and followed only by a 
 few specialists. That it embodies the old Italian method, prac- 
 tised for ages and ages by the choirmasters of Italy, and later 
 
 (65) 
 
66 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 introduced into England, and still later defended in extenso 
 by modem scientists, is a fact either unknown or ignored' 1 x 
 The votaries of the head-voice system claim for it, that — 
 ( i ) by singing only in the thin register " correct mechan- 
 ism of the vocal organs is secured." 
 
 (2) The chest tones of the boy- voice are the result of bad 
 habits of speaking and singing. 
 
 (3) Exclusive use of the head-register insures uniform, 
 flute-like quality throughout the whole compass of 
 the voice. 
 
 (4) The process of blending the registers at a given point, 
 in such a way that the fusion of them will be imper- 
 ceptible, is too difficult a task for the average choir- 
 master to undertake. 
 
 (5) The head-voice is more flexible and lends itself more 
 readily to florid passages which require rapid jumps 
 from low to high notes. 
 
 (6) The tendency to lose the pitch in unaccompanied music, 
 is not met with so frequently in choirs where this system 
 is the basis of the vocal instruction as in choirs where 
 boys are permitted to sing with a qualified chest tone. 
 
 These, it appears to the present writer, are the chief argu- 
 ments which can be alleged in favor of the total eradication 
 of the thick-register voice. Readers are left to decide for 
 themselves the truth and force of them. 
 
 In support of the other system, we quote a few words from 
 the pen of Mr. Krehbiel; he is speaking of Mr. La Jeune, 
 choirmaster of St. John's Chapel, New York : 
 
 " His method differs from that of the majority, in that he does 
 
 'See Practical Hints on the Training of Choir-Boys — Revised edition, 
 pp. 91 seqq. 
 
USE OF THE VOCAL REGISTERS. fy 
 
 not permit the use of the chest tones at all by the boys. This is 
 not because he believes the chest tones of boys cannot be used 
 effectively, but because he holds it is impossible to bridge over 
 the break between the registers, in the three or four hours' study 
 a week which the appropriation for choir purposes enables him 
 to have. Mr. Messiter, of Trinity Church, holds decidedly to the 
 opposite opinion, and on this mixed question there are nearly as 
 many diverse views as there are choirmasters. As a rule, the 
 practice is to train the head voice downward, and to prohibit the 
 use of the chest tones above G on the second line of the treble 
 staff. Those who, like Arthur E. Cook, of Calvary, split up the 
 voice into more than two registers, believe also in cultivating the 
 medium tones, on the ground that, while sweetness and purity of 
 tone are gained by developing the head tones downward, the sing- 
 ing of the choir trained on this plan will lack brilliancy/' 
 
 It is presumed that this last statement refers to the complete 
 absence of chest tones in training low notes on the head plan. 
 Every authority advocates training downward. In fact, the 
 downward plan, while permitting the use of the chest tone, at 
 the same time gives the usually strident chest register a modi- 
 fied character which is apparent early in the training. 
 
 One important consideration which the Catholic choirmaster 
 must take into account in settling for his own practice the 
 merit of this question, is that the chorister must be fitted to sing 
 the Gregorian Chant instead of music which has been es- 
 pecially written with reference to his paramount abilities, as is 
 the case in the Anglican Church. The chant is of wide range 
 and varied character, oftentimes calling for great virility of 
 tone; the insipidity of a voice trained entirely in the head re- 
 gister would be entirely inadequate to the requirements. For 
 example: the Victimae Paschali sung throughout in the thin 
 register, supposing of course that the low notes could be thus 
 reached, would lose its triumphant character. If this se- 
 
68 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 quence is transposed to a pitch where it can be sung readily 
 in the head register, the effect of such a passage as " Die 
 nobis Maria " and "Angelicas testes," the victorious character 
 of the melody is lost in its trivial treatment. The effect 
 would be something like that of bugle call to arms played upon 
 fifes. The difficulty in this particular sequence could be obvi- 
 ated, it is true, by the particular phrases in question being given 
 to altos or basses; but such solutions in the general rendering 
 of the chant are not always practicable. The boy's voice 
 must be trained to meet any emergencies in the chant. 
 
 To sum up. (i) According to Mr. Krehbiel, the majority 
 of choirmasters advocate the retention of the chest register in 
 a modified form. (2) For all practical purposes, a qualified 
 chest tone seems indispensable in Catholic music. 
 
 Having decided to train the boys on this principle, choir- 
 masters should take a method of dealing with the chest regis- 
 ter which shall tend to free it from all symptoms of harsh- 
 ness and bridge over the break between the registers. Soft 
 singing and downward practice of scales from a point in the 
 thin register must be insisted upon. Choristers must be given 
 individual practice. By application and patience and the exer- 
 cise of ingenuity and invention to cover special cases the habit 
 of singing smoothly over the break can be acquired. Before 
 leaving the subject of tone-production it would be well to 
 mention that, upon the attainment of proficiency in singing, 
 the general practice need not be confined exclusively to down- 
 ward progressions, although this should still be the prevail- 
 ing method. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 The Technical Training of the Choir. 
 
 WE shall consider, in this chapter, the training of the choir- 
 members in such of the theoretical principles as are neces- 
 sary to them. 
 
 First, a certain amount of technical training is absolutely 
 indispensable. This must be taken as final, for although the 
 correct vocal training of the singers, and particularly of the 
 boys, is of greater importance, yet a choir that has not been 
 thoroughly grounded in the fundamentals of musical theory 
 will be always unreliable; never sure, never accurate. 
 
 The disadvantages of working with a " catch as can " 
 choir, a choir that sings by ear, and not by note, are many : 
 
 (a) Much valuable time is wasted in learning new pieces; 
 
 (b) The repertoire will be greatly limited, because a con- 
 siderable portion of excellent church music is too diffi- 
 cult for such a choir to attempt ; 
 
 (c) The singers have not the necessary independence, inas- 
 much as they must trust to their ears to suggest the 
 the correct note at the correct time; disastrous "breaks" 
 are liable to occur at almost any moment ; 
 
 (d) "Attack " is often tentative and weak; 
 
 (e) An infinite amount of energy is unnecessarily expended 
 by the choirmaster; both in teaching the choir, and in 
 leading it at services. 
 
 On the other hand, a choir that can read music fluently, 
 and interpret readily the various musical signs, can aim at 
 learning the most difficult music. Fugues have no terrors for 
 
 (69) 
 
7o 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 such a choir; the more complicated the counterpoint, and the 
 more elaborate the figure, the more vigorous and enthusiastic 
 will be the rendition. Such a choir can easily acquire a reper- 
 toire which will allow a pleasing variety in the music sung. 
 It can give intelligent expression to movements where an ill- 
 trained choir would be at sea; it can sing polyphony with an 
 easy flow, and accurately; in a word, it has many advantages 
 over an insufficiently educated choir. 
 
 The writer has attended many rehearsals of a well-known 
 Catholic chancel-choir in this country. Every visit to the 
 practice-room of this choir brings a new revelation of the 
 fluency of both the boys and the men in reading at sight from 
 the Gregorian, modern, and a modified form of the Tonic- 
 solfa notations. The choirmaster spends a part of each 
 rehearsal in practising sight-singing, and the result is that the 
 most difficult fugal compositions, and the most florid chants are 
 regularly rendered with incredibly little effort. At each re- 
 hearsal, a portion of the practice-time should be devoted to 
 theory. Choirmasters will find that they can dispense with 
 instruction in theory only at their ultimate inconvenience. 
 Fifteen minutes in an hour's practice is not too much time to 
 spend in sight-reading. The reading not only of modern 
 music, but also of Gregorian Chant, must be studied and mas- 
 tered. The rudiments of modern music must be studied until 
 each chorister is thoroughly acquainted with them. He should 
 be able to name all notes in all of the lines and spaces, and 
 some of the leger lines, with their accidentals, and to explain 
 the various time-values. He should be familiar with the 
 signatures of the different keys, and he should understand 
 the various marks of expression. 
 
 "A good choir, men and boys," writes Dr. Martin, " ought 
 to be able to read ordinary music at sight. It ought not to 
 
THE TECHNICAL TRAINING OF THE CHOIR. yi 
 
 be necessary to try pieces of moderately difficult music many 
 times before making it as perfect as circumstances will permit. 
 The blackboard should be in constant use, and at first, at 
 each lesson, the scale of C major should be written out, and 
 the boys requested to sing any note pointed out by the teacher. 
 This should form part of every lesson. Later on, other 
 scales may be taken and accidentals introduced. Another 
 most useful exercise is to distribute a collection of chants, 
 single and double, and sing them through in consecutive order, 
 the teacher explaining the new scale to the pupils when neces- 
 sary; but to do this with any success, considerable advance 
 must have been made in the theory of music." 
 
 A good method for learning to* read modern music at sight 
 should be introduced. Tuft's method is an ideal one, thorough, 
 and easy of comprehension. It is founded upon the movable 
 Do system, by which each scale commences with Do. The 
 lessons are deftly arranged, and the progress of the boys in 
 assimilating them is remarkable. The system founded upon 
 the fixed Do is most unsatisfactory. It has always proved a 
 great task to teach boys to commence a new scale on a differ- 
 ent sound, thus : C scale on Do, D scale on Re, G scale on 
 Sol, etc. As a matter of fact, every scale is structurally 
 identical. If C on a piano is tuned up to D, and every suc- 
 ceeding note accordingly, a perfect D scale will be heard. 
 This is where the movable Do makes sight-singing easy. 
 Every new scale starts on Do, and the perfect uniformity of 
 the diatonic scale-intervals is impressed on the boy's mind 
 without conscious effort on his part. 
 
 Dr. J. Varley Roberts, of Magdalen College, Oxford, agrees 
 that: " i. The best method is that called the 'movable Do'; 
 that is, to make ' Do ' the tonic or keynote of the music sung 
 in any particular key. Modulations should be explained on 
 
72 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 the blackboard. When a transition into a new key takes 
 place, then the tonic of such new key should of course be- 
 come the ' Do.' 
 
 " 2. If boys have been taught the tonic-solfa system in 
 school it is all the better for the choirmaster, as the know- 
 ledge of scales, intervals, modulation, etc., obtained by this 
 method can be applied to the system of notation. 
 
 " 3. The system of a fixed ' Do,' i. e., always assigning 
 the note C as the ''Do,' is altogether a wrong one (for many 
 obvious reasons), and can lead to no satisfactory result." 
 
 The movable Do will also facilitate the reading of the chant 
 in which the position of the notes on the staff is relative. 
 
 It is exceedingly unfortunate that in some quarters the 
 necessity is thought to exist for editions of the liturgical 
 books in modern instead of Gregorian notation. While such 
 editions are designed to facilitate the ready reading of the 
 Chant, it is to be feared that they preclude any rational inter- 
 pretation of its spirit and rhythm as indicated in the original 
 notation. The staff, notes, and clefs of the latter are not at 
 all formidable. Probably the chief fancied obstacle to its easy 
 mastery is the fact that the pitch of the notes indicated there- 
 by is relative instead of absolute. But if so, the books in mod- 
 ern notation do not relieve this difficulty in the slightest de- 
 gree, for in them each Chant composition is reduced to the 
 natural scale of C, which the organist must customarily trans- 
 pose into a key suited to the compass of the voices. The dis- 
 position of the Gregorian melody into a convenient vocal range 
 is quite as elementary a matter as the transposition from the 
 scale of C into another determined scale. Several very serious 
 difficulties are involved in the use of this unsatisfactory ex- 
 pedient of modern notation, by which the general musical effi- 
 ciency of organist and singers is bound to be jeopardized to 
 
THE TECHNICAL TRAINING OF THE CHOIR. 
 
 73 
 
 some extent; for it is hardly to be supposed that professional 
 musicians are going to confine the entire extent of their musi- 
 cal activities to the one art form of Gregorian Chant. I refer, 
 first, to the unwise and detrimental tampering with the sense 
 of absolute pitch, rare enough at best, which is involved in 
 habitual transposition from one determined key to another; 
 whereas, the pitch of the notes on the Gregorian staff is rela- 
 tive only. I next allude to the annihilation of the sense of 
 positive tempo which must follow the use of quarter and eighth 
 notes which, at the same time, are not to be considered as 
 such, but treated rather according to the free rhythm of the 
 Chant. As a still further complication, some of the Tournai 
 books in modern musical characters contain dots over the 
 music of the accented syllable or word in order to indicate 
 emphasis. The dot is the same as that used to indicate 
 staccato in modern music, which term bears a very different 
 signification. Metronome marks are also used sometimes 
 presumably to indicate a standard of speed, but as the Chant 
 is without determined tempo, the metronome marks but add 
 to the general confusedness. A church choir, however much 
 an easy or " royal road to learning " may seem to be desirable 
 to them, should by no means be subjected to the necessity of 
 such mental contortions as are consequent upon the use of a 
 makeshift notation which is supposed to mean one thing for 
 this and another thing for that. The pliant and mellifluous 
 character of the Chant, as properly interpreted from the 
 Gregorian staff, is in great contrast with the stilted and lab- 
 ored production which can hardly be avoided when it is de- 
 lineated by means of this incongruous attempt at a modern 
 notation which confounds the significance of its various tokens. 
 The Reverend clergy would do well to consider these points, 
 and in giving their orders for the new liturgical books, see to 
 it that they obtain the real chant notation for their choirs. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Rehearsals. 
 
 D ROPER facilities must be provided for regular practice. 
 * The choir-room should be kept sacred for choir purposes, 
 so that it may be accessible at all times. The choir should 
 not be expected to have quarters with Sodalities and Leagues, 
 not to mention sewing-classes and the Altar Society. The 
 appointment of rehearsals should never depend upon whether 
 the room is previously occupied by the St. Vincent de Paul 
 Society or the Church Debt Association. The conscientious 
 choirmaster will be obliged to make many appointments for 
 personal practice, at all sorts of hours, and the scene of action 
 should be always available to his purpose. 
 
 The piano should be one with horizontal strings, either 
 grand or square, so that the choirmaster can sit facing the 
 choir with an unimpeded view. The benches should be com- 
 fortable, but not conducive to lounging, and they should be 
 arranged as nearly as possible according to the plan of the 
 choir-stalls in the sanctuary. A blackboard with white lines, 
 or better, a white board with black lines for the musical staff, 
 should occupy a commanding position. It would add to the 
 general musical effect if a few pictures representing musical 
 subjects, for instance St. Cecilia, or some of the great com- 
 posers, could hang on the walls. The cassocks and surplices 
 of the members should hang in lockers built along the sides 
 of the room. This would centralize the choir equipment, and 
 would avoid the confusion which would inevitablv result from 
 
 (74) 
 
REHEARSALS. 
 
 75 
 
 mutual accommodation for choir and altar boys. A closet for 
 books and music should be provided in the choir-hall, and 
 some regular method for keeping the music in repair devised. 
 The choirmaster will find it convenient to appoint as librarians 
 certain reliable boys whose duty it shall be to distribute and 
 gather up the music, and see that it does not become worn 
 beyond chance of repair. 
 
 As to the number of rehearsals, if the best quality of work 
 is desired, from four to six hours a week for the boys, and 
 two or three hours a week for the men is none too much. 
 The boys should be rehearsed one hour on each of the five 
 school days, then allowing them an absolute holiday. When 
 the boys attend the parochial school, an arrangement between 
 pastor, teachers, and choirmaster should be made by which a 
 part of the rehearsal can come out of the class hours. One of 
 the great aims of the school boy is to " get out of class," and he 
 would gladly hew wood or carry water to attain this end. It 
 has been abundantly proved that in a choir practice the best 
 work is done in that portion of the hour when the lads have 
 the satisfaction of knowing that they are out of class while 
 their classmates are " grinding." The time between the clos- 
 ing of school and twilight is naturally given but grudgingly 
 by the boys. Such an arrangement as I have just suggested 
 might entail an extra degree of management upon the school 
 Sisters, but they are ever susceptible to the inspiration " ad 
 majorem Dei Gloriam." The men of the choir should have 
 at least two rehearsals a w r eek; and on Friday night of each 
 week there should be a full rehearsal of boys and men ; this is 
 considered to be the best night for the general practice, for it is 
 sufficiently late in the week to admit of gathering up the re- 
 sults of the previous days' rehearsals, and preparing them for 
 the Sunday which is to follow. The singing on Sunday will 
 
76 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 be characterized by all the greater freshness and spontaneity 
 on account of the previous day's rest. Where the boys are 
 not taken from the parochial school, it is not easy to hold the 
 lehearsals so frequently. But there should not be fewer than 
 three rehearsals a week for the boys, one for the men, and 
 one general practice for all together. It would be a folly to 
 hope for good results if less time than this were devoted to 
 practice. 
 
 " Our rehearsal-time is unfortunately too short," writes Mr. 
 Bellenot of St. Sulpice, " about an hour or three-quarters of an 
 hour daily — when there is no morning office to be sung. It 
 consists of sustained tones and vocalizations, etc." 
 
 "A great many people," says Dr. Martin, " suppose that 
 all the children of the choirs of various cathedrals sing well 
 because they possess excellent voices. This is a mistake. 
 Almost all the charming quality of vocal tone observed in the 
 
 choirs of cathedrals is acquired in the practice-room 
 
 It is the regular training obtained in the practice-room . . . 
 which produces the result so much admired and so worthy of 
 admiration. The choirmaster who would attain a like effect 
 must resort to like means." 
 
 Our consideration as to the amount of time to be devoted to 
 choir-practice can best be concluded in the words of A. Madeley 
 Richardson, Mus. Doc, F.R.C.O. : " To carry his work to a 
 successful issue, the choirmaster must have ample time and 
 know how to put it to the best use. An hour a day with per- 
 haps one day a week as a holiday, is a reasonable amount of 
 time to devote to choir-work with boys. If this time is used 
 to the best advantage, it will be productive of great benefit to 
 the boys, and will give possibilities of raising their singing 
 to a very high level." 
 
