Ministry Monday: The Podcast by NPM

In a few weeks we will celebrate the holiest days of the year, the Triduum. No matter the musical resources you use or in which camp of the style wars your community finds itself, most of us will incorporate one or more of the chants traditionally sung during Holy Week.

Now, today’s episode isn’t a conversation about what chants you should or shouldn’t use, or a discussion about why chant is important, though both of those are important topics. Instead, we’re providing a short “chant clinic” designed especially for those communities who might not often sing chant during the rest of the liturgical year, but who will be incorporating chant during the Triduum. How do you get your choir to shape chant melodies instead of plodding through them like a heavy march? How do you effectively lead a congregation not accustomed to chanting? What about that soloist who will be singing the Exultet?

To help us out, we’re joined once again by Dr. Andre Heywood, a master conductor, clinician, and choral scholar. In one of our most-downloaded episodes, Andre joined me back in Advent for a conversation about vocal health. Now during this Lenten season, he joins us with tactics you can start using right away to improve the quality of chant in your celebrations.

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For more information about Andre Heywood, visit The Saint John’s Boys’ Choir.

The recording of “Pange Lingua” (Fr. Ricky Manalo) is published by OCP. The recordings of “Parce Domine/Ubi Caritas” (arr. Jeremy Young) and “Jerusalem, My Destiny” (Rory Cooney) are published by GIA Publications.

Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.

All content of this podcast is property of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians or its content suppliers and is protected by United States and international copyright laws. For information about the podcast and its use, please contact us.

Pastoral musicians spend a great deal of effort trying to get people to sing. Our work is animated by the desire to assist the “full, active, and conscious participation” of every person in our assembly. We often select music that is familiar. We spend a great deal of time introducing new music with pedagogic strategies that are measured, reasonable, and pastoral. We put hymns in comfortable keys, we train instrumentalists to support congregational singing, and we form our cantors to be song leaders, not soloists.

For the most part, I’m willing to be we do a pretty good job of promoting and facilitating the sung prayer of those gathered in the pews. But, there is another voice that may need a bit more coaxing and a more delicate pastoral approach. Whose voice is it? Your pastor.

It can be difficult to get your pastor – or deacon, or bishop – to sing. Yet, singing is vital to our liturgy, especially for the role of the presider. The solutions can be tricky because the cause of the hesitancy – or refusal – on the part of your pastor can be varied and complex. To peel back these layers and to discuss some strategies, we turn to Fr. Ricky Manalo. We’ll hear one of Fr. Ricky’s compositions in today’s Ministry Moment.

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For more information about Fr. Ricky Manalo, CSP, and his other compositions, visit his composer page at OCP and his personal website.

To listen to the Open Your Hymnal podcast episode featuring Fr. Ricky's song, "Many and Great," visit the Open Your Hymnal website.

The recordings of "Transfiguration" was produced by OCP. "Eat This Bread" and "Give Us Peace" were produced by GIA Publications.

Visit NPM's digital resource library, referenced at the end of the episode.

#058: Chant Clinic, Lent Edition (with Dr. Andre Heywood)

#025: The Singing Priest (with Fr. Ricky Manalo, CSP)

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