I confused as to what you mean by a choir procession. Are you asking if anyone has their choir process from the "choir room" through the church to the loft? Or if they process with the priest during the processional chant?

We process out on Holy Thursday when the Eucharist is taken to the altar of repose and we sing the chant while processing. We don't have a choir room or anywhere to process to or from, if that makes any sense.

Procession to the Baptistry in the Easter and Pentecost Vigils? Palm Sunday, Corpus Christi, Candlemass, Rogations... Yes the choir joins the procession, our Cantors and some of the other men don Choir Dress, the ladies process just ahead of the congregation.

Much of this depends on the layout of your church. It could be a nice added element if the choir sits near the sanctuary so such a procession would make at least some “logistical” sense; our parish choir sits in a transept (no steps) so we’re able to do this fairly easily every Sunday. IMHO processing from the rear of a church only to immediately return on one’s way to a choir loft is rather pointless.

I can’t speak to much experience with the EF, but I’d imagine choral processions in your average Sunday mass would be less welcome than in the OF. Plus, I’d gather the instance of an EF choir that sings from the sanctuary (as is the old British practice) is likewise very rare these days. Every EF church I’ve seen thus far has their choir sing from a loft.

At Walsingham the cathedral choir process from the narthex after the crucifer, thuribler, and torch bearers and before the sacred ministers. They go to betwixt front of nave and chancel, do a profound bow, split and go back the side aisles to the choir gallery. This may seem unnecessary and pointless, but it is in Anglican DNA to have the choir in the procession - nor do they have any trouble at all holding their hymnals and singing the hymn while processing. When we build a new and larger cathedral, the choir of course will go to their choir stalls 'in choir' in the chancel - where they really ought to be.

Since most sung Sunday EF Masses begin with the Asperges, I think it makes sense for a choir that sings from the chancel or near the sanctuary to process in with the ministers and celebrant, especially if there is an organ processional that doesn't require singing/reading while walking, navigating steps, etc. But if singing an unmemorized hymn or the Introit for the procession, I'd rather be in place beforehand.

In the EF, there are standard choir directions for processions (though the ordering doesn't make a lot of sense for a lay choir): When entering/exiting with the celebrant, the choir should be ordered by seniority/rank, with junior members before senior, walking behind the servers/altar boys, but before other clergy 'in choir' and the celebrant. But when entering/exiting separate from the main procession, e.g., a few minutes before or after Mass, it is the opposite—the director/senior choristers are at the head.

M. Jackson Osborne,

We are going to have a new church? Wow, I just started visiting it last year after wanting to come for at least a decade. It looks magnificent as it is. Hopefully it won't be totaled.

Paul


(University of Houston student as of Monday - takes the name of a patron of physicians, St. Blaise, which is what I am aspiring to be; in particular, a physician for musicians, including organists - I plan to take organ lessons through the music school's community studies program)

Thank you graciously for the godspeed.

I do hope they keep the overall design. I love the shrine in the middle of the campus - it is a very, very serene oasis in the middle of a busy (by that I mean to say - in a polite fashion - somewhat run down) district of Houston.

As to the question, I do know that at my [now former] parish, Our Lady of the Atonement (then a Pastoral Provision parish), the adult choir would process during Lent for Holy Mass in advance of the thurifer. The attire was dark suits and tie for men, black attire for women. This would be back in 2010. Additionally, the choir would also process for Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.

"Brilliant social commentator as well."

That, much less even than his art.

Our steep, 164 year old winding wooden staircase to the tiny choir loft (with an ancient German tracker organ with no expression) is called the, "Great Eliminator". Once you can no longer climb said stairs, your no longer in the band. Our loft is at the rear and out of sight so the church choir only processes with the clergy on Palm Sunday and/or Easter when every choir member is ringing a bell in G harmonic minor and singing full bore the 5-part round, Christ ist erstanden based on Heinrich Isaac's classic chant. It's a total smells and bells cacophony leaving the wide eyed parishioners wondering what in heaven's name has descended upon them. Several times a year on feast days, one of our Compline Choirs does a non singing hand bell processional to good effect. We go down the center of the darkened Nave (that's trouble right there) and split up front continuing to throw those clappers and process back along the outside to the Narthex and up the stairs to the loft each person leaving their bell at the bottom of the stairs which makes it a built in board fade. Other times we do Peter Hallock's simply terrific Easter Canticle also with handbells with music on folded cardstock, or Wigbert Wipo of Burgundy (d. c. 1050) hymn for Easter Sunday, Victimae Paschali laudes, plainsong, Mode 1 in our Compline amebae saunter.
jefe