 The question is often raised, " How long a time must neces- 
 
REHEARSALS. 
 
 77 
 
 sarily elapse between the organization of a choir and its in- 
 stallation in the sanctuary?" Three months is the minimum 
 of time required for the proper preparation. Six months 
 would be more reasonable, and one full year is to be highly 
 recommended. Of course, many pastors are so situated that 
 the solution of this question is thrust suddenly upon them 
 and in such manner that it must be solved by the first means 
 which come to hand. But in places where the former choir of 
 mixed voices is suddenly disbanded, and the liturgical choir is 
 not yet ready for a public appearance, the pastors would do 
 well to have Low Mass, or to engage a temporary unison 
 choir of three or four men. If a sanctuary choir starts upon 
 its career in a crude, unfinished state, it will lay up for 
 itself the criticism and opposition of many years to come. If, 
 on the contrary, it enters upon the performance of its functions 
 in a condition of thorough fitness, its success is infallibly 
 ensured. 
 
 The prudent pastor, in this regard, is he who, reading the 
 signs of the times, and observing the straws which indicate 
 how the wind blows, at once sets about preparing a chancel- 
 choir. If he commences intelligently and permits himself a 
 full year for preparation, there is no doubt but that the new 
 liturgical choir will enter upon its career in such manner as 
 abundantly to vindicate its installation and to win the approval 
 of all interested. 
 
 The best mode of procedure in the rehearsal room, which 
 has come under the notice of the writer, is given by Dr. Tozer, 
 of London : 
 
 " Never ' nag ' a choir, or poke fun at individual members. If 
 any one member is at fault, speak of the part to which he belongs, 
 and not of the individual himself, as being so. Make faultfind- 
 ing general, and often include one's self : e. g., ' We were not 
 
78 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 right on such a point.' Maintain your dignity, but without any 
 absurd haughtiness. After a rehearsal is over, mix naturally 
 with your members, and take an interest in some of their concerns, 
 outside the mere choir work : e. g., their trades, professions, fami- 
 lies, etc. A question or two on these things shows the friend, 
 after you have dropped the official. 
 
 " At a practice, get everything you want ready before you begin. 
 All music should be on the desks before a note is sung. Have a 
 list prepared beforehand of all you will want. Give it to your 
 librarian, whose duty it will be to see that it is properly attended 
 to. Let him begin at the bottom of the list ; then the music you 
 want first at the rehearsal will be uppermost on the desk. 
 
 " When practising, discourage desultory conversation. If you 
 hear it, say firmly, but quite nicely : ' Kindly allow me to do the 
 talking, and you do the singing/ 
 
 " A short break every fifteen or twenty minutes is useful to 
 keep the voices from getting tired. Go straight on with the vari- 
 ous items you have on your list without any ' waits ' (except as 
 above) ; it maintains keenness and makes a choir alert. 
 
 " Find places quickly and quietly, and on Sundays always have 
 a service list with everything written down in proper order and 
 precisely. One list to every two members prevents all discussion. 
 
 " In correcting errors, do not correct everything as it occurs, if 
 the slips are comparatively unimportant. Take a page or two at 
 a time. Memorize the errors and point them out ; show how the 
 passages ought to be sung, and begin again. 
 
 " If the choirmaster is organist also, let him show how he 
 suggests an effect on the organ by his manner of playing; tell 
 the singers always to keep an ear for this. He can suggest quietly 
 a certain method of rendering a passage which they will catch at 
 once if they understand him. 
 
 " Tell them you can hear them in pianissimo passages, when 
 perhaps they cannot hear your accompaniment; that being so, 
 they must not get into a state of panic. They should keep sing- 
 ing just the same, knowing that you are at the helm to avert any 
 disaster, should one be imminent." 
 
PART III. 
 
 THE PLACE OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL MUSIC 
 AMONG THE ARTS. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Gregorian Chant. 
 
 H^HE pontificate of our present Holy Father, Pope Pius X, 
 ■*■ has marked a most important era in the history of Church 
 music. The regulations which have been proposed for many 
 centuries by Popes, Councils, and Decrees of the Sacred Con- 
 gregation have been epitomized and enjoined by the reigning 
 Pontiff in such fine detail of distinction that there is no room 
 for irregularity of practice on any ground, whether of mis- 
 understanding of his inculcations or an assumption of dis- 
 ability generally to carry out the same. The characteristic 
 of Church music as a distinctively ecclesiastical art has been 
 made evident, and we are now bound to conform our prac- 
 tice to the rules of the Church and confine ourselves to a 
 repertoire which is legitimate under the legislation which 
 authority has propounded. The principle governing both the 
 selection of our singers and of the music which they are to 
 sing having thus been made a forensic one, those placed in 
 charge of choirs have no choice in the premises but to conduct 
 themselves accordingly and work for results. Of them, there 
 is no reason to be apprehensive. 
 
 It should be understood from the start that the music now 
 declared authoritative is of the supremest order of excellence 
 and capable of the highest artistic development. Not less than 
 by reason of its liturgical appropriateness, has it been selected 
 from the enormous musical product of the Christian era by 
 the corresponding reason of its inherent beauty. Mastered by 
 
 (79) 
 
80 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 the well educated choir of male voices, the musical offering 
 cannot only square with the legislation concerning it, but it is 
 abundantly replete with artistic possibilities commensurate 
 with, and infinitely superior for its purpose to the standard 
 heretofore furnished by the familiar mixed choir of male and 
 female voices now abrogated by authority. 
 
 Church music may be divided into three general classifica- 
 tions, — (i) the Gregorian Chant, (2) the classic polyphonic 
 music of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and (3) music 
 composed in modern times and according to the general rules 
 of modern style, but within the lines laid down by the specifica- 
 tions of the Motu proprio of November 22, 1903. 
 
 It is clearly evident, upon a careful study of the Motu proprio 
 in its various sections, that a most palpable object of its insist- 
 ence is the restoration of the Gregorian Chant. Its common 
 employment for both ordinary and extraordinary purposes is 
 positively assumed, and not only is much of the particulariza- 
 tion which follows clearly based only upon the postulate that 
 the directions therein contained shall be unquestionably 
 obeyed, but it is utterly incapable of interpretation except upon 
 this theory. This point is so obvious as to be beyond all dis- 
 pute. No evasion or circumlocution can explain or modify 
 one phrase of the Motu proprio into a less positive construc- 
 tion. As certainly as women are dismissed from the choir, 
 and boys ordered in their places by the Chief Pastor himself, 
 so certainly is the customary use of the Gregorian Chant made 
 obligatory. Even in such authorization as is given to other 
 styles of music, the following rule is laid down : " The more 
 closely a composition for Church approaches in its movement, 
 inspiration, and savor the Gregorian form, the more sacred 
 and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is 
 with that supreme model, the less worthy is it of the Temple." . 
 
THE GREGORIAN CHANT. 8 1 
 
 It would seem to the purpose that we should thus dwell for 
 a brief pause, not so much upon the superlative excellence of 
 the Chant as sung by male voices, as upon the peremptoriness 
 and far-reaching character of the mandate concerning it. 
 
 To many, and certainly to those in authority, it is evident 
 that the retirement of women from the choir and the restora- 
 tion in ordinary practice of the Chant are the two necessary 
 exactions, by the enforcement of which our Church music is 
 to be delivered from the utter secularization and corruption 
 which have long threatened it, although to others of equal can- 
 dor these requirements would seem to constitute serious diffi- 
 culties which are to be deplored, but not wantonly controverted. 
 
 As to the obligation by which those in charge of Church 
 music are to provide that Plain Chant is to be made the first 
 consideration of repertory, both its ethics and legal force re- 
 quire that the singers should not neglect a thorough study of 
 of the Chant for any purpose whatever. In other words, until 
 such time as the various Masses and the Office of Vespers 
 or Compline can be sung to the Chant prescribed by the 
 liturgical books, the choir should not experiment in modern 
 music to any considerable, and most certainly not to a dis- 
 proportionate, extent. It is a short-sighted and erroneous idea 
 to imagine that a smattering of the Chant will suffice for the 
 new choir, while its principal efforts can be expended in work 
 which indulges a modern taste and involves greater display. 
 Display and the self-consciousness of which it is begotten, are 
 the very things to be most studiously avoided in the choir. The 
 exclusion of women is an important step toward this desirable 
 consummation, and the use of Gregorian Chant, which accen- 
 tuates the solemnity of the sacred rite rather than the exploita- 
 tions of the singers, is a corresponding check upon any tend- 
 ency toward ostentation. With the distinct understanding, 
 
82 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 therefore, that the Motu proprio means exactly what it says on 
 the subject of Gregorian Chant, we shall do well to devote a 
 short space to a resume of its venerable origin. 
 
 The Gregorian Chant, or Roman Choral, as it is also prop- 
 erly called, is of composite derivation. It is, primarily, the 
 metamorphosis of the musical system which prevailed among 
 the Greeks in the halcyon days when Hellenic art was in its 
 glorious ascendancy. The Grecian music, traceable itself to 
 remote Egyptian and Phoenician origin, reached its highest 
 development in the renowned days of the classic drama. 
 Adopted with qualifications by the Romans also, though never 
 so assiduously cultivated by them, it represents the state of 
 artistic culture which music had attained at the dawning of 
 the Christian era. Of a character suited to the demands of 
 the magnificent drama which was produced on a scale of 
 august stateliness surpassing the dreams of the most en- 
 thusiastic visionary of our times, its virility withstood the de- 
 cline and disruption of the transitional period and, regener- 
 ated and transformed, it blossomed forth anew in the garden 
 of Christian art. Together with the system of music derived 
 from the Greeks, remnants of the Hebrew temple music, par- 
 ticularly of the Psalms, were incorporated into Christian wor- 
 ship by early Jewish converts. Of course, it is not to be un- 
 derstood that Christian music fashioned itself definitely accord- 
 ing to the Modes of the Greeks and Romans or the chant of 
 the Hebrews, but that, taking into account the disintegration 
 and demolition which ensued upon the decadence of Greek 
 and Roman art and the various conditions attendant upon the 
 assimilation of Judaism into the new religion, the general 
 scheme of Christian music was naturally based upon these two 
 existent types. 
 
 We need not dwell longer upon the origin of the cantos of 
 
THE GREGORIAN CHANT. 83 
 
 the Church, nor need we consider the enlargement of its scope 
 and unfolding of its genius as Christianity emerged from the 
 period of persecution. Its further history through the re- 
 visons of the Ambrosian and Gregorian epochs, and the later 
 compilations of the liturgical books of various periods, are 
 matters well known to the student. The last signal culmina- 
 tion of its progress up to the accession of the present Pope 
 was the issuance of the famous Ratisbon edition of the Chant 
 during the pontificate of Pope Pius IX, and its publication by 
 Messrs. Pustet & Co. under a thirty years' privilegium which 
 lasted through the reign of Pope Leo XIII and expired but last 
 year. Meanwhile, an exhaustive archaeological research into 
 original and authentic forms of the Chant which had been 
 undertaken and long pursued by the Benedictines of Solesmes, 
 produced results of advanced scholastic perfection, and the 
 publications of the Solesmes Chant from the presses of 
 Messrs. Desclee, Lefebvre & Co., Tournai, Belgium, presented 
 a serious claim to the recognition of the Church. Pope Pius 
 X, convinced that the Solesmes version of the Chant represents 
 the most accurate and ideal form of the same, has promulgated 
 this result of the profound erudition of the Benedictines as 
 the official Chant for the use of the Catholic world. As a 
 final precaution and guarantee of its authenticity, he has or- 
 dered its most scrupulous revision and issuance from the 
 Vatican presses. It is understood that the new liturgical books 
 will be forthcoming at an early date, and that the former pub- 
 lishers of the Solesmes Benedictines at Tournai have been 
 granted the privilege of issuing duplicate editions. The prices 
 will not be prohibitive, and every means will be taken for the 
 thorough dissemination of this revised edition of Plain Chant, 
 which will form the basis for the Gregorian restoration now 
 inaugurated by the Holy See. 
 
84 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 It is an error to assume that the technical study of the Chant 
 on the part of the choirmaster who is well grounded in the 
 modern musical system, is such a very complex matter. The 
 intervals of the different Gregorian Modes are represented in 
 the diatonic scale plus b Hat, and while the choirmaster should 
 most certainly understand the formation and relation of the 
 Modes, the process of their study by no means implies that 
 in the execution of the Chant he should eliminate the modern 
 scale from his mind, and revise, almost to the point of com- 
 plete inversion, his ordinary habits of musical thought. On 
 the contrary, the modern natural scale, constituting as it does 
 the fixed order of diatonic sound sequence, (permitting, of 
 course, as in Plain Chant, the use of Si Hat in order to avoid 
 the augmented fourth or tritonus), serves him as the standard 
 melodic norma upon which he can locate the successive tones 
 according to their modal progression. 
 
 In another chapter will be found suggestions as to means by 
 which the choirmaster can properly undertake the technical 
 study of the Chant. The singers can be spared much of such 
 technical study and interpret the Chant more in accordance 
 with the principles which they would apply to music composed 
 agreeably to modern rules. 
 
 We now arrive at a question which should be thoroughly 
 pondered, and determined only upon a careful weighing of 
 the forcible arguments which are adduced by theorists whose 
 convictions upon the subject differ. Is it permitted, in sing- 
 ing Plain Chant, to deviate at times from the unisonal char- 
 acter which is at the basis of its fabric and spirit and, for the 
 expression of an extraordinary degree of musical sentiment, 
 to break forth into vocal harmony ? Notwithstanding opinions 
 to the contrary and a consistent practice to that effect by many 
 of the most prominent votaries of the Chant, it is our decided . 
 
THE GREGORIAN CHANT. 85 
 
 conviction that within such limits as are generally conceded 
 to the principles of organ accompaniment to the Chant, its 
 harmonization for voices is permitted and at times advisable. 
 The principle which once admits the harmonized organ ac- 
 companiment to the Chant admits also its vocal harmonization. 
 It is true indeed that the Chant was not harmonized in its 
 early days. And why ? Because any such thing as a concor- 
 dant relation of sounds was unheard-of. But as soon as there 
 arose those who could effect anything like a consonance of 
 tones, the attempt was made. Hucbald's clumsy Organum 
 of the tenth century, and the more pretentious discant, or 
 diaphonia, triaphonia, etc., which followed it in the twelfth 
 century, were attempts in this direction. The falsi bordoni 
 to which Mr. W. S. Rockstro upon clear evidence ascribes 
 a date a full century and a half before that between 1305 
 and 1377, which is usually assigned, was the next accomplish- 
 ment of note in this regard. The Gregorian melody upon 
 which all these manipulations of concordant parts were based, 
 remained as an immutable voice part, and was designated as 
 the cantus firmus. The contrapuntists of the Palestrina school 
 based their colossal masterpieces upon Gregorian themes and 
 reduced such themes to definite rhythm for that purpose, and 
 we submit that a fixed rhythm to the Chant is quite as opposed 
 to the early conception of it as is a harmonization of it. In 
 all of these achievements of note, in which such stupendous re- 
 sults were evolved from early and almost barbarous approxi- 
 mations, we discern a principle of blending, rather than con- 
 fusion of art forms, upon which we consider ourselves justi- 
 fied in defending a legitimate harmonization of the Chant for 
 voices. We are well aware that there is thus propounded a 
 principle which is capable of abuse. But we do not believe 
 that any possible trifling with such a privilege upon the part 
 
86 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 of the incompetent can possibly be so detrimental to the ulti- 
 mate success of the Gregorian restoration as would be the 
 attempt, for the sake of strict interpretations which we do not 
 consider altogether warranted, to* repress entirely the innate 
 tendency of our singers toward " singing in parts." It is to 
 be seriously feared that the choirmaster who endeavors, for the 
 sake of an academical and pedantic principle, to train the aver- 
 age American choir along strictly uncompromising unisonal 
 lines, would soon be confronted by the threatened dispersion 
 of his singers, and perhaps experience the collapse of his own 
 enthusiasm. In further suggestions as to the practical teach- 
 ing of the choir, it will be assumed, conformably to our 
 theories upon the permissibility of vocal harmonization, that 
 it is to be allowed. We must be prudent in this regard, 
 however, and avoid the chromatic treatment which we ordin- 
 arily apply in harmonizing modern melody. 
 
 The organ accompaniment to the Chant constitutes a large 
 subject which can be treated intelligibly only in detail and 
 in a volume devoted primarily to it. Its general principles 
 are well summed up in the appendix to the Magister Choralis. 
 The matter is well expounded and illustrated in the writings of 
 Witt, Haller, Belt j ens, Piel, Mettenleiter and Oberhoffer. 
 Messrs. Novello, Ewer & Co. are about to issue a treatise on 
 Gregorian accompaniment by Louis Niedermeyer and Joseph 
 d'Ortigue, the latter of whom is the chairman of the Paris 
 Liturgical Commission. It is translated into English by Mr. 
 Wallace Goodrich and should prove a useful volume. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 How to Teach the Gregorian Chant. 
 
 WE should now proceed to a formulation of a practical 
 method by which the choir shall commence its study of 
 Gregorian Chant compositions. The section of the concentus 
 of the Mass designated in the books of the Liturgy as the 
 Cantus Ordinarii Missae should first claim our attention. 
 While the Church prescribes a special Mass according to the 
 liturgical rank of the day upon which it is to be sung, with the 
 provision of certain Masses which may be sung ad libitum, it 
 is unavoidable that, at the start, the Masses must be sung as 
 they can be learned rather than as they may be required. 
 Assuming that we are first arranging the preparation of two 
 alternate Masses, let us commence with the Mass for ordin- 
 nary Sundays within the year (Orbis Factor) and the first 
 Mass for Double Feasts (Cnnctipotens Genitor Dens). These 
 standard Masses will furnish a most practical introduction to 
 the beauties of Plain Chant. It would be well, at the same 
 time, to have a section, or two, three, or four alternating sec- 
 tions of the full choir (boys only, if more practicable), prepare 
 the Missa pro defunctis for use as occasion may require. 
 After the acquirement of these Masses, it will be found an 
 easy matter to add the other Chant Masses, one at a time, 
 in the order which shall suggest itself to the choirmaster, who 
 by this time should be getting well into touch with the new 
 order of things. It is doubtless the intention of the Church, 
 
 (87) 
 
88 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 and it is the custom of cathedrals and churches of note, gener- 
 ally, to sing one Mass complete, rather than the Kyrie eleison 
 from one Mass, the Credo from another, etc. This rule should 
 be adhered to, except in cases of such necessities as may natur- 
 ally arise in the unripe stages of the choir's growth. 
 
