The Triduum and different choirs
  • cantarealseñor
    Posts: 1
    Hi everyone!

    A little bit about me and my parish’s music program: I sing with my (volunteer) parish choir directed by the DoM. Our choir sings the chant propers, along with motets/polyphony at our 10 am Sunday Mass. We also sing on Christmas, the Triduum (including Tenebræ on Holy Saturday morning), and some Holy Days. Our other choirs include a contemporary one that sings at the Sunday PM Mass (mostly mainstream and contemporary music), a cantor and pianist who sing (mainly hymns/mainstream) at the Saturday Vigil Mass, and our (2?) Spanish choirs who sing at their Sunday Vigil and the 12pm on Sunday.

    These past two years, we only sung for two out of the four main liturgies (including Easter Sunday Mass) of the Triduum. Two years ago, we didn’t sing on the bilingual Holy Thursday Mass and my pastor had the contemporary choir lead it instead. Last year they did the Good Friday liturgy (my pastor also removed another Good Friday liturgy that year, only retaining an English and a Spanish one). The DoM told me last weekend that the pastor, despite his wish to have our choir do the whole Triduum this year, heavily leans toward having the Saturday Vigil duo lead our Holy Thursday, the contemporary choir do the English Good Friday liturgy, leaving us with the Easter Vigil and our 10 am on Easter Sunday.

    I feel disappointed because I have been looking forward to singing the Triduum propers every year, along with motets that we only do for the Triduum such as the Reproaches, Ubi Caritas (both chant and Durufle), Latona’s Mandatum for the foot-washing to name a few. My DoM encouraged me to talk to the pastor hopefully to persuade him to reconsider based on a choir member’s perspective. I am also considering singing with a different parish (who I know the DoM and does polyphony, chant, and hymnody) for Holy Thursday and Good Friday but I am not entirely sure if they accept volunteers.

    What do you think? Should I talk to my pastor?
  • GambaGamba
    Posts: 660
    Sounds like your church doesn’t actually have a DoM, but rather an à la carte choir director, who is just one of many equal musicians tasked with providing music for a particular weekend Mass. A DoM would have oversight of music at all liturgies, and, as a “director”, would assign personnel as he sees fit. In places with many divergent groups under the guidance of one DoM, a common and logical approach is to combine forces for the biggest days, rather than pick and choose and cause widespread disappointment like you’re experiencing.

    But it sounds like your choir director isn’t at liberty to set a schedule for everyone, which leads me to believe he’s no director but just a musician on equal footing with the Saturday-night pianist.

    Bad situation for him, but a problem way beyond your pay grade.
    Thanked by 6CHGiffen cantarealseñor tomjaw Liam Abbysmum Caleferink
  • PLTT
    Posts: 176
    I know I am going to get stoned on this forum for saying this: but sometimes pastors have many constitutencies to please. While many here would advocate a pure musical-liturgical judgement, in my experience that is sometimes complicated.

    Suggestion:Why don't you propose an alternative schedule to the pastor/DoM?

    -- Contemporary choir+Spanish (and duo?) gets Easter Vigil (good time for bilingualism). Yes, I know it's the liturgical high point -- but depending how long it is, chances are that fewer people come for that (my guess, I don't know...your area might be different). Plus, your choir members will probably be tired out if they are singing Holy Saturday morning. This enables them to rest before Easter Sunday.

    -- try and see if the pastor will give your choir Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Maybe there are some smaller Good Friday services (Way of the Cross? Seven Last Words?) for which the pastor can enlist the duo/contemporary. But if you can pick only one between Holy Thursday and Good Friday, then you decide which one you have better music for [and attendance].
  • AbbysmumAbbysmum
    Posts: 152
    Sounds like your church doesn’t actually have a DoM, but rather an à la carte choir director, who is just one of many equal musicians tasked with providing music for a particular weekend Mass. A DoM would have oversight of music at all liturgies, and, as a “director”, would assign personnel as he sees fit. In places with many divergent groups under the guidance of one DoM, a common and logical approach is to combine forces for the biggest days, rather than pick and choose and cause widespread disappointment like you’re experiencing.

    But it sounds like your choir director isn’t at liberty to set a schedule for everyone, which leads me to believe he’s no director but just a musician on equal footing with the Saturday-night pianist.


    This is the situation in many parishes. There is also a great deal of resistance to bringing everyone under one umbrella, because, as PLTT rightly points out...

    but sometimes pastors have many constitutencies to please


    Should it be that way? Not really, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do to keep the money flowing in.
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