I'm not sure what you mean by coral incense but the Hermitage of the Holy Cross makes very high quality Russian Orthodox incense. Agnus Dei also offers German-made incense in a variety of scents/blends. The Holy Rood Guild offers two blends of high-quality incense, as well; although neither is "coral." Finally, any church goods supplier can offer you the major brands of church incense: Nativity, Trinity, Gloria, Prinknash Abbey, Cathedral, Emkay, Adoration, etc.
Do any of the other posters have a problem with incense affecting choir members? Occasionally, the incense smoke has drifted up and been so strong as to cause breathing issues for a few of us in the choir loft.
I've had one or two who were particularly susceptible to incense among other things. One person would sit just outside the loft during the sermon because she was so sensitized. Perhaps more than incense I've had to periodically remind my groups not to wear strong perfumes / colognes.
I agree perfume/cologne can be a problem as well. I guess there is nothing that can be done regarding incense, but speaking up about perfume/cologne is possible.
A few Sundays ago, two pre-teens in town to visit relatives sat in the choir loft with us. They were wearing perfume. Not perfume as many would wear it, but the strong kind that slowly nears your throat and embraces it with vise-like claws of asphyxiation. Many of us suffered that day, but there was probably little else we could have done. You just have to laugh it off. I have resolved the incense issue. When it is overpowering, I open the church and loft doors a bit. The draft of fresh air goes up the stairwell into the loft and dissipates the incense.
Incense is usually only a problem for me when I am pregnant. During those later months, I tend to carry a hand-fan, for both temperature and incense issues. Otherwise, it doesn't bother me; even though it does tend to reach us right before Mass, when the ministerial procession is getting in place, and waiting on the introit.
Perfumes are way worse on my senses/sinuses than incense. (Our symphony chorus has a strict policy against scented colognes, perfumes, and lotions, and has made it clear that (because of the negative affects it can have on others,) violators will not be allowed to perform.)
I have mildly choked a few times - but I would rather choke than have no incense. And I have little sympathy for those curmudgeons who wouldn't also - Because my love of incense at mass (the smell, smoke, and aura of it!) trumps any momentary discomfort my breathing apparatus may experience.
True, methinks. Frankincense and finer 'incense', I would suggest, owing to the relative purity of their gums, produce a smoke of fewer impurities than the cedar and other wood shavings that often predominate in cheaper incense of the kind normally encountered in the average church goods shops. The best smoke and the most sublime aromas come from the pure frankincense and aromatic powders that are had from monasteries, particularly Orthodox ones. (I make this statement not wholly authoriatively, but only as an opinion based on experience and the respective contents of various incenses.)
True. It is the wood shavings in the cheaper imitation frankincense that smokes and is irritating. Eastern incense doesn't smoke as much and smells much better, since it is of higher quality and price. There is even a "smokeless" incense available. It produces scent, and a small amount of vapor.
I agree that higher quality incense creates less problems. In one parish, I switched to Trinity brand incense which advertises itself as hypoallergenic and non-choking. They have four blends (Floral, Forest, Powder, and Frankincense). Most people in the pews were pleased.
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