 What special treatment can be given to the musical produc- 
 tion of the Gregorian Masses in order that they may be sung 
 with the highest religious and artistic effect? In the first 
 place, we must remember that they lose nothing of their 
 solemnity and suitability for purposes of worship, if they are 
 sung strictly in unison. Here again we must remember that 
 unison singing does not mean the singing of a given melody by 
 boys and men together; that is singing in octaves, on account 
 of the difference of eight tones in pitch. Such octave singing 
 is all right at times, but a little of it goes a long way. Unisonal 
 treatment of Masses, or sections of Masses, would require that 
 the trebles and deeper voices should sing separate sections. 
 By thus alternating, and the use of an occasional octave pass- 
 age, a varied interpretation can be secured. This principle of 
 alternation should be made free use of, where the assortment 
 of voices permits. In many Masses, particularly in the two 
 named herein, there is possibility for beautiful effects in alter- 
 nating contrasts of unison and varied harmony, with due re- 
 gard for shading and expression. Gradations of tone from the 
 softest piano to the fortissimo of the musical climax; full 
 chorus ; the succession of movements in unison for boys' voices 
 followed by others in four-part harmony ; movements in unison 
 for mens' voices succeeded by such a solo passage or " melodic 
 projection " as is allowed by the Motu proprio, followed yet 
 again by sections in four, or less than four, or, as far as the 
 capabilities of the choir and the construction of the music 
 permit, — of more than four-part harmony; trio or quartette 
 
HOW TO TEACH THE GREGORIAN CHANT. 89 
 
 sentences, and grand chorus again, — all these illustrations indi- 
 cate how the capable choirmaster can so treat a Chant com- 
 position that it will be a revelation of beauty. Of course, in 
 choirs lacking the proper balance of voices, these varying ef- 
 fects cannot be secured, and during the early progress of the 
 Chant instauration, it may be generally necessary to render 
 Church music in more plain and severe style than may be 
 aimed at for the future, when the new order of things is held 
 better in hand. 
 
 While the first Masses are being studied, the responses 
 should be thoroughly learned, including the answers in 
 various Modes to Ite missa est and Benedicamus Domino. 
 Both the plainer responses, and the majestic responses at the 
 Canon, can be harmonized, and the latter particularly can be 
 shaded and finished to a degree which will prove truly up- 
 lifting and inspiring. 
 
 The Proprinm de Tempore is, on account of its elaborateness, 
 the most serious difficulty the choir has to face. From the out- 
 set, the choir must take no liberties with the sacred text of the 
 Liturgy. It must be sung, every word of it, and, if possible, 
 to the proper Chant melody. If this simply cannot be done, 
 some temporary expedient must be resorted to until it can be 
 accomplished. The singing of the Proper recto tono or to 
 the Psalm-tone of the Modes in which its specified parts may 
 be written, is not the ideal way, but it is far better to sing it 
 thus than to leave out the words, which latter alternative is 
 simply out of the question. As the ability of the choir comes 
 to correspond more closely to the demands made upon it, 
 special parts of the correct melodies of the Proper should be 
 regularly mastered, — for instance, those of the Introits, Alle- 
 luias, and Jubilations, and so on until it is possible to sing 
 them in entirety. Perhaps it would be well at first to con- 
 
9 o 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 fine the singing of the Proper to some six singers, more or 
 less, who need sing none of the other music. This will give 
 opportunity for more thorough and special rehearsal, and 
 guarantee a successful musical rendering of this important 
 portion of the Mass until such time as the choir has become 
 proficient and able to sing it according to its exact notation. 
 
 In teaching the choir to sing the liturgical Vespers, it will 
 be found necessary to remember that Vespers rendered in 
 choir is a very different service from the usual inexact even- 
 ing function which we have been accustomed ordinarily to 
 call by that name. With the installation of the choir in the 
 chancel, it will be possible to start at once with both the pre- 
 scribed music and ceremonies. 1 With the proper division of 
 the choir into antiphonarians, cantors, and chorus, each chor- 
 ister has his definite work to do, and the Office assumes the 
 character of symmetry and completeness contemplated by the 
 Church. The Psalms should be chanted, not by verses alter- 
 nating in solo and chorus, but in the antiphonal style, — that 
 is, from one side of the choir to< the other, if the choir is 
 seated on both sides of the chancel, or from one section to 
 another, if it is grouped on one side. The Antiphons to the 
 Psalms are very similar throughout the year, and they are 
 particularly interesting, as they represent one of the very 
 earliest developments of Chant composition. If it is not 
 feasible at first to sing them to the assigned melodies, they may 
 be recited recto tono. If the Reverend Clergy assert the privi- 
 lege of the celebrant at Vespers to intone the Antiphons to 
 the first Psalm and Magnificat (his intonation of the first line 
 of the Hymn is of course also understood), they can at once 
 place the singing of the Antiphons on a determined status and 
 
 'Consult Martinucci, Volume II. 
 
HOW TO TEACH THE GREGORIAN CHANT. 
 
 91 
 
 ensure study of them by those who are appointed to sing- them. 
 The Hymns and Versiculi must be sung, and great will be the 
 spiritual edification of our Catholic people as this thesaurus 
 of hymnody becomes familiar to their ears. The hymns are 
 in the four classic metres, iambic, trochaic, sapphic and 
 asclepiadic. The melodies are not difficult, — indeed, they are 
 peculiarly attractive. After following them through the course 
 of a year, they are easily retained in mind and associated with 
 the particuliar festival or season with which they are identi- 
 fied. If the task of preparing- them regularly is found im- 
 possible at first, suitable grave tunes may be selected from more 
 modern sources to which several hymns of similar metrical 
 construction may be sung. If it be objected that the sug- 
 gestions of this chapter admit, as in the case of the Proper 
 of the Mass, and the Antiphons and Hymns of Vespers, a 
 too marked deviation from the prescribed Chant form — we 
 are speaking now only of the accumulation of a Chant reper- 
 toire, not upon the permissibility of modern music as such, 
 upon which we shall dwell later — it may be said that such con- 
 cessions are suggested only for the first one, two, or three years, 
 or until the choir has attained to a state of advancement which 
 will admit of its adherence to the standard melodies. Much 
 of the existing prejudice against the Chant has undoubtedly 
 been provoked by the rude and unskilful attempts which have 
 often been made toward its production, and the choir will 
 accomplish far more in the end by endeavoring, at this junc- 
 ture, to do part of it well than all of it badly. 
 
 We have now arrived at the principal point of Vespers. 
 The Psalmody of the Old Law has merged into the Canticle of 
 the New Law. The prophecy of the Dixit Dominus is fulfilled 
 in the Magnificat. The words of Holy Mary ascend, while 
 priest and people " magnify the Lord " with the Virgin Mother 
 
9 2 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 through whom salvation was bestowed upon mankind. The 
 promise to our father Abraham is commemorated, and the 
 new covenant of grace is proclaimed. The ritual culminates 
 at this point. The priest and sacred ministers offer incense 
 at the altar, and the chant assumes a new solemnity as, with 
 enhanced tone, the salvation of Israel is announced in the 
 words of her whose "fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum" caused 
 to dawn the joyful day of the world's Redemption. The choir 
 should certainly distinguish between the method of rendering 
 the Psalmody and that of chanting the Magnificat. The tones 
 of the Psalms are given specially elaborated forms when as- 
 signed to the Magnificat, and these forms should never yield 
 to the relative plainness of the Psalm tone. A treatment of 
 the Magnificat in alternating unison and harmony, with effects 
 of shading and color corresponding to those suggested for a 
 similar rendition of Chant Masses, can be brought to bear with 
 solemn and sublime effect upon its rendering. 
 
 The musical responses which follow, and the answers to the 
 Orations and Commemorations should be treated with care, and 
 it would not be amiss to harmonize them. 
 
 One of the four Anthems of the Blessed Virgin, according 
 to the season, is now sung. The Solesmes Chant affords both 
 a cantus solemnis and cantus ferialis for these masterworks of 
 religious praise. The Chant melodies should be scrupulously 
 studied. They are beautiful productions, and upon their re- 
 currence year after year they will surely obtain a tenacious 
 hold upon the minds and hearts of those who sing and listen 
 to them, particularly so when we consider some of the execra- 
 ble settings of them which have flourished in the days of back- 
 gallery pre-eminence, and which, alas! are echoing yet. Be- 
 fore Benediction, a motet can be sung in modern style, if so 
 desired. This will be referred to later, under another classi- 
 
HOW TO TEACH THE GREGORIAN CHANT. 
 
 93 
 
 fication. The Tanticm ergo at Benediction should be of a 
 deeply religious character, and sung " after the traditional 
 form of the hymn." This is made the subject of a special or- 
 der in the Motu proprio. The Gregorian melodies are far bet- 
 ter suited to this supreme act of adoration by which the day's 
 worship is brought formally to a close, than modern settings 
 of the hymn. There are many exquisite selections in Plain 
 Chant which can be used after the Offertorium at High Mass 
 or as Benediction motets, which are capable of rich musical 
 interpretation, and these should be made the most of for 
 their purpose. As examples, we may note Rorate coeli, for 
 Advent; Adeste Udeles, for Christmas; Attende Domine and 
 Parce Domine, for Lent; Adore Te devote, Panis angelicas, 
 etc., for general use at Benediction. The Litany of the 
 B. V. M. should also be learned and sung in Plain Chant. 
 The greater part of the modern settings to the Litany so 
 mutilate its text that it is doubtful, to say the least, if they are 
 entitled to the prescribed indulgences. In fact, the popular 
 settings of the Litany in which or a pro nobis is sung not after 
 each title, but after groups of three titles, were quite recently 
 declared unindulgenced. 
 
 It is suggested that where the singing of Vespers is not pos- 
 sible, the Office of Compline, on account of its practical un- 
 changeableness, could be learned and rendered with less diffi- 
 culty than Vespers. 
 
 A choir which has reached the stage where High Mass and 
 Vespers can be well rendered in the manner above suggested, 
 has conquered the most difficult obstacles of its career. The 
 repertoire already mastered should be faithfully kept up, and 
 additions should be made to the same as opportunity allows. 
 All of the liturgical Masses should be learned, in order that 
 certain of the Masses may not regularly be used ad libitum 
 
94 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 for festivals which have special Masses assigned to them. The 
 Proper of the Mass as well as the Antiphons and Hymns of 
 Vespers, should, as soon as possible, be brought to the state of 
 perfection indicated in the books of the Liturgy. All solemn 
 Offices, such as those for Holy Week, should be fittingly ren- 
 dered as they occur. The amateur choir should not soar to 
 heights above its ability, nor should the skilled choir become 
 so interested in exploiting musical effects as to deem the 
 slightest inflection of Chant of small importance. The music 
 of worhip must be so produced that its impersonal character 
 and musical excellence shall be ever in evidence. It is the 
 expressed command of the Holy Father that the music should 
 be " good in itself/' and also that it should be " adapted to 
 the power of the singers and always well executed." 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 The Classic Polyphony. 
 
 WHAT have we in America in this twentieth century to do 
 with the heritage of polyphonic art which has come to us 
 from the masters of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, of 
 whom Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina is generally considered 
 to be the archetype? 
 
 The idea seems to prevail very largely that the music of 
 this school is of a nebulous, enigmatical character, capable of 
 being understood in this age only by the musical historian, and 
 existing only in manuscripts covered with dust and cobwebs in 
 the Sistine Chapel and historic Continental Cathedrals. Such, 
 as we shall see later, is not the case. 
 
 True, the music of the classic polyphony is of a character 
 which is indescribably ethereal, sublime, and in many ways 
 infinitely transcendental to modern music as revealed even in 
 its most rapturous effects. The absolute perfection of its 
 science, its marvellous blending of voices of varied timbre, its 
 kinship to the highest forms of renascent art, and its associa- 
 tion with what was best, holiest, and noblest in the Church, — 
 all these entitle it to the reverent admiration of the w r orld and 
 should inspire a serious interest in its study. 
 
 The original manner of writing the contrapuntal composi- 
 tions would be incomprehensible to the average musician of 
 these days. The unaccompanied melody of Plain Chant, 
 which, being incapable of further melodic development, lent 
 
 (95) 
 
96 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 itself to the treatment of the newly-discovered science of 
 counterpoint, formed the basis for the polyphonia which was 
 destined to achieve such wonders under the masterly mani- 
 pulation of the composers of the Netherlands and Italy, and 
 even of far-off, comparatively isolated England. 
 
 The output of the contrapuntists was exceedingly copious, and 
 doubtless much of it never saw the light. Still, an enormous 
 quantity of the composition of the time has been preserved and 
 duly published. Were such compositions available, however, 
 only in the many-clef ed and otherwise complex scores of the 
 masters, we might indeed relegate the hope of hearing in this 
 country the music of Palestrina and the other composers of 
 the polyphonic period, to the dim distance. But many musi- 
 cians of fame have appreciated this grave difficulty, and are 
 directing their praiseworthy skill to the deciphering of the 
 labyrinthine scripts of the masters of counterpoint, and the 
 reduction of the same to the modern methods of musical 
 writing for voices to which we are now accustomed. 
 
 The well-known firm of Breitkopf and Haertel, Leipsic, have 
 long since published, among much music of the polyphonic 
 school, the complete works of Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso and 
 Vittoria, from plates which are an excellent demonstration of 
 the perfection of the engraver's art. This firm is now en- 
 gaged in the publication of a still more lucid edition of con- 
 trapuntal music reduced to the common clefs of G and F and 
 provided with phrasing marks and metronomic indications, 
 under the editorship of the noted priest-musician, the Rev. 
 Hermann Bauerle of the Diocese of Rottenburg. Of this 
 superb edition, there have already been published the follow- 
 ing four-part Masses: Aeterna Christi munera, Brcvis, Dies 
 sanctificatus, Emendemus, Jesu nostra redemptio, Iste Con- 
 fessor, Lauda Sion, Sine nomine I (X toni), Sine nomine II 
 
THE CLASSIC POLYPHONY. 
 
 97 
 
 (IV toni), and Veni sponsa Christi, Palestrina; and Simile est 
 regnum coelorum and Ave Maris Stella, Vittoria. Fifteen 
 Motets by Vittoria have been published in this edition, and 
 five others of his Masses and thirty Motets for various occa- 
 sions by Palestrina are now in press. 
 
 Another new and equally excellent edition of classified music 
 of the Roman, Venetian, and Netherlands schools is now in 
 course of publication under the auspices of the Paris Schola 
 cantorum, and several volumes have already been issued. It 
 has the benefit of the highly able editorship of Charles Bordes, 
 whose zeal in the Church music restoration has won for him 
 special plaudits from the Holy See. The volumes of this 
 Repertoire des Chant eurs de Saint Gervais which have been 
 published up to this writing- are most useful editions of prac- 
 ticable polyphonia. It is suggested in this connection, that 
 there is no better medium by which pastors and choirmasters 
 in America can keep pace with the significant growth of the 
 reform movement in Church music than through La Tribune de 
 Saint Gervais, published at 269 Rue Saint- Jacques, Paris. It 
 is the monthly bulletin of the Schola cantorum, and Church 
 music is treated therein according to its large and important 
 scope. The American firm, Messrs. J. Fischer & Brother, 
 New York, has shown alacrity and enterprise in conforming 
 to the new requirements, and affords a reliable medium 
 through which to deal with foreign publishers. 
 
 As a practical basis upon which to start a study of contra- 
 puntal form, the following list of music in addition to com- 
 positions edited by the Rev. Hermann Bauerle which have 
 already been published, is suggested. Except where con- 
 trarily stated, it is confined to the Saint Gervais edition. The 
 voice parts do not exceed five in any of the Masses or motets 
 herein named and most of them are for four voices. Com- 
 
9 8 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 positions of extreme difficulty are not mentioned, as we are 
 vet a long way from the study of such ideals of classical style. 
 
 Masses. — Nos antem gloriari, Soriano ; Re gem coeli, and 
 Ascendo ad Pair em, Palestrina; quam gloriosum est regnum 
 and Quarti toni, Vittoria; Douce memoir e, di Lasso. 
 
 Motets. — Ave Christ e immolate, Ave Maria, and Ave 
 verum Corpus, des Pres; Domine, convert ere, Pauper sum ego, 
 and Verbum caro panem verum, di Lasso; Ave maris stella, 
 CJiristus f actus est, and Pie Jesu, Anerio; Assumpta est Maria, 
 Ave Regina, Salve Regina, Regina coeli, and F actus est re- 
 pente, Aichinger; Ego sum pauper et dolens, Croce; Angeli 
 archangcli, Filiae Jerusalem, and Sacerdos et Pontifex, A. 
 Gabrieli; Cant ate Domino, Hasler; Adoramus Te Christe, 
 Exultate Deo, Ego sum panis vivus, bone Jcsu, O admir- 
 abile commercium, and Alma redemptoris Mater, Palestrina; 
 sacrum convivium, Viadana; and Domine, non sum dignus, 
 Ecce sacerdos magnus, Duo seraphim clamabant, Jesu dulcis, 
 magnum mysterium, vos o nines, and Gaudent in coelis, 
 Vittoria. 
 
 One of the Breitkopf & Haertel volumes of Palestrina's 
 works contains thirty-two settings of the Magnificat, and 
 among them there can be found some which in degree of mod- 
 erate difficulty rank about as the selections above named. 
 They are obtainable separately. Of a character fully com- 
 mensurate with the music of the above list is that of William 
 Byrd, of the contemporaneous school in England, and I would 
 suggest the study of the following among his motets : Vigilatc; 
 Respice, Domine, de sanctuario tuo; Lactcntur coeli, et exultet 
 terra; and Vcni, Domine, noli tardare. A typical edition of 
 some of Byrd's compositions is issued by the (English) Anti- 
 quarian Society, and they can also be generally obtained 
 through English publishers. 
 
THE CLASSIC POLYPHONY. 
 
 99 
 
 It is yet very early in the stage of Church music reform to 
 aim at any speedy accomplishment in the line of the classic 
 polyphony. The methods common to our modern singing in 
 chorus are altogether different from the system required in 
 the polyphonic rendition. The basic structure of the Modes 
 in which the contrapuntal compositions are written is entirely 
 different in the relations of their intervals to the final, from 
 that of the diatonic scale plus Si flat, which we now use. 
 We cannot approach the study of these compositions so well, 
 if at all, by the application of modern principles turned his- 
 torically backward, as by working forward from a thorough 
 knowledge of the Modes of the Chant, and applying rules of 
 counterpoint in diatonic progression. Dr. Proske wrote years 
 ago with great truth : * " The universal and indispensable basis 
 for understanding and interpreting the contrapuntal scores 
 of the old masters of Church music is the Gregorian Chant." 
 The Holy Father recognizes the difficulties which the restora- 
 tion of the polyphonic school involves, and he makes no re- 
 quirements which need cause uneasiness among us. In the 
 Motu proprio, he orders that it " must therefore be restored 
 largely in ecclesiastical functions, especially in the more im- 
 portant basilicas, in cathedrals, and in the churches and chapels 
 of seminaries and other ecclesiastical institutions in which 
 the necessary means are usually not lacking." To sing the 
 music of Palestrina and the other contrapuntal composers 
 well means a great deal, and it assumes a high degree of pro- 
 ficiency on the part of the choir. Let us temper the zeal of 
 our aspirations thereafter with prudence! Until our choirs 
 have had long training in the Chant, until they have recognized 
 and are imbued with its unworldly inspiration, let them be- 
 
 1 Preface to Musica Divina. 
 
IOO MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 ware of striking out beyond their depth into the sea of 
 mediaeval chorus composition. When they are well able so 
 to do, let them neglect nothing in the way of nuance, dynamics, 
 and careful adjustment of voices, which may reflect the tra- 
 ditional method of their production. In a capella singing, it is 
 a foundation principle that every possible resource which care- 
 ful expression can suggest, should be brought to bear ; and this 
 is assumed in its highest sense, as a prerequisite for the ren- 
 dition of the music of this second classification. It is for- 
 tunate that we are directed to have boys for the acute voices 
 of the soprani as required in the polyphonic compositions. 
 They were written for male voices strictly, according to the 
 then existing traditions of the Church, and they require the 
 purity and beauty of scientifically cultivated boy's voices in 
 the treble parts. The almost cloistral spirituality of this won- 
 derful' music would be completely lost, if the soprano parts 
 were at the mercy of a feminine method of interpretation. An 
 attempt to render the impersonal polyphonic music with female 
 voices on the higher parts would be but another demonstra- 
 tion of the evident fact that women have absolutely no place 
 in the liturgical functions. 
 
 The return to the classic polyphonic writings, as well as to 
 the Chant, will mark, when we have reached the stage of 
 spontaneous accordance to its genius, the quickening of re- 
 ligious zeal and true artistic emotion. In these two sources, 
 the music of des Pres, Palestrina, di Lasso, and the other ar- 
 tists of the period, had their birth. In the rarified religious 
 and artistic atmosphere of the past three centuries which have 
 followed the upheaval of religion in Europe, and which have 
 witnessed orchestral development and the ascendancy of the 
 opera, its existence has been a stifled one, and its revivification 
 and reestablishment must depend upon a revival of the primary 
 
THE CLASSIC POLYPHONY. 1Q1 
 
 conditions which caused it to arise. The consecrated purpose 
 " to restore all things in Christ," which is the dominating 
 standard of the reign of Pope Pius, is an earnest that the re- 
 newing stimulus which may be confidently expected in all that 
 pertains to religion, will not be lacking in the restoration of 
 the sublime worship music of this exalted school. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Modern Music. 
 
 THE first questions in relation to this phase of our subject 
 which will probably suggest themselves to the majority of 
 those who are actively engaged in Church music are as follows : 
 (i) According to what canons and criteria of selection may 
 given compositions in modern style be adjudged admissible or 
 inadmissible under the Motu proprio? (2) Does the new 
 legislation imply an absolute farewell to our beloved Beethoven, 
 Haydn, Mozart, and even Gounod, whose religious mysticism 
 of composition has caused him to be regarded among us as 
 the exponent of an especially superior and religious style? 
 
 First of all, we must understand that modern music as such, 
 and apart from the question of its adaptability to liturgical use, 
 is not disparaged in the least. The Gregorian Chant, the 
 Palestrina polyphony, and the modern orchestral style are co- 
 equal amplifications of true musical art, each suited to its par- 
 ticular sphere. Such composers as those above named are 
 most certainly among the mighty and venerable masters of 
 the artistic, imperial school of music which the world is ac- 
 customed to in this our day and generation. Their composi- 
 tions for the Church are wondrously beautiful from a musi- 
 cal and generally from a religious standpoint. Their avail- 
 ability under the liturgical rules is quite a different matter, 
 however, and there is no question but that a justification of 
 their use under the present authoritative amendments — except 
 
 (102) 
 
MODERN MUSIC. 10 $ 
 
 in rare cases where gravity and consistency of style predom- 
 inate^ — cannot be properly maintained. But, however out of 
 balance with liturgical requirements they may be, their in- 
 herent beauty and artistic merit is not to be impugned. We 
 Catholics need offer no apology for the profound and solemn 
 emotions they have awakened in us in the past, nor for the 
 sentiment which, by reason of long and pleasant association 
 with them, moves us to defend them from the contumely of 
 those who would presume to challenge their musical excellence. 
 The Motu proprio enunciates certain principles which must 
 be borne in mind in our deliberations upon this phase of the 
 subject. These principles propound a process of exclusion by 
 which we are comparatively safe in indexing given composi- 
 tions on an inhibited list. But the larger question, in which 
 the very psychology of music is involved, and by which we can 
 certainly say that such and such a composition is undoubtedly 
 admissible, is left comparatively untouched. There are so 
 many elementary principles pertaining to the very soul and 
 mind of music, and such a complex maze of more or less un- 
 systematized rules pertaining to the construction, classification, 
 and interpretation of the elusive properties of sound, that care- 
 ful study will be required for years to come, and discussion 
 — in which the consensus of conclusion upon the subject shall 
 be thoroughly evident — must have free play before there can 
 be any rational understanding of the essence, much less the 
 phenomena of the subject. It is only in a very general way, 
 then, that principles can be deduced which can legitimately 
 and beyond any question determine by what process of in- 
 clusion modern music may be recognized as generally suited 
 to the liturgical rite. It is easy enough to say that music 
 which does not possess characteristics forbidden by the 
 Motu proprio is of course permitted. That much is a truism. 
 
104 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 But let any half-dozen men who are well versed in music make 
 the attempt at this budding stage of the music reform to agree 
 upon a practical standard by which a favorable decision shall 
 be applied to specified compositions which, for any cause, may 
 be considered as open to question; they would soon find, par- 
 ticularly if they be of diverse nationalities, that guess-work 
 will be very much in evidence, and that any such thing as a 
 consistent unanimity on the subject is impossible. There- 
 fore, beyond making certain suggestions which may serve as 
 starting-points for the further excogitation of those interested, 
 we cannot at this time go, and we therefore will not attempt to 
 deal with absoluteness upon such a very problematical point. 
 Let us consider some suggestions as to how, according 
 to the standards of the Motu proprio, we shall apply practical 
 tests to the music customarily sung in our churches. After 
 noting the recognition and favor which the Church has al- 
 ways bestowed upon the progress of the arts, so far as they 
 have remained consistent with the liturgical laws, the follow- 
 ing maxim is laid down : " Modern music is also admitted in 
 the Church, since it, too, furnishes compositions of such ex- 
 cellence, sobriety, and gravity, that they are in no way un- 
 worthy of the liturgical functions." But this general admis- 
 sion of modern music is at once qualified as follows : " Still, 
 since modern music has risen mainly to serve profane uses, 
 greater care must be taken with regard to it, in order that 
 the musical compositions of modern style which are admitted 
 in the Church may contain nothing profane, be free from re- 
 miniscences of motifs adopted in the theatres, and be not fash- 
 ioned even in their external forms after the manner of pro- 
 fane pieces." Then, by further process of expurgation, " the 
 theatrical style, which was in the greatest vogue, especially in 
 Italy, during the last century," is pronounced absolutely in- 
 
MODERN MUSIC. IQ 5 
 
 admissible. There is no gainsaying the fact that by reason of 
 these strict differentiations and correspondent rulings as to the 
 length and structure of Masses, the treatment of the liturgical 
 text, the insertion of solos and the use of orchestral instru- 
 ments, the accustomed repertoire of the average American 
 choir is completely overthrown, and the names of musical writ- 
 ers whose compositions have heretofore been familiar to 
 Catholic congregations are very largely debarred. To be 
 sure, it would be a false basis of judgment which would ascribe 
 to the Masses of such giants in musical lore as those named 
 above and others who rank in the galaxy with them, char- 
 acteristics indicative of the profane and theatrical style which 
 is forbidden by authority. They assuredly are neither flip- 
 pant nor trivial in a single phrase. Wherein they assume a 
 character which may be specified as dramatic or realistic, they 
 are never so to the extent of profanity or staginess. But the 
 overpowering magnitude of the musical treatment which in 
 them is ordinarily applied to the words of the liturgy, the 
 inordinate length of time required for the rendering of much 
 of such composition by which the Holy Sacrifice is delayed, 
 the writing of single musical numbers in separate movements, 
 the omission (as in the case in a number of Haydn's Masses) 
 of words of the text, and the necessity of an orchestra to their 
 proper production, constitute final obstacles to their admis- 
 sibility. Furthermore, it is hardly to be questioned that the 
 general elaborateness, embellishment, and frequently garish- 
 ness of their style are of a character unsuited to the solemn- 
 ity of the Mass, and certainly, when gauged by the test of 
 conformability or likeness to the " supreme model " of the 
 Chant, they are generally ruled out. The Motu proprio refers 
 to the matter thus : " It must be considered to be a very grave 
 abuse when the liturgy in ecclesiastical functions is made to 
 
106 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 appear secondary to, and in a manner at the service of the 
 music, for the music is merely a part of the liturgy and its 
 humble handmaid." 
 
 By applying ordinary principles of sense and discretion to ex- 
 amination of each of the hitherto familiar Masses, the choir- 
 master will readily find that most of them come under the 
 ban. For instance, he will find upon examining Haydn's 
 Third Mass, that every number in it conflicts glaringly with the 
 rules which have been established as a guarantee of propriety. 
 Exactly the same results will be found on reading the Second 
 Mass of the same composer. His First and his Sixteenth 
 Mass contain some exquisite passages which, except for the 
 impossibility of detachment from the whole, could be used 
 under the present rules; but the places in the context of such 
 passages renders them unavailable. Others of Haydn's 
 Masses, Beethoven's Mass in C , and the Masses of Mozart are 
 of a very similar character. Even the immortal St. Cecilia 
 Mass of Gounod so departs from liturgical principles that the 
 Benedictus only can be legitimately used at Mass, and even 
 then we should be sure that the solo motif does not exceed the 
 limits of the permitted " melodic projection," and that the 
 Mass be not delayed. The safe way would be to sing the 
 chorus part only. Gounod's Sacre Cceur Mass contains sec- 
 tions which can be used, and the First and Second Masses des 
 Orpheonistes, the Jeanne d'Arc and Angeli Custodes Masses 
 can hardly be deemed other than legitimate under the Motu 
 proprio. His Convent Mass in C, which is harmonized in 
 four parts and supplemented by a solid and good Credo by 
 Stollwerck is perfectly available throughout, if the choir re- 
 frains in this Mass, as in others by Gounod, from re- 
 peating the intonations of the celebrant. When it is 
 deemed advisable for the choir of boys and men to pre- 
 
MODERN MUSIC. j Q y 
 
 pare a harmonized Mass in modern style, this one would 
 be a good one to start with. However subdued it may 
 seem to those of us who have loved his Sacre Cceur and 
 St. Cecilia Masses in their entire and more extended scope, it 
 nevertheless has the indefinable Gounod charm. Surely it is 
 a satisfaction to feel that the beloved name of Charles Gounod 
 remains even thus to us in an approved status as a Mass com- 
 poser. The Masses of Cherubini, von Weber, Schubert, Hum- 
 mel, etc., when subjected to an analysis similar to that sug- 
 gested above, will be found generally ruled out, though there 
 are occasionally found selections in compositions of this class, 
 which would not seem to merit rejection. 
 
 Works of the writers of the Italian theatrical school, of 
 whom Rossini may be considered a type, are of course entirely 
 out of the question. 
 
 Beside the works by the preeminent masters of music whom 
 we have just considered, we find our choir libraries overrun 
 with compositions imitative of, but vastly inferior to, the 
 school of music represented by them. The names of writers 
 of florid Masses in " catchy " style, and of " Vespers No. I," 
 or " Vespers No. II," made up of one, two, or three Psalms 
 di concerto (which the Motu proprio says are " forever ex- 
 cluded and prohibited"), and a Magnificat similarly con- 
 structed, will suggest themselves at once to the initiated. 
 There should be no further trifling with music of this class. 
 It has but too frequently given a bad name to Catholic Church 
 music. It is undoubtedly a fact that the religious works of the 
 masters of the modern school are unable always to obtain a 
 fair judgment from the litterateur and musical chronicler, be- 
 cause of their association in the programmes of our choirs with 
 this kind of drivel, which every canon of educated taste should 
 bar from further hearing. It is devoutly to be hoped that this 
 
108 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 last sort of balderdash which has appeared in such plethora 
 in the advertised programmes which, to our shame, have been 
 given forth to the public, along with secular musical, sport- 
 ing and racing news, may be heard no more in the Church. 
 
 The Masses of the masters of the modern orchestral school, 
 while forbidden to be sung in church to any appreciable ex- 
 tent, can be preserved and studied as Sacred Oratorio by 
 choral and concert societies. 
 
 Let us endeavor now to work out some considerations by 
 which, though we cannot, as heretofore stated, be absolutely 
 determinate beyond a certain point, we may find at hand avail- 
 able music composed in modern times in place of that which is 
 now so unquestionably interdicted. We find, among the high- 
 est types, the great writers of the Csecilia Society, who in- 
 clude such notable names as Haberl, Witt, Hanisch,. Stehle, 
 Mitterer and Singenberger, and whose excellent musical writ- 
 ings have become so justly celebrated and widely used. With 
 full recognition of the superior accomplishments of this school 
 of composition, it may be seriously questioned how far its use 
 may be expected to predominate among those whose natal 
 origin and traditions are other than German. This by no 
 means insinuates that the characteristics of a very great deal 
 of it would not appeal to many of other nationalities, if they 
 could once be induced to study it to the point of thoroughly 
 understanding it. We must simply recognize and frankly 
 admit the invincible racial prejudices which arise from mutual 
 non-comprehension. Any subject concerning the artistic, 
 upon which the German, the Italian, the Britisher, and the 
 Frenchman agree, has not yet been originated. Broadly 
 speaking, music which, for the most part is distinctively Ger- 
 man in type, is no more suited to Italian, French, or British 
 taste than is music of the latter schools to the majority of 
 
MODERN MUSIC. 1Q g 
 
 German and German-American people. This point is so ap- 
 parent that it need not be enlarged upon. To so wield the 
 temperaments and tastes of the inhabitants of our country, who 
 represent " all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues," 
 each animated by racial traditions peculiarly his own, that 
 any point of mutual agreement upon a musical or artistic 
 question can be reached, is a task indeed. The following pas- 
 sage from the Motu proprio can well be pondered in connec- 
 tion with this point. " While every nation is permitted to 
 admit into its ecclesiastical compositions those special forms 
 which may be said to constitute its native music, still these 
 forms must be subordinated in such a manner to the general 
 characteristics of sacred music that nobody of any nation may 
 receive an impression other than good on hearing them." It 
 certainly is unquestionable that the productions of the best 
 Csecilian composers are much more attractive than many peo- 
 ple of other traditions seem to think, although it is a glory 
 wherein the Csecilia Society has a right to boast that its ex- 
 ponents have always sought the highest ideals of Christian 
 art, and not attempting ever to appeal to the superficial taste, 
 have worked on a higher plan than to produce merely attrac- 
 tive results. The claim of Csecilian music to an exalted posi- 
 tion among recognized art forms is not open to question, and 
 a closer acquaintance with it on the part of those who may be 
 unfamiliar with it, will prove to them the worthiness and 
 nobility of its style. The further establishment of the 
 Csecilia Society will go a long way toward the realization of 
 the ideals set forth in the Motu proprio. 
 
 There are some very good Masses by recent English com- 
 posers which may be obtained through Messrs. Burns & Oates, 
 28 Orchard Street, London, W., and pastors will find it very 
 much to their advantage to examine some of them with a 
 
HO MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 view of making a selection from them. The choirmaster can 
 subject them to the tests laid down by the Holy See, and in 
 many cases he will find no grounds for rejection. The firm 
 of Messrs. Cary & Co., Oxford Circus Avenue, 231 Oxford 
 Street, W., London, is issuing music which conforms to the 
 authoritative requirements, written by Mr. R. R. Terry, Or- 
 ganist of Westminster Cathedral, and such other prominent 
 English composers of recent times as Forrester, Westlake, 
 Storer and Mgr. Crookall. The Liturgical Music Co., 171 
 Tremont Street, Boston, Mass., is publishing music which 
 will be found most useful to well-trained choirs of boys and 
 men by Casali, Brosig, Kretchmer, Wilkens and other musi- 
 cians. Messrs. Fischer & Brother are also publishing some 
 good Masses by both American and foreign composers, and 
 their " Catalogue of approved Church Music " with additions 
 made from time to time, contains much correct and available 
 composition. Some compositions of the maestro of the Papal 
 Choir, Don Lorenzo Perosi, will be found therein. While we 
 prefer not to draw distinctions between the musical merits of 
 Catholic composers who are now living and writing, we may be 
 permitted to suggest that it is but reasonable to expect that 
 Perosi, as the natural and most able exponent of the Holy 
 Father's will in matters pertaining to Church music, should 
 therefore interpret it in his musical compositions with clear- 
 ness. His writings, therefore, should be well studied. 
 
 In endeavoring to make a selection of suitable motets in 
 modern style, the choirmaster should apply principles of tex- 
 tual and musical criticism akin to those suggested for his selec- 
 tion of Masses. Whenever he can find music conformable to 
 the present legislation, which has been composed by the 
 familiar masters who are now ruled almost completely out of 
 court, such, for instance, as the exquisite settings of Ave 
 
MODERN MUSIC. T x j 
 
 verum Corpus by Mozart and Gounod, let him use it by all 
 means. Motets are allowed after the Oifertorium and Bene- 
 dictus at High Mass, if there is time to insert them without 
 delaying the action of the Mass. Motets and hymns can also 
 be sung between Vespers and Benediction, or before the 
 Tantum ergo at Benediction, and in these last cases, which are 
 extra-liturgical, they may be sung either in Latin or in the 
 vernacular. 
 
 The gist of sensible conclusion, so far as the use of modern 
 music in the Church is concerned, is that, on broad lines, it 
 must be submitted to a period of reconstruction ; that is to say, 
 availing ourselves of the stores we already possess, eliminat- 
 ing what has been interdicted, and conforming our contem- 
 poraneous composition to liturgical rules, — the modern school, 
 as years pass and experience increases, will assume a recon- 
 structed, cohesive, and definite form. We have many Catholic 
 composers of to-day who represent advanced learning and 
 wide musical culture, and whose place both in the musical 
 world and among men of letters is recognized by all. They 
 all know how they must write, or at least what they must 
 avoid, if their music is to be sung in Church. With such 
 leaders as Perosi in Rome, Bordes and Bellenot in Paris, 
 Tozer and Terry in London, with the Caecilia Society and the 
 Solesmes School of Plain Chant spreading and flourishing, and 
 with the excellent Catholic composers in our country, who are 
 glad to lay their talent at the feet of the Holy Father, a re- 
 constructed school of modern music will be reared which shall 
 be the pride of religion and another exemplification of the 
 Church's patronage of the fine arts. 
 
 It must not be forgotten, however, that the development of 
 modern music is yet, in most of its phases, a secondary mat- 
 ter in the Church music restoration. Our attention and 
 
112 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 energy must be claimed primarily by the Gregorian Chant. 
 When attainments of proficiency have been achieved in that 
 paramount regard, the time will be ripe for developing the 
 resources of modern musical art. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 Congregational Singing. 
 
 WHY should the people sing ?" asks the Rev. Alfred Young, 
 Paulist, in the preface to the Catholic Hymnal. " The 
 reason will be found," he writes, " in the reply which must be 
 made to the question: Why does the Church direct and 
 oblige the faithful to be assembled congregationally for divine 
 worship? The answer is, in general, that they should pray 
 together. But what special kind of prayer can they and should 
 they pray together, which would be a common prayer in which 
 all ought to join? Unquestionably the Prayer of Praise. No 
 matter whether it be Holy Mass, Vespers, or a devotional 
 meeting, the first and chief purpose of a religious assembly is 
 the expression, both by voice and ceremonial, of Divine Praise. 
 Whatever kind of prayer the people may make in church, as 
 individuals, on their own account, and as called forth by their 
 own peculiar necessities or singular spiritual relation with 
 God, one thing is sure: the purpose of their being assembled 
 together, and the one which takes precedence of all other pur- 
 poses and privileges, is that they unite in praising God with a 
 common ceremonial and a common utterance. The praise of 
 all the people offered to God by a representative body of the 
 worshiping Church, gathered together in the name and by the 
 authority of Christ, is the divine idea of public worship in- 
 tended to be realized by the Catholic Church; and therefore, 
 if the people do not unite as one body in their ceremonial acts 
 
 (113) 
 
H4 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 and in their words of worship, that idea is frustrated in a 
 greater or less degree." 
 
 Non-Catholics have appreciated the many advantages of 
 common, public prayer, and in their rituals of worship, con- 
 gregational singing holds an eminent place. In great cathedral 
 churches, and in small country meeting-houses, alike, the art 
 of singing in one voice the praises of the most High has been 
 assiduously developed. It has come to be so prominent a part 
 of the non-Catholic services, that some Catholics look upon 
 it as a distinctively Protestant form of worship. Some among 
 us have forgotten that in retaining this practice, our friends 
 outside the fold have been cherishing and preserving an old 
 Catholic tradition — a rich inheritance which has come down 
 from Apostolic times, but which through our continued neglect 
 and disuse, has passed from our hands. 
 
 But we have been told to claim it again as our own, and to 
 summon it once more to its proper place at our services. 
 " Special efforts are to be made," Pope Pius X commands, 
 " to restore the use of Gregorian Chant by the people, so that 
 the faithful may again take a more active part in the ecclesias- 
 tical offices, as was the case in ancient times." x 
 
 That the congregation originally participated as a body in 
 the public services by chanting Psalms, Hymns, and Sacred 
 Anthems, requires no further proof than a glance at the history 
 of the ecclesiastical ceremonies and music of the first centuries 
 of the Christian era. " The earliest testimony that can be 
 called definite," says Professor Dickinson, " is contained in 
 the celebrated letter of the younger Pliny from Bithynia to the 
 Emperor Trajan, in the year 112, in which the Christians are 
 described as coming together before daylight and singing 
 * hymns alternately (iiiviccm) to Christ.' ' 
 
 1 Motu proprio, § 2. no. 3. 
 
CONGREGA TIONAL SINGING. I z 5 
 
 " So familiar were the people," writes Cardinal Gibbons, 1 
 " with the popular melodies of the church that according to St. 
 Jerome, * they who went into the fields might hear the plough- 
 man at his alleluias, the mower at his hymns, and the vine- 
 dresser singing David's Psalms.' " 
 
 St. Augustine tells us in his Confessions (Bk. IX), that 
 he was intensely stirred upon hearing the people sing in 
 Milan : " How I wept in hearing Thy hymns and canticles, 
 when the sweet sound of the music of Thy Church filled my 
 soul ! As the music flowed into my ears, the tide of devotion 
 swelled high within me, and the tears ran down, and there was 
 gladness in those tears." 
 
 Although the development of ritualism was necessarily ac- 
 companied by a lessening of the people's share in the liturgical 
 singing, yet until a late date, certain portions of it were 
 reserved to them. The officiating priests sang; the choir of 
 levites sang; the people sang; all the worshipers gave ex- 
 pression in sacred song to the religious emotions of their souls. 
 
 And Pope Pius X wishes the Catholics of this century to 
 sing; he wishes them to join the choir (the chorus in choro) 
 in chanting those beautiful hymns and prayers in which the 
 liturgy of the Church abounds. In the Advent season when 
 the Church prays in song that " the earth may bud forth the 
 Saviour, and the clouds rain down the Just One," our Holy 
 Father wants all the people to join in the prayer. At 
 all seasons and feasts of the ecclesiastical year he desires 
 the faithful to meet together in the sympathy and devotion of 
 congregational hymnody. They must unite in the Gloria of 
 Christmas, the Miserere of Lent, the Alleluias of Easter. 
 They must no longer be passive spectators at a religious cere- 
 
 1 Ambassador of Christ ', p. 352. 
 
Il6 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 mony, or auditors at a sacred concert; they must participate 
 personally and actively, in the solemnities of public worship. 
 
 But how is this going to be accomplished ? 
 
 While it might be Utopian to hope just at present for a 
 speedy resuscitation of all the old traditions connected with it, 
 yet it is reasonable enough to hope that congregational sing- 
 ing will soon attain to a respectable popularity among us. For 
 it is in the interests of the people, and they will welcome and 
 earnestly second any efforts made toward introducing and 
 perfecting it in their parish churches. There are few persons 
 who do not enjoy singing in a chorus, and there are fewer 
 still who can resist the inspiration of a congregational hymn, 
 for two instincts — correlated and deepseated in human nature 
 — are aroused and stimulated — the religious instinct, and the 
 musical instinct. 
 
 Cardinal Gibbons thus describes the congregational music 
 at Cologne : " Several years ago, on a Sunday morning, I 
 entered the Cathedral of Cologne during a low Mass, and 
 took a seat in the body of the church. The vast edifice was 
 filled with a devout congregation, representing every station 
 in life. I observed the officer and the private soldier, the 
 well-dressed gentleman and the plainly clad laborer, ladies and 
 domestics, young and old, priests and laymen, mingled to- 
 gether, and singing in the vernacular, the popular sacred hymns 
 of the fatherland. They seemed so absorbed in their devotional 
 chant, as to be utterly oblivious of everything around them. 
 I said to myself : what a noble profession of faith is this !" 
 
 What has been accomplished in the Cologne Cathedral, and 
 in thousands of other churches abroad, can easily be accom- 
 plished right here in our own churches, if the priests will only 
 manifest sufficient enthusiasm, and go about inaugurating this 
 exercise of devotion in the right way. 
 
CON GREG A TIONAL SINGING. 1 1 7 
 
 Here are some details which should be observed in the 
 process of introducing congregational singing : 
 
 (1) Announce well, several w T eeks before the day upon 
 which you have decided to begin, that this traditional practice 
 is soon to be restored in your church. Tell the people what 
 it means, and what the Church thinks about it. Get them 
 keenly interested before you make any attempt at introducing it. 
 
 (2) Get a leader with a strong voice and a good ear; he 
 need not necessarily be a professional musician. Place him 
 in a prominent position in the church, where he can be seen and 
 heard distinctly by everybody. 
 
 The organist should not attempt to teach the congregation 
 alone. 
 
 The leader should sing a new hymn line by line, phrase 
 by phrase, and the congregation should repeat each line and 
 phrase, until the whole piece is mastered. 
 
 (3) Don't attempt music that is difficult, or lacking in 
 melody. The people will not warm to it. 
 
 (4) Have a sufficient number of hymn-cards for the whole 
 congregation. People will not keep up interest if two or 
 three have to read from one card. 
 
 (5) The organist should play the hymns low enough to 
 encourage the basses and altos of the congregation to sing. 
 The men will soon cease to sing if they are obliged to strain 
 for high notes, well out of their range. 
 
 (6) From the beginning, avoid dragging. This is a com- 
 mon fault in congregational singing and is destructive of the 
 " swing " and buoyancy which are the life of a congrega- 
 tional hymn. 
 
 (7) Encourage the people, and urge them to greater efforts. 
 Particularly urge the men to sing; they are inclined to be 
 timid at first. 
 
j 1 8 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 (8) Be active in increasing the repertoire. 
 
 (9) Hold a few private rehearsals in the choir-hall, for a 
 selected number of the parishioners, and during a service have 
 these persons well distributed through the church. 
 
 As to the extent to which this congregational singing may 
 be carried, it should be said that the more the people unite in 
 the Chants of the choir, the nearer shall we approach the 
 ideal pointed out in the Motu proprio, i. e., the customs of the 
 early Church in this respect. 
 
 It is suggested that the Benediction service be reserved to 
 the congregation, and such parts of other services as might 
 easily be learned; e. g., the Responses at High Mass and 
 Vespers ; the Processional and Recessional Hymns ; the Litanies 
 of the Saints, the Holy Name, and Loretto; the Magnificat 
 at Vespers; etc. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Modern Kymnody. 
 
 THE science of hymnology has held high rank in the Catho- 
 lic Church since the days of the Apostles and we accordingly 
 find saints and doctors of all ages applying themselves to the 
 musical versification of the themes of our holy religion. The 
 Latin hymnody of the Divine Office as contained in the Roman 
 Breviary of to-day constitutes a syllabus of classical utterance 
 worthy of immortal pens and angelic tongues. The shapeli- 
 ness of its sequence is evident in every phrase, and woven to- 
 gether into the fabric of its poetry are the essential fibre of ac- 
 curate theological expression and the luxuriant adornment of 
 unrestrained praise. Although we are now concerned with 
 the extra-liturgical singing of metrical hymns in the vernacu- 
 lar tongue rather than the hymnody of the Breviary, we pur- 
 posely commence this chapter with reference to the latter, be- 
 cause it is necessary in forming a judgment in matters relat- 
 ing to modern hymnody to remember that the liturgical hymn 
 is the true model of what a perfect hymn is and therefore of 
 what a perfect hymn should be. The more nearly according 
 to this excellent type the modern hymn in the vulgar tongue is 
 constructed, the nearer to perfection it may be said to be, — 
 likewise, the greater the contrast between them, the less per- 
 fect may the modern hymn be adjudged. Vernacular hymns 
 of the best class are, as it were, the next-of-kin to the im- 
 perishable classics of the Liturgy, and it is to be hoped that 
 
 (up) 
 
120 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 the extension of male choirs will further the custom, so praise- 
 worthy and so completely in accordance with the mind of the 
 Church, as that of singing such vernacular hymns whenever 
 their use may be legitimate and conducive to edification. 
 
 An adequate consideration of the points justly within the 
 scope of our reflections requires a specification of certain 
 standards by which productions of modern hymnody in the 
 best poetical form and most finished musical dress may be 
 found available. It is not meant by this that the hymn should 
 frustrate one of its principal purposes by being " above the 
 heads of the congregation " and suited only to the ability of 
 a skilled choir, but that the hymn used in the public worship 
 of God should not exhibit marks of carelessness, much less 
 illiteracy in poetry, nor betray the tyro in music. The writ- 
 ers of deservedly famous Catholic hymns in the vulgar tongue 
 have always aimed at the highest possible artistic perfection. 
 Not less than by a traceable likeness to the hymn of the Liturgy 
 may the excellence of a modern hymn be also gauged by the 
 perfection of its poetry and the corresponding worthiness of its 
 music. Where there is found united in a given hymn these 
 three guarantees of superior quality, the test of its merit is 
 final, — if they, or any one of them, are lacking, it is devoid 
 of worth. 
 
 How far are these criteria found to be satisfactorily vindi- 
 cated in hymns written by composers of to-day? How many 
 of our living hymnists have conscientiously laid down for 
 themselves true models of propriety in this regard? Is it not 
 a fact that in the common practice of many of our churches, 
 the choice hymns by true poets and true musicians, which so 
 plenteously enrich the literature of the Catholic Church, re- 
 main unnoticed in the hymn-books, while we have served up 
 to us rhymes which have nothing but the piety of their ori- 
 
MODERN HYMNODY. I2 i 
 
 ginators to recommend them, set to tunes which are remin- 
 iscent of ballad, school song, and anything and everything 
 but a true church style? Had we not an exuberance of sur- 
 passingly superior hymnody within the pages of our many 
 hymnals, these censures of what is doubtless intended as an 
 offering to religion would never be written, but the habitual 
 setting aside of such exquisite hymns as are mentioned toward 
 the close of this chapter and hundreds of others like them, in 
 favor of much of the kind of thing which we are obliged to 
 suffer in League and Sodality meetings, is a miscarriage of 
 practice which can not be too severely characterized. 
 
 It is essential that we should estimate truly, first the exact 
 relation of hymnody to the subjects included in the musical 
 regeneration with which Pope Pius X has awakened the 
 world, and secondly, to what extent our customary prac- 
 tice in this regard must be accordingly submitted to remedy. 
 To that end, our first practical duty is to determine where 
 we have hitherto stood in this regard, and we are thus 
 forced to the admission that notwithstanding the copious 
 hymnology of countless able writers ready at our hands, we 
 have too generally preferred the husks of inferior verse and 
 melody. So strong are our feelings upon this subject, that 
 even more important than the speedy return to proper styles of 
 hymnody in universal use, do we regard the necessity of ex- 
 purgating from any use whatever such nourishers of bad taste 
 and distractions from worship as many hymns which are con- 
 stantly heard among us. It is far better that a hymn should 
 never be sung than that we should be obliged to endure the 
 blatancy of " Form your ranks, O all ye Leaguers of the 
 Heart Divine," or the inanities of " Mother, tell me, what 
 have I to do?" or the extravagances of "Thou for whom 
 I've long been sighing." A thousand pities it is that this 
 
122 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 sort of effusions hold sway and crowd out hymns of able 
 composers which would bring joy to the saints. 
 
 To be sure, this state of affairs is very easily to be accounted 
 for. The idea to which the rendering of true Church music 
 has been largely subverted in recent times has been the dis- 
 play of this one and that one in the performance of an ir- 
 relevant and overbalanced musical accompaniment to the Mass. 
 Few of our more noted and active Church musicians in 
 America seem to have had it in them to apply the sublime prin- 
 ciples of art to the compositions of hymn tunes in classic 
 metres, as men like the composer of the incomparable music 
 to the Dream of Gerontius and the Apostles and others of his 
 splendid ilk, are doing to-day, for many of the most renowned 
 composers abroad do not count the composition of hymn 
 melodies beneath their genius. But even had the promptings 
 of our best American composers' artistic natures brought forth 
 any accomplishment worth speaking of in this line, their satis- 
 faction at thus serving art for art's sake would have been their 
 sole encouragement. The regime of the mixed choir of male 
 and female voices which is now declared illegal, included no 
 provision for the singing of the modern hymns of the Church 
 to any noticeable extent. The products of the composer's 
 genius in this line would have had but little chance of a gen- 
 eral hearing outside of gatherings of the faithful in devo- 
 tional societies and confraternities and the anomalous " Low 
 Mass with music " which obtains in some places. They would 
 have remained unknown to the " audiences " of quasi-Catho- 
 lic, Protestant, and Hebrew floaters who have filled some of 
 our city churches at Vespers on Sundays, and who, much as 
 we may dislike to confess it, have by their patronage and ap- 
 plause dictated the standards by which many of our com- 
 posers have seen fit to compose. In lieu, therefore, of the 
 
MODERN HYMNODY. 
 
 123 
 
 more able writers who have spent their energies in such 
 styles of composition as have elicited the greater encourage- 
 ment, others of lesser ability and more cramped scope, whose 
 resources either as poets or composers would soon have been 
 drained dry upon their essaying more elaborate attempts, have 
 turned their attention toward the writing of hymns and tunes. 
 Every community in the country has its poet, or more prob- 
 ably, its poetess, and between the rhymesters and the setters 
 of rhymes to airs in lackadaisical six-eight tempo and to other 
 abnormalities of composition, we need not wonder that so 
 many hymnals are filled with very poor stuff. 
 
 Another class of modern hymns, more sympathetically to be 
 condoned wherein it exhibits shortcomings, consists of many 
 which have been written in convents and schools for young 
 people, and which, having met with more or less success in a 
 somewhat contracted sphere, have unwisely been considered 
 suited for a more public purpose and published for general use. 
 In many well-known hymns of this class, there is either a juven- 
 ility or femininity of ring, a far-fetchedness of metaphor, an 
 elementariness which amounts to a crudity of rhyme, a scanti- 
 ness of harmonic treatment, a simplified one-note or other- 
 wise rudimentary bass, an eccentricity of tempo, or a tendency 
 to treat the entire subject after the manner of a song rather 
 than a hymn, which produce most unsatisfactory results. 
 
 The remedy for this wrong condition of affairs lies with 
 the pastors of churches. They had far better assume the re- 
 sponsibility of selecting the hymns to be sung than to leave 
 their selection to the judgment of the average choirmaster, for 
 frequently the subject of hymnody has never aroused either his 
 attention or interest. In many churches, there are assistant 
 organists who play the organ for a junior choir at Sunday- 
 school and Sodality meetings, whose principal repertoire con- 
 
124 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 sists of hymns. Generally, such an assistant organist should 
 work under the oversight of the pastor or one of his assis- 
 tants or the choirmaster. The natural desire to accomplish 
 something out of the ordinary is apt to tempt the junior choir 
 and organist beyond the limits which safeguard the integrity 
 of a good hymn, and into the territory of the bizarre and 
 worthless. 
 
 We have often heard and expressed comments upon the 
 great contrast between the riches of hymnody which we pos- 
 sess and the shabby specimens which we so commonly hear, and 
 although it is not an agreeable part of our duty to dwell 
 upon what is so reprehensible in our ordinary practice, it is a 
 very necessary one, for we would be writing at cross-purposes 
 upon this subject if we failed to make it clear that we exclude 
 from our definition of hymnody much that is ordinarily so 
 classified, and include only such composition as conforms to the 
 three tests hereinbefore mentioned. 
 
 Although there is much cause for criticism in the neglect to 
 which true hymnody has been subjected in favor of the in- 
 ferior substitute, there certainly has been improvement in re- 
 cent years along proper lines. The late Rev. Alfred Young, 
 C. S. P., of the Paulist Church, New York, and the Rev. J. B. 
 Young, S. J., now and for years past at the Jesuit Church of 
 St. Francis Xavier in the same city, have been the two promi- 
 nent deliverers of Catholic hymnody in this country from 
 utter unworthiness. They have promulgated instruction rep- 
 resentative of the best thought and highest ideals, and where- 
 ever their influence has reached, they have established a con- 
 ception of the subject which is unspeakably superior to that 
 which had generally prevailed. There is now a growing 
 familiarity among us with the beautiful Catholic hymns which 
 are so dearly beloved and cherished in England, and to the 
 
MODERN HYMNODY. 12 $ 
 
 science of writing which, men of the highest literary and 
 musical attainments have applied their willing labors. The 
 scholarship in this direction which has produced such a col- 
 lection as Catholic Hymns, by A. Edmonds Tozer, Mus. Doc, 
 is of the highest grade. Dr. Tozer is now preparing a hymnal 
 which will soon be published in this country by the Fischers. 
 
 The custom obtains in some places of singing hymns by 
 Protestant writers at devotional services and after funeral rites. 
 Such a custom cannot be defended on any ground. " Nearer, 
 my God, to Thee," " Jesus, Lover of my soul," " Rock of 
 Ages," "Abide with me," and others of the kind, however they 
 may be admired as religious hymns and poems, have no legiti- 
 mate place in Catholic worship, for evident reasons. Even 
 the immortal " Lead, kindly light," which is so universally 
 loved, can not be classified as a Catholic hymn, as it was written 
 by Dr. Newman during the days of his Protestant ministry, 
 and we have his own authority for the statement that the 
 sentiments therein had no reference whatever to the inesti- 
 mable grace of conversion to the Faith which was granted to 
 him many years later. This being the case, his beautiful 
 hymn is a Protestant hymn, pure and simple, and we would 
 do wrong to make an exception of it for the sake of sentiment. 
 
 The entrance of the procession of boys and men from the 
 choir sacristy to their places in the chancel for Solemn Mass 
 and Divine Office, and their retirement at the close of the 
 functions, will afford most fitting opportunities for the sing- 
 ing of some of our best Catholic hymns. Most beautiful ef- 
 fects of shading, color and phrasing can be secured in them. 
 The gradual approach of the swelling voices as they draw 
 near and enter the church, and the slow dying of their voices 
 to a distant pianissimo as they return to the choir sacristy, 
 are impressive and edifying. The preparation of the minds 
 
126 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 and hearts of the congregation for a devout hearing of Mass, 
 which can be realized by the use of such hymns as Cardinal 
 Newman's " Praise to the Holiest in the height," Matthew 
 Bridges' " Crown Him with many crowns," Robert Camp- 
 bell's " Word of God to earth descending," and Father Faber's 
 " My God ! how wonderful Thou art," when thus sung, is be- 
 yond estimate. The inspiring effect of Caswall's " When 
 morning gilds the skies," as the singers advance to the choir 
 to sing High Mass; or the calm and devotional effect as, at 
 nightfall, the voices which have been lifted in the praises of 
 the Church recede in the distance, impressively singing the 
 traditional "Ave Maria! Thou Virgin and Mother!" until 
 far away, the last words, " Sinless and beautiful ! Star of the 
 Sea!" breathe the final strains of the day's worship, — such 
 effects are so thrilling and quickening to cultured and religious 
 impulses as to amount actually to means of grace. 
 
 In closing our reflections upon this branch of our subject 
 and at the same time, of the various other problems which 
 constitute the burden of this Manual, we earnestly express the 
 hope that our suggestions may be found useful to those who 
 are anxious to do the will of the Church in regard to the 
 music and ceremonies of her worship. We could know no 
 greater satisfaction than to feel that we had in some measure 
 contributed toward an effective realization in this country of 
 the reforms instituted by our Holy Father, " so that," as in his 
 admonitory words, " the authority of the Church, which 
 herself has repeatedly proposed them, and now inculcates them, 
 may not fall into contempt." 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
I2 8 APPENDIX. 
 
 times to be deplored in places where everything else is deserv- 
 ing of the highest praise — the beauty and sumptuousness of 
 the temple, the splendor and the accurate performance of the 
 ceremonies, the attendance of the clergy, the gravity and piety 
 of the officiating ministers. Such is the abuse affecting sacred 
 chant and music. And indeed, whether it is owing to the very 
 nature of this art, fluctuating and variable as it is in itself, or 
 to the succeeding changes in tastes and habits with the course 
 of time, or to the fatal influence exercised on sacred art by 
 profane and theatrical art, or to the pleasure that music directly 
 produces, and that is not always easily contained within the 
 right limits, or finally to the many prejudices on the matter, so 
 lightly introduced and so tenaciously maintained even among 
 responsible and pious persons, the fact remains that there is a 
 tendency to deviate from the right rule, prescribed by the end 
 for which art is admitted to the service of the public worship 
 and which is set forth very clearly in the ecclesiastical canons, 
 in the ordinances of the General and Provincial Councils, in the 
 prescriptions which have at various times emanated from the 
 Sacred Roman Congregations, and from our predecessors the 
 Sovereign Pontiffs. 
 
 It is gratifying to us to be able to acknowledge with real 
 satisfaction the great good that has been effected in this re- 
 spect during the last decade in this our fostering city of Rome, 
 and in many churches of our country, but in a more especial 
 way among some nations in which eminent men, full of zeal 
 for the worship of God, have, with the approval of the Holy 
 See and under the direction of the Bishops, united in encour- 
 aging societies and restored sacred music to the fullest honor 
 in all their churches and chapels. Still the good work that has 
 been done is very far indeed from being common to all, and 
 when we consult our own personal experience and take into 
 
SACRED MUSIC. 
 
 129 
 
 account the great number of complaints that have reached us 
 during the short time that has elapsed since it pleased the Lord 
 to elevate our humility to the supreme summit of the Roman 
 Pontificate, we consider it our first duty, without further delay, 
 to raise our voice at once in reproof and condemnation of all 
 that is seen to be out of harmony with the right rule above 
 indicated, in the functions of public worship and in the per- 
 formance of the ecclesiastical offices. Filled as we are with 
 a most ardent desire to see the true Christian spirit flourish 
 in every respect and be preserved by all the faithful, we deem 
 it necessary to provide before aught else for the sanctity and 
 dignity of the temple, in which the faithful assemble for no 
 other object than that of acquiring this spirit from its fore- 
 most and indispensable fount, which is the active participation 
 in the most holy mysteries and in the public and solemn prayer 
 of the Church. And it is vain to hope that the blessing of 
 heaven will descend abundantly upon us, when our homage 
 to the Most High, instead of ascending in the odor of sweet- 
 ness, puts into the hand of the Lord the scourges wherewith of 
 old the Divine Redeemer drove the unworthy profaners from 
 the Temple. 
 
 Hence, in order that no one in future may be able to plead in 
 excuse that he did not clearly understand his duty, and in order 
 that all vagueness may be eliminated from the interpretation of 
 matters which have already been commanded, we have deemed 
 it expedient to point out briefly the principles regulating sacred 
 music in the functions of public worship, and to gather to- 
 gether in a general survey the principal prescriptions of the 
 Church against the more common abuses in this subject. We 
 do therefore publish, motu proprio and with certain knowledge, 
 our present Instruction, to which, as to a juridical code of 
 sacred music {quasi a codice giuridice delta musica sacra), we 
 
1 30 APPENDIX. 
 
 will, with the fulness of our Apostolic Authority, that the 
 force of law be given, and we do by our present handwriting 
 impose its scrupulous observance on all. 
 
 INSTRUCTION ON SACRED MUSIC. 
 
 I. — General Principles. 
 
 i. Sacred Music, being a complementary part of the solemn 
 liturgy, participates in the general scope of the liturgy, which 
 is the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of 
 the faithful. It contributes to the decorum and splendor of 
 the ecclesiastical ceremonies, and since its principal office is to 
 clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the 
 understanding of the faithful, its proper aim is to add greater 
 efficacy to the text, in order that through it the faithful may 
 be the more easily moved to devotion and better disposed for 
 the reception of the fruits of grace belonging to the celebra- 
 tion of the most holy mysteries. 
 
 2. Sacred music should consequently possess, in the highest 
 degree, the qualities proper to the liturgy, and precisely sanctity 
 and goodness of form, from which its other character of uni- 
 versality spontaneously springs. 
 
 It must be holy, and must, therefore, exclude all profanity 
 not only in itself, but in the manner in which it is presented 
 by those who execute it. 
 
 It must be true art, for otherwise it will be impossible for 
 it to exercise on the minds of those who listen to it that efficacy 
 which the Church aims at obtaining in admitting into her 
 liturgy the art of musical sounds. 
 
 But it must, at the same time, be universal in the sense that, 
 while every nation is permitted to admit into its ecclesiastical 
 compositions those special forms which may be said to con- 
 
SACRED MUSIC. 
 
 131 
 
 stitute its native music, still these forms must be subordinated 
 in such a manner to the general characteristics of sacred music 
 that nobody of any nation may receive an impression other 
 than good on hearing them. 
 
 II. — The Different Kinds of Sacred Music. 
 
 3. These qualities are to be found, in the highest degree, in 
 the Gregorian Chant, which is, consequently, the chant proper 
 to the Roman Church, the only chant she has inherited from 
 the ancient fathers, which she has jealously guarded for cen- 
 turies in her liturgical codices, which she prescribes exclus- 
 ively for some parts of the liturgy, and which the most recent 
 studies have so happily restored to their integrity and purity. 
 
 On these grounds the Gregorian Chant has always been 
 regarded as the supreme model for sacred music, so that it is 
 quite proper to lay down the following rule : the more closely a 
 composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration, 
 and savor to the Gregorian form, the more sacred and litur- 
 gical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that 
 supreme model, the less worthy is it of the temple. 
 
 The ancient traditional Gregorian Chant must, therefore, be 
 largely restored to the function of public worship, and every- 
 body must take for certain that an ecclesiastical function loses 
 nothing of its solemnity when it is accompanied by no other 
 music but this. 
 
 Special efforts are to be made to restore the use of the Gre- 
 gorian Chant by the people, so that the faithful may again take 
 a more active part in ecclesiastical offices, as was the case in 
 ancient times. 
 
 4. The above-mentioned qualities are also possessed in an 
 excellent degree by the classic polyphony, especially of the 
 Roman School, which reached its greatest perfection in the 
 
132 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 fifteenth century, owing to the works of Pierluigi da Palestrina, 
 and continued subsequently to produce compositions of excel- 
 lent quality from the liturgical and musical standpoint. The 
 classic polyphony agrees admirably with Gregorian Chant, the 
 supreme model of all sacred music, and hence it has been found 
 worthy of a place side by side with the Gregorian Chant in 
 the more solemn functions of the Church, such as those of the 
 Pontifical Chapel. This, too, must, therefore, be restored 
 largely in ecclesiastical functions, especially in the more im- 
 portant basilicas, in cathedrals, and in the churches and chapels 
 of seminaries and other ecclesiastical institutions in which the 
 necessary means are not lacking. 
 
 5. The Church has always recognized and favored the pro- 
 gress of the arts, admitting to the service of the cult everything 
 good and beautiful discovered by genius in the course of ages 
 — always, however, with due regard to the liturgical laws. 
 Consequently modern music is also admitted in the Church, 
 since it, too, furnishes compositions of such excellence, sobriety, 
 and gravity, that they are in no way unworthy of the litur- 
 gical functions. 
 
 Since, however, modern music has risen mainly to serve pro- 
 fane uses, greater care must be taken with regard to it, in 
 order that the musical compositions of modern style which 
 are admitted in the Church may contain nothing profane, be 
 free from reminiscences of motifs adopted in the theatres, and 
 be not fashioned even in their external forms after the 
 manner of profane pieces. 
 
 6. Among the different kinds of modern music, that which 
 appears less suitable for accompanying the functions of public 
 worship is the theatrical style, which was in its greatest vogue, 
 especially in Italy, during the last century. This of its very 
 nature is diametrically opposed to the Gregorian Chant and the 
 
SACRED MUSIC. 1 33 
 
 classic polyphony, and, therefore, to the most important law 
 of good music. Besides the intrinsic structure, the rhythm, 
 and what is known as the conventionalism of this style, adapt 
 themselves but poorly to the requirements of true liturgical 
 music. 
 
 III. — The Liturgical Text. 
 
 7. The language proper to the Roman Church is Latin. 
 Hence it is forbidden to sing anything whatever in the verna- 
 cular in solemn liturgical functions — much more to sing in 
 the vernacular the variable or common parts of the Mass and 
 Office. 
 
 8. As the texts that may be rendered in music, and the 
 order in which they are to be rendered, are determined for 
 every liturgical function, it is not lawful to confuse this order 
 or to change the prescribed texts for others selected at will, 
 or to omit them either entirely or even in part, except when 
 the rubrics allow that some versicles of the text be supplied 
 with the organ, while these versicles are simply recited in 
 choir. It is permissible, however, according to the custom of 
 the Roman Church, to sing a motet to the Blessed Sacrament 
 after the Benedictus in a Solemn Mass. It is also permitted, 
 after the Offertory prescribed for the Mass has been sung, to 
 execute during the time that remains a brief motet to words 
 approved by the Church. 
 
 9. The liturgical text must be sung as it is in the books, with- 
 out alteration or inversion of the words, without undue re- 
 petition, without breaking syllables, and always in a manner 
 intelligible to the faithful who listen. 
 
 IV. — External Form of the Sacred Compositions. 
 
 10. The different parts of the Mass and the Office must re- 
 tain, even musically, that particular concept and form which 
 
134 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 ecclesiastical tradition has assigned to them, and which is ad- 
 mirably expressed in the Gregorian Chant. Different, there- 
 fore, must be the method of composing an Introit, a Gradual, 
 an antiphon, a psalm, a hymn, a Gloria in excelsis. 
 
 II. In particular the following rules are to be observed: 
 
 (a) The Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, etc., of the Mass must pre- 
 serve the unity of composition proper to their text. It is not 
 lawful, therefore, to compose them in separate pieces, in such 
 a way that each of such pieces may form a complete composi- 
 tion in itself, and be capable of being detached from the rest, 
 and substituted by another. 
 
 (&) In the Office of Vespers it should be the rule to follow 
 the Caeremoniale Episcoporum, which prescribes the Gregorian 
 Chant for the psalmody, and permits figured music for the 
 versicles of the Gloria Patri and the hymn. 
 
 It will, nevertheless, be lawful on the greater feast days to 
 alternate the Gregorian Chant of the choir with the so-called 
 falsibordoni, or with verses similarly composed in a proper 
 manner. 
 
 It may be also allowed sometimes to render the single psalms 
 in their entirety in music, provided the form proper to psalm- 
 ody be preserved in such compositions ; that is to say provided 
 the singers seem to be psalmodizing among themselves, either 
 with new motifs, or with those taken from the Gregorian 
 Chant, or based upon it. 
 
 The psalms known as di concerto are, therefore, forever 
 excluded and prohibited. 
 
 (c) In the hymns of the Church the traditional form of the 
 hymn is preserved. It is not lawful, therefore, to compose, 
 for instance, a Tantnm ergo in such wise that the first strophe 
 presents a romanza, a cavatina, an adagio, and the Genitori 
 an allegro. 
 
SACRED MUSIC. 1 35 
 
 (d) The antiphons of the Vespers must be, as a rule, ren- 
 dered with the Gregorian melody proper to each. Should 
 they, however, in some special case be sung in figured music, 
 they must never have either the form of a concert melody or 
 the fulness of a motet, or a cantata, 
 
 V. — The Singers. 
 
 12. With the exception of the melodies proper to the cele- 
 brant at the altar and to the ministers, which must be always 
 sung only in Gregorian Chant, and without the accompaniment 
 of the organ, all the rest of the liturgical chant belongs to the 
 choir of levites, and, therefore, singers in church, even when 
 they are laymen, are really taking the place of the ecclesias- 
 tical choir. Hence, the music rendered by them must, at least 
 for the greater part, retain the character of choral music. 
 
 By this it is not to be understood that solos are entirely 
 excluded. But solo singing should never predominate in such 
 a way as to have the greater part of the liturgical chant exe- 
 cuted in that manner; rather should it have the character of 
 simple suggestion, or a melodic projection (spunto), and be 
 strictly bound up with the rest of the choral composition. 
 
 13. On the same principle it follows that singers in church 
 have a real liturgical office, and that therefore women, as 
 being incapable of exercising such office, cannot be admitted to 
 form part of the choir, or of the musical chapel. Whenever, 
 then, it is desired to employ the high voices of sopranos and 
 contraltos, these parts must be taken by boys, according to the 
 most ancient usage of the Church. 
 
 14. Finally, only those are to be admitted to form part of 
 the musical chapel of a church who are men of known piety 
 and probity of life; and these should, by their modest and de- 
 vout bearing during the liturgical functions, show that they 
 
136 APPENDIX. 
 
 are worthy of the holy office they exercise. It will also be 
 fitting that singers while singing in church wear the ecclesias- 
 tical habit and surplice, and that they be hidden behind gratings 
 when the choir is excessively open to the public gaze. 
 
 VI. — Organ and Instruments. 
 
 15. Although the music proper to the Church is purely vocal 
 music, music with the accompaniment of the organ is also per- 
 mitted. In some special cases, within due limits and propriety, 
 other instruments may be allowed, but never without the 
 special leave of the Ordinary, according to the prescriptions 
 of the Caeremoniale Episcoporum. 
 
 16. As the chant should always have the principal place, 
 the organ or instruments should merely sustain and never 
 oppress it. 
 
 17. It is not permitted to have the chant preceded by long 
 preludes, or to interrupt it with intermezzo pieces. 
 
 18. The sound of the organ as an accompaniment to the 
 chant in preludes, and the like, must be not only governed by 
 the special nature of the instrument, but must participate in all 
 the qualities proper to sacred music as above enumerated. 
 
 19. The employment of the piano is forbidden in church, 
 as is also that of loud-sounding or lighter instruments, such 
 as drums, cymbals, bells, and the like. 
 
 20. It is strictly forbidden to have bands play in church, and 
 only in a special case and with the consent of the Ordinary 
 will it be permissible to admit a number of wind instruments, 
 limited, well selected, and proportioned to the size of the place 
 — provided the composition and the accompaniment to be exe- 
 cuted be written in a grave and suitable style, and similar in 
 all respects to that proper to the organ. 
 
 21. In processions outside the church the Ordinary may give 
 
SACRED MUSIC. 1 37 
 
 permission for a band, provided no profane pieces are exe- 
 cuted. It would be desirable in such cases that the band con- 
 fine itself to accompanying some spiritual canticle sung in 
 Latin or in the vernacular by the singers and the pious asso- 
 ciations which take part in the procession. 
 
 VII. — The Length of the Liturgical Chant. 
 
 22. It is not lawful to keep the priest at the altar waiting on 
 account of the chant or the music for a length of time not 
 allowed by the liturgy. According to the ecclesiastical pre- 
 scriptions the Sanctus of the Mass should be over before the 
 Elevation, and therefore the priest must here have regard to 
 the singers. The Gloria and Credo ought, according to the 
 Gregorian tradition, to be relatively short. 
 
 23. In general it must be considered to be a very grave 
 abuse when the liturgy in ecclesiastical functions is made to 
 appear secondary to and in a manner at the service of the 
 music, for the music is merely a part of the liturgy and its 
 humble handmaid. 
 
 VIII. — Principal Means. 
 
 24. For the exact execution of what has been herein laid 
 down, the Bishops, if they have not already done so, are to 
 institute in their dioceses a special Commission composed of 
 persons really competent in sacred music, and to this Com- 
 mission let them intrust in the manner they find most suitable 
 the task of watching over the music executed in their churches. 
 Nor are they to see merely that the music is good in itself, but 
 also that it is adapted to the powers of the singers and be al- 
 ways well executed. 
 
 25. In seminaries of clerics and in ecclesiastical institutions 
 let the above-mentioned traditional Gregorian Chant be culti- 
 
138 APPENDIX. 
 
 vated by all with diligence and love, according to the Triden- 
 tine prescriptions, and let the superiors be liberal of encour- 
 agement and praise toward their young subjects. In like 
 manner let a Schola Cantorum be established, whenever pos- 
 sible, among the clerics for the execution of sacred polyphony 
 and of good liturgical music. 
 
 26. In the ordinary lessons of Liturgy, Morals, Canon Law, 
 given to the students of theology, let care be taken to touch 
 on those points which regard more directly the principles and 
 laws of sacred music, and let an attempt be made to complete 
 the doctrine with some particular instruction in the aesthetic 
 side of the sacred art, so that the clerics may not leave the 
 seminary unfamiliar with all those notions, necessary as they 
 are for complete ecclesiastical culture. 
 
 2J. Let care be taken to restore, at least in the principal 
 churches, the ancient Scholae Cantorum, as has been done with 
 excellent fruit in a great many places. It is not difficult for 
 a zealous clergy to institute such Scholae even in the minor and 
 country churches — nay, in them they will find a very easy 
 means for gathering around them both the children and the 
 adults, to their own profit and the edification of the people. 
 
 28. Let efforts be made to support and promote in the best 
 way possible the higher schools of sacred music where these 
 already exist, and to help in founding them where they do not. 
 It is of the utmost importance that the Church herself provide 
 for the instruction of its masters, organists, and singers, ac- 
 cording to the true principles of sacred art. 
 
 XL — Conclusion. 
 
 29. Finally, it is recommended to choir-masters, singers, 
 members of the clergy, superiors of seminaries, ecclesiastical 
 institutions, and religious communities, parish priests and rec- 
 
SACRED MUSIC. j^g 
 
 tors of churches, canons of collegiate churches and cathedrals, 
 and, above all, to the diocesan Ordinaries, to favor with all 
 zeal these prudent reforms, long desired and demanded with 
 united voice by all ; so that the authority of the Church, which 
 herself has repeatedly proposed them, and now inculcates them, 
 may not fall into contempt. 
 
 Given from our Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, on the day 
 of the Virgin and Martyr, St. Cecilia, November 22, 1903, in 
 the first year of our Pontificate. 
 
 Pius X, Pope. 
 
APPENDIX II. 
 
 THE LITURGICAL CHANT. 
 
 Summary of Regulations and Decisions Regarding the 
 Chant,, the Use of the Organ, and the Lan- 
 guage of the Liturgical Service. 
 
 I. 
 
 Both Plain Chant and Figured Music are recognized by 
 the Church, provided the compositions harmonize with the 
 accompanying sacred functions and religiously correspond with 
 the meaning of the rite and the liturgical words. (S. R. C, 
 July 7, 1894, n. 3830, vii, p. I, art. 1.) The plain chant, as 
 found in the editions of the Roman Missal approved by the 
 S. R. C. (April 21, 1873, n. 3292, II), must be used at the 
 altar (S. R. C, March 14, 1896, n. 3891) ; the figured music 
 may be used by the choir. (Caer. Episc, Lib. I, cap. 28, § 1.) 
 
 II. — Missa Cantata. 
 
 a. The celebrant sings in the proper tone, according to the 
 rank of the festival, all that is prescribed to be sung by the 
 celebrant and the deacon in a solemn Mass, 1 but the Epistle 
 may be sung or recited by a lector (ordained) vested in sur- 
 plice, who stands in the place which the subdeacon occupies 
 whilst singing the Epistle in a solemn Mass. The celebrant, 
 
 1 See Rubr. Gen. Miss. Rom., Tit. xvi, 3. 
 
 (140) 
 
THE LITURGICAL CHANT. I4I 
 
 however, recites it at the same time in a low tone of voice. 
 The same rule is to be observed for the Lessons on the Ember 
 days and for the Prophecies on Holy Saturday and on the 
 Vigil of Pentecost, which must be sung throughout (S. R. C, 
 March 14, 1861, n. 3104, ad VIII), and the celebrant can 
 never proceed in the services until the lector has sung or re- 
 cited the Epistle, or Lesson, or Prophecy. In the absence of a 
 lector the celebrant sings or recites (S. R. C, April 23, 1875, 
 n. 3350) them in a clear voice. 
 
 b. The choir must sing everything that properly belongs to 
 the Mass found — 
 
 1. in the Ordinarium Missae, viz.: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, 
 Sanctus, Agnus Dei; 
 
 2. in the Graduate, viz. : Introit, Gradual, Tract, Sequence, 
 Offertory, Communion (S. R. C, June 25, 1898, n. 3994, 
 ad II) ; 
 
 3. in the ordinary responses. The Deo Gratias after the Epis- 
 tle and the Laus t'ibi, Christ e, after the Gospel are merely to be 
 said by the ministers of the Mass, as they are wanting in the 
 notation of the parts to be sung by the choir, given in the 
 Graduate. 1 
 
 The Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei may be sung 
 alternately with the organ, provided that the verses, not sung, 
 be recited in a clear tone whilst the organ is being played. 
 (S. R. C., May 22, 1894, n. 3827, ad II.) If the use of the 
 organ be allowed, the Offertory and Communion may be re- 
 cited in a low tone, but they cannot be omitted. (S. R. C, 
 Jan. 10, 1852, n. 2994, ad II.) We think that the same rule 
 may be applied to all the parts enumerated under b, 2, if the 
 choir be unable to sing them. (See S. R. C, June 25, 1898, 
 n. 3994, ad II.) 
 
 1 TJie Ecclesiastical Review, Nov., 1903, p. 539. 
 
142 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Credo must be sung throughout (S. R. C, Sept. 7, 
 1861, n. 3108, ad XV). If time permit, it is allowed after the 
 singing of the Offertory, between the Benedictus and the 
 Pater Noster and during the distribution of Holy Communion, 
 to sing Motets {Caer. Episc, Lib. I, cap. 28, § 9), suitable to 
 the service, but they must be (1) in Latin, and (2) taken from 
 Sacred Scripture, the Breviary or hymns and prayers ap- 
 proved by the Church. (S. R. C, July 7, 1894, n. 3830, 
 VII, p. 1, art. 7.) 
 
 It is unrubrical to repeat the words Gloria in excelsis Deo 
 and Credo in unum Deum after they have been sung by the 
 celebrant. 
 
 The Introit cannot be begun before the celebrant has reached 
 the altar (S. R. C, April 14, 1753, n. 2424, ad VII) ; the 
 Benedictus must be sung after the Elevation (S. R. C, May 
 22, 1894, n. 3827, III). Appeltern, Manuale Lit., Vol. I, p. 
 322, Nota, holds that this is prescribed only for Pontifical 
 Masses; the Communion cannot be begun until the celebrant 
 has consumed the Precious Blood {Caer. Episc., Lib. II, cap. 
 8, § 78), and if Holy Communion is distributed, it is sung 
 during the ablutions (Miss. Rom., Ritus Celebr., Tit. X, 9). 
 During the Elevation all singing is strictly forbidden. (S. R. 
 C, May 22, 1894, n. 3827, III.) 
 
 III. — Missa de Requie. 
 
 The celebrant sings the orations in tono simplici feriali; the 
 Preface and Pater Noster, in cantu feriali. 
 
 The choir must sing throughout all the parts that properly 
 belong to the Mass: Kyrie, Gradual, Tract, Sequence Dies 
 irae, 1 Offertory, Sanctus, Agnus Dei and the Communion 
 
 1 The S. R. C, Aug. 12, 1854, n. 3029 ad Dubium XII, concerning the 
 Dies irae, answered "aliquas strophas Wins cantores praeicrmittere posse ■," 
 
THE LITURGICAL CHANT. 143 
 
 (S. R. C, Sept. ii, 1847, n. 2959, ad XXIII; May 9, 1857, n. 
 3051, ad I). The same is to be observed at the Absolution 
 of the Dead with regard to the Libera me, Domine, which 
 must not be begun before the celebrant has taken his place 
 at the bier or tumulus (S. R. C, Sept. 7, 1861, n. 3108, ad IV). 
 Note. — In all sacred functions when the choir sings alter- 
 nately with the organ, the following ought to be sung by 
 the choir: 
 
 1. The first verse of Canticles and Hymns; 
 
 2. Strophes or verses during which the ceremonies prescribe 
 that the ministers kneel; 
 
 3. The Gloria Patri, even when the preceding verse was 
 sung by the choir; 
 
 4. The last strophe of Hymns (Caer. Episc., Lib. I, cap 28, 
 § 6). The Gloria Patri at the end of the Psalms should be 
 sung more slowly and in a more solemn manner. 
 
 IV. — The Organ. 
 
 The use of the organ is prohibited at Mass and Vespers 
 when de tempore — 
 
 1. On the Sundays of Advent, except on the third Sunday 
 (Gaudete), or when a feast Dupl. I classis falls on the second 
 or fourth Sunday; 
 
 2. On the Sundays of Lent, except on the fourth Sunday 
 (Laetare), or when a feast Dupl. I classis falls on the second 
 or third Sunday; 
 
 3. On the ferials of these penitential seasons, except on 
 festivals, 1 in solemn votive Masses, on Holy Thursday to the 
 
 but as Dubium XII and its answer are expunged from the latest edition of 
 the Decrees (Romae, Ex Typogr. Polygl. S. C. de P. F., 1898-1901) we 
 conclude that it must be sung throughout. 
 
 1 During the Forty Hour's Devotion on the Sundays of Advent (except 
 
144 APPENDIX. 
 
 end of the Gloria in Excelsis, and on Holy Saturday after the 
 intonation of the Gloria in Excelsis by the celebrant to the 
 end of Mass. 
 
 The prohibition of the playing of the organ whilst the cele- 
 brant is singing the Preface and Pater Noster is implied by the 
 Caeremoniale Episcoporum (Lib. II, cap. 28, § 9), inasmuch 
 as these parts of the Mass are not enumerated among those at 
 which the use of the organ is permitted. The S. R. C. (Jan. 
 2j, 1899, n * 4 00 9)j when asked, answered: " Obstat Caere- 
 moniale Episcoporum quod servandum est." 
 
 During the Elevation the quiet and devotional (graviori et 
 dulciori sono) playing of the organ is permitted. {Caer. 
 Episc, Lib. I, cap. 28, § 9.) Where the custom prevails, the 
 music of the organ may be substituted for the Deo Gratias 
 after the Ite, Missa est. (S. R. C, Sept. 11, 1847, n - 2 95 I > 
 ad V.) The organ may be played from the moment the cele- 
 brant leaves the sacristy until the chant of the Introit begins ; 
 when the celebrant is occupied at the altar and there is noth- 
 ing to be sung by the choir; from the Ite, Missa est until the 
 celebrant has returned to the sacristy. x Whether figured music 
 or the Plain Chant be used {Ephem. Liturg., Vol. X, p. 275), 
 the organ may be played as accompaniment whilst the choir 
 sings during Requiem Masses, but it must be silent when the 
 singing ceases {Caer. Episc, Lib. I, cap. 28, § 13). 
 
 With the exception of the occasions noted in the paragraphs 
 above, the organ may be used at all other liturgical services 
 and sacred functions. During the Blessing with the Blessed 
 Sacrament the organ may be played snavi ac gravi sonitu 
 (Gardellini, Instr. Clement., § xxxi, n. 12). 
 
 Gaudete) and of Lent (except Laetare) and on Ash Wednesday and the 
 first three days of Holy Week the use of the organ is forbidden. S. R. C, 
 June 2, 1883, n. 3576, ad XVI. 
 1 Auctores gencratim. 
 
THE LITURGICAL CHANT. 1 45 
 
 Note I. — " Figured organ music ought generally to be in 
 accord with the grave, harmonious, and sustained character of 
 that instrument. The instrumental accompaniment ought to 
 support decorously and not drown the chant. In the preludes 
 and interludes the organ, as well as the other instruments, 
 ought always to preserve the sacred character corresponding to 
 the sentiment of the function" (S. R. C, July 7, 1894, VII, 
 De Musica Sacra Ordinatio, n. 3830, p. 1, art. VI). 
 
 Note II. — " It is forbidden to improvise fantasias upon the 
 organ by any one who is not capable of doing it in a suitable 
 manner — that is, in a way comformable not only to the rules 
 of art but also calculated to inspire piety and recollectedness 
 among the faithful." (Ibidem, Art. XII.) 
 
 Note III. — The Church regards the Gregorian (plain) Chant 
 as truly her own, which is accordingly the only one adopted 
 in the liturgical books of which she approves (Ibidem, Art. 
 II), although "With us it would be more difficult to render 
 a Plain Chant Mass well than almost any figured chant. But 
 a suggestion might be made, apropos of this: that wherever 
 and whenever a choir is unable to produce properly a " grand " 
 Mass, it should respect the fame of the composer, the real 
 merits of his work, the feelings of the congregation, and es- 
 pecially the liturgical proprieties, by contenting itself with a 
 simpler composition." * 
 
 V. — Language. 
 
 In solemn strictly liturgical functions, 2 hymns in any other 
 than the Latin language are forbidden. (De Musica Sacra 
 Ordinatio, S. R. C, July 7, 1894, n. 3830, VII, p. 1, art. VII.) 
 
 1 Rev. H. T. Henry, Litt. D., "The Recent Decree on Church 
 Music," American Catholic Quarterly Review. January, 1895. p. 107. 
 : Found in the Missal, Breviary and Roman Ritual. 
 
146 APPENDIX. 
 
 These hymns must be taken from the Sacred Scriptures, from 
 the Breviary, or be hymns and prayers otherwise bearing the 
 approval of the Church. {Ibidem.) 
 
 In a Missa solemnis or cantata, hymns in honor of the Saint 
 or Mystery whose feast is being celebrated in the vernacular 
 are not allowed (S. R. C, Jan. 31, 1896, n. 3880). To sing 
 hymns in the vernacular during the distribution of Holy 
 Communion in a Missa solemnis or cantata is prohibited. 
 (S. R. C, Jan. 14, 1898, n. 3975, ad V, 1.) 
 
 During Benediction, from the beginning of the Tantum ergo 
 to the end of the blessing, nothing in the vernacular may be 
 inserted (S. R. C, March 23, 1881, n. 3530, ad II), except 
 the Divine Praises, " Blessed be God," which may be recited 
 immediately after the oration Deus qui nobis, or after the 
 blessing (S. R. C, March 11, 1871, n. 3237, ad I). 
 
 Before and after a Missa solemnis or cantata, during a Missa 
 privata, before the Blessed Sacrament exposed, except from 
 the Tantum ergo to the end of the Blessing and in all other 
 sacred services, 1 hymns and prayers in the vernacidar are al- 
 lowed, except the Te Deum and other strictly liturgical pray- 
 ers (S. R. C, Febr. 27, 1882, n. 3537, ad III). Both hymns 
 and prayers ought to inspire piety and be approved com- 
 positions. 
 
 Note. — Only those Litanies which have been approved by 
 the Apostolic See may be sung or recited in churches or pub- 
 lic oratories, whether the services be public (S. R. C, March 
 6, 1894, n. 3820 ad I) or private (S. R. C, June 20, 1896, 
 n. 3916). These Litanies are " Omnium Sanctorum," " SS. 
 Nominis Jesu," " SS. Cordis Jesu," " Lauretanae B. M. V." 
 
 1 Triduums, novenas, devotions in honor of the Sacred Heart, etc. 
 
INDEX 
 
 A Capella singing 62 | 
 
 Accessibility of polyphonic music 
 
 95, 96 
 Adult section of Choir ... 16 
 
 Age for Choir-boy, Proper . 16, 30 
 
 Altar, High 37 
 
 Alto-boy 24 | 
 
 Alto, adult — male 24 
 
 Alto section of choir ... 24 
 
 Altos, Training of 63 
 
 Amateur singing 94 
 
 Anthems of Blessed Virgin . . 92 
 
 Anthony, Mr. Wilfrid 36 
 
 Antiphons to Psalms .... 90, 94 
 
 Apostles, The 122 
 
 Appreciation of loyal service . . 33 
 Architecture, Byzantine .... $7 
 Architecture, Romanesque . . 37 
 
 Baeuerle, Rev. Hermann . . 96, 97 
 
 Beethoven 102, 106 
 
 Behnke, Brown and ... 48 
 
 Behnke, Emil 48, 57 
 
 Bellenot, Philippe . 16, 21, 76, 11 1 
 
 Benedictines 83 
 
 Birkle, O. S. B., Dom .... 49 
 
 Blending of art-forms 85 
 
 Bordes, Charles 97 
 
 Boston Cathedral Choir . . 22, 39 
 Boy-choir, Distinctive feature 
 
 of a 53 
 
 Boy-choir, Objections to . . . 8 
 "Boy-choir," technical term . 8 
 
 Boy-choristers 13 
 
 Boys in the soprano and alto 
 
 parts 5 
 
 Boys' section, Leakage from . 28 
 Boys' section, Organization of 12 
 Boys suitable for a choir? What 13 
 Boys' voices to be used . . 80, 81 
 Boys — where to get them ... 13 
 
 Boy-voice — its powers . . . . 7, 53 
 Boy-voice — its cultivation . . 54, 57 
 Boy-voice — its registers . . . 57, 65 
 
 Brandon, Harry 55 
 
 "Break" in the boy-voice, The 58 
 "Break," Process for smooth- 
 ing the 60 
 
 Breathing in singing 63 
 
 Breitkopf and Haertel . . . . 96, 98 
 
 Browne and Behnke 48 
 
 Burns and Oates 109 
 
 Byzantine architecture .... 37 
 
 Cascilian music 108, in 
 
 Caecilia Society 9 
 
 Cantorum, Scholae 6 
 
 Cary and Co no 
 
 Cassocks and surplices, Lockers 
 
 for 74 
 
 Celebrant's intonations at Ves- 
 pers 90 
 
 Cseremoniale, The 36, 37 
 
 Chancel, The 36 
 
 Chanting, Gregorian 21 
 
 " Chest " register 58 
 
 Choir, An unbalanced 22 
 
 Choir-hall, The . . ._ 74 
 
 Choirmaster as organist, The . 45 
 Choirmaster as leader and trainer 47 
 Choirmaster, Obligations of a . 44 
 Choirmasters should be loved . 32 
 
 Choir— " mixed " n 
 
 Choir, Organization of a . ... n 
 Chorister, Proper age for a . . 16, 30 
 Chorister, Qualifications of a . 14 
 
 Chorus, Small 21 
 
 Church of Blessed Sacrament, 
 
 Providence, R. 1 37, 39 
 
 Church of St. Sulpice, Choir at 
 
 16, 21, 39, 76 
 Classic polyphony 95 
 
 (147) 
 
148 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 Compline 93 
 
 Congregational Singing . . 113, 117, 
 
 120 
 
 Console, Organ 39 
 
 Convent hymns 123 
 
 Cook, Mr. Arthur E 67 
 
 Corporal punishment of choris- 
 ters . 33 
 
 Council of Laodicea 6 
 
 Credo at High Mass 142 
 
 Cologne Cathedral, Congrega- 
 tional singing at 115 
 
 Commission of New York, Music 31 
 Curwen, F. R. A. M., John 
 Spencer . 21, 23, 25, 29, 35, 48, 55 
 
 Decrees of Sacred Congregations 140 
 Desclee, Lefebvre and Co. . . . 83 
 Diagrams for seating choristers 38 
 
 Dickinson, Edward 6, 114 
 
 Discant 85 
 
 Discipline 33 
 
 Display to be avoided 81 
 
 D'Ortigue, Joseph 86 
 
 Dream of Gerontius ...... 122 
 
 Duncan, Mr. Henry 33 
 
 Elaborate treatment of Gregorian 
 
 compositions 88, 89, 92 
 
 Elgar, Sir E. . 122 
 
 Electro-pneumatic organs ... 40 
 Equipment in average church, 
 Musical ... ... 11 
 
 Expenses of a Sanctuary Choir 41 
 
 Falsi bordoni 85 
 
 Female-voices— debarred from 
 
 liturgical choir . . 5, 53, 80, 81 
 Female-voice— unsuited to litur- 
 gical music 53 
 
 Figured Vespers 107 
 
 Fines of choristers 31 
 
 Fischer and Bro., J. . . 97, no, 125 
 
 "Fixed Do" system 71 
 
 Florio, Caryl 55 
 
 Gannon, Mr. Robert .... 29, 61 
 
 Garret, Dr. ... 26 
 
 Gibbons, Cardinal 115, 116 
 
 Gloria at High Mass 142 
 
 Goodrich, Wallace, 86 
 
 Gounod 102, 106, 107, in 
 
 Grecian music 82 
 
 Gregorian chanting 21 
 
 Gregorian chant restored . . 80, 112 
 
 Haberl, Dr. 43, 44, 49 
 
 Hammerel, Victor 19, 27 
 
 Harmonization of Chant, 84, 88, 89, 92 
 
 Haydn 102, 105, 106 
 
 "Head" register 58 
 
 Hebrew music 82 
 
 Henry, The Rev. H. T., Litt. D. 
 
 Preface, . 145 
 Hints for maintaining a Choir . 28 
 
 Holy Week Offices 94 
 
 Honorarium for Boys 31 
 
 Hopkins, Dr. E. J 21 
 
 Hymns by non-Catholic writers. 125 
 Hymns, vernacular, when per- 
 missible ? 146 
 
 Instruction in Sacred Music, 127, 130 
 Interest on the part of priests . 33 
 
 Introit at High Mass 142 
 
 Italian method of using vocal 
 registers 65 
 
 Junior Choir 124 
 
 Kavanagh, Blatchford 23 
 
 Key-board, Organ 39 
 
 Krehbiel, Mr. H. E 55, 66 
 
 La Jeune, Mr 66 
 
 Lemaistre, A 49 
 
 Language, prescribed at services. 145 
 
 Laodicea, Council of 6 
 
 Latin Language should be known 
 
 by Choirmaster 49 
 
 La Tribune de Saint Gervais . . 97 
 League and Sodality Hymns . . 121 
 Leakage from Boys' section . . 28 
 Length of Liturgical Chant . . 137 
 
 Leo XIII . 83 
 
 Levites, Choir of 36 
 
 Libera me Domine at Requiems. 143 
 Litanies which may be sung or 
 
 recited publicly 146 
 
 Litany of the B. V. M 93 
 
 Literature on training of a Choir. 48 
 
 Liturgical Text 133 
 
 London Catholic Choirs .... 17 
 Low Mass with Music 122 
 
 M agister Choral is 86 
 
 Magnificat 91, 98, 107 
 
 Maintaining a Choir 28 
 
INDEX. 
 
 149 
 
 Martin, Sir George, Mus. Doc. I 
 30, 48, 59, 62, 70, 76 J 
 
 Martinucci 36, 90 j 
 
 Mass not to be delayed by the 
 
 Music 105 1 
 
 Men required, number of . . 23, 24 
 Men's Section of Choir .... 16 
 Men, Training of Choir .... £M 
 
 Men, Young 17! 
 
 Messiter, Mr 67 
 
 Meyers, Mr. A. B 26 
 
 Missa Cantata— What is to be 
 
 sung by the Celebrant ? . . - 140 
 Missa Cantata— What is to be 
 
 sung by Choir 141 
 
 "Missa, Cunctipotens Genitor 
 
 Deus" 87 
 
 " Missa, Orbis Factor " . ... 87 
 " Missa pro defunctis " .... 87 
 Mission Church, Boston ... 30 
 
 " Mixed choirs " 11 
 
 Modern Hymnody 119 
 
 Modern Masters of Music, 
 
 102, 106, 107 
 
 Modern Music 91, 102 
 
 Motets at the Offertory .... 142 
 Motets in Plain Chant .... 93 
 Motu proprio 80, 82, 88, 93, 99, 102, 
 
 103, 104, 105, 107, 109, no, in, 127 
 "Movable Do" system .... 71 
 
 Mozart 102, 106, in 
 
 Musica Divina : Dr. Proske . 99 
 Musical equipment of average 
 
 church n 
 
 Newman, Cardinal . . . 125, 126 
 New York, Musical Commission 
 of the Archdiocese of ... . 31 
 
 Niedermeyer, Louis 86 
 
 Notation, Gregorian 70, 72 
 
 Number of Rehearsals .... 75 
 Number of Voices 20 
 
 Oakeley, Canon 7 
 
 Objection to Boy Choir .... 8 
 O'Connell, D. D., The Right 
 
 Rev. William 31 
 
 Office Hymns and Versiculi . 91, 94 
 One Mass should be sung com- 
 plete 88 
 
 Organ, The 36 
 
 Organ and Instruments .... 136 
 
 Organ accompaniment to Chant. 86 
 
 Organ at St. Bartholomew's, 
 
 New York, The 40 
 
 Organ at Symphony Hall, Bos- 
 ton, The 40 
 
 Organ, electro-pneumatic ... 40 
 
 Organ, tracker ........ 40 
 
 Organ, tubular-pneumatic . . • 40 
 Organ, when and how it should 
 
 be played 143 
 
 Organist, The 45 
 
 Organization of a Choir . . . . n 
 
 Organization of Boys' Section . 12 
 Organization of Adult Section 
 
 of Choir 16 
 
 Organum. Hucbald ...... 85 
 
 Origin of Gregorian Chant . . 82 
 
 Palestrina Music 85 
 
 Palestrina School of Music . . 95 
 
 Papal Choir no 
 
 Paris Schola Cantorum .... 97 
 
 Parochial Schools 13 
 
 Parts, Proportion of 22 
 
 Paying the Boys 31 
 
 Perosi, Dom Lorenzo • . . no, in 
 
 Personnel of Church Choirs . . 5 
 
 Pius IX 83 
 
 Pius X . 79, 80, 94, 99, 101, 121, 126, 
 
 139 
 
 Polyphonic settings of Manificat. 98 
 
 Priests' Interest in their Choirs. 33 
 
 "Probationers" 29 
 
 Processional Hymns 125 
 
 Proper of the Mass . 89, 91, 94, 141 
 
 Proportion of voices 22 
 
 Proske, Dr 99 
 
 Protestant Church Music . 6, 9, 114 
 
 Psalmody 90 
 
 Punishment of Recalcitrant 
 
 Choristers 33 
 
 Purity of tone 64 
 
 Qualifications of a Choirmaster. 14 
 
 Ratisbon Edition of the Chant . 83 
 
 Recessional Hymns 125 
 
 Reform, Call for 1 
 
 Registers in Boy- Voice .... 57 
 
 Rehearsals . 74 
 
 Rehearsal Hall 74 
 
 Rehearsals, Method of Proced- 
 ure at yy 
 
 Repertoire des Chanteurs de 
 
 Saint Gervais 97 
 
i5o 
 
 MANUAL OF CHURCH MUSIC. 
 
 Requiems and Weddings ... 18 
 Requiem Masses, Regulation 
 concerning the Music at . . 142 
 
 Responses at Mass 89 
 
 Responses at Vespers 92 
 
 Richardson, Dr. Madeley . . 14, 23, 
 
 32, 49, 76 
 
 Roberts, Dr. J. Varley . . .48, 71 
 
 Rockstro, W. S 85 
 
 Romanesque architecture ... yj 
 
 Roman Choral 82 
 
 Roman music 82 
 
 Roney, H. B 23 
 
 Rossini 107 
 
 Rules, Choir 34 
 
 Sacred Compositions, External 
 
 form of 133 
 
 Sacred Music, Different kinds of 131 
 
 Sacred Oratorio 108 
 
 St. Augustine 115 
 
 St. Bartholomew's Church 
 
 Organ 40 
 
 St. Jerome 115 
 
 St. Paul's, 59th St., New York 
 
 22, 37, 39 
 St. Paul's Cathedral, London . 20 
 
 St. Sulpice, Choir at 16, 21 
 
 Sanctuary, Choir in 37 
 
 Scholae cantorum 6 
 
 School Hymns 123 
 
 School-Sisters as assistants . . 34 
 
 Schools 13 
 
 Seating of Choir 38 
 
 Seiler, Madame . 48 
 
 Sight reading 31, 70 
 
 Singenberger, J 108 
 
 Singers, The 135 
 
 Sisters of the School as assist- 
 ants 34 
 
 Small Chorus 21 
 
 Sodalists 16 
 
 Solesmes Chant 83, 92, 11 1 
 
 Solo singing 105,106 
 
 Stainer, Sir John . . .... 62 
 
 Stalls, Choir 37 
 
 Stubbs, G. Edward . . 15, 18, 23, 48, 
 
 62, 65 
 Suggested polyphonic Masses . 98 
 Suggested polyphonic Motets 98 
 
 Summary of Regulations con- 
 cerning the Organ, Chant, etc. 140 
 
 Surplices worn by Choristers . 39 
 Symphony Hall, Boston, Organ 
 in 40 
 
 TantumErgo : . 93 
 
 Taylor, Mr 25 
 
 Technical Study of the Chant . 84 
 Technical Training of a Choir . 69 
 
 Terry, Mr. R. R. no, in 
 
 Test of Modern Composition . 103, 
 104, 105, 106 
 
 Theatrical Music 104 
 
 Three Kinds of Church Music . 80 
 Three Tests of a Hymn .... 119 
 Tone quality— its importance . 8, 58 
 Tone quality — Method for pro- 
 ducing good 57 
 
 To teach Gregorian Chant ... 87 
 Tozer, Dr. A. Edmonds . . 60, 77, 
 
 125 
 Training of the Boy's Voice . . 57 
 
 "Tracker" Organs 40 
 
 True test of Church Music . . - 80 
 "Tubular-pneumatic" organs. 40 
 Tuft's Method of Sight Reading 71 
 
 Ungerer, Mr. J. C 26, 30 
 
 Unisonal singing 88 
 
 Vatican Edition of Chant ... 83 
 Vernacular Hymns — when per- 
 missible 146 
 
 Vespers 90 
 
 Vespers di concerto 107 
 
 Vespers, Solemn 36 
 
 Victimae Paschali — could not be 
 well sung by head-register 
 
 alone 67 
 
 Voices, Number of 20 
 
 Voices, Proportion of 22 
 
 Voice training 31 
 
 Westminster Abbey ... 29 
 
 Westminster Cathedral, Choir at 
 
 21, 39 
 What boys to get for the Choir 14 
 Where to get boys for the Choir 13 
 Whitney, S. B 20 
 
 Young Men as Choir Members 17 
 Young, C. S. P., Rev. Alfred . 113, 
 
 124 
 Young, S. J., Rev. J. B. . . 30, 124 
 
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