tandrews

Oudoor Processions- Where to stand
Failing that, invest in herding dogs to herd the congregation, who, like sheep, have gone astray. The Knights of Columbus have swords for occasions like this.

Comment by tandrews March 21 permalink
Need Help Understanding Novus Ordo Funerals
Sometimes priests want to announce some of the hymns themselves (opening, song of farewell, dismissal), so maybe the priest would be willing to do that if you express your uncertainty of when to begin playing?

Comment by tandrews February 26 permalink
Wasting away in Novus Ordo land
Quadra-plus-one-gesima.

Comment by tandrews February 18 permalink
Gentle Reminder to Proofread Your Ash Wednesday Worship Aids
Printed: "One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off..." Spoken: "One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose Peter had been cut off..."

Comment by tandrews February 9 permalink
Gentle Reminder to Proofread Your Ash Wednesday Worship Aids
Happened at Notre Dame for First Sunday of Lent one year: "Scapulis suis obumbrabit tibi, et sub pennis ejus sperabis." There was one "n" missing.

Comment by tandrews February 8 permalink
Complete abstention from "alleluia"
I tell my young singers that we got "special permission" to practice the Alleluia during our Lenten rehearsals. They love the feeling of doing something no one else is allowed to do at school!

Comment by tandrews February 4 permalink
Tips for New Parish Music Directors
-Make a spreadsheet with the entire year's music laid out in advance Do have a small collection of choir pieces you can resort to as a back up plan if everything goes south. Franck's Panis Angelicus or Mozart's Ave Verum are always i…

Comment by tandrews February 3 permalink
Archbishop of Portland's Pastoral Letter on Sacred Music
I'm reminded of a quote by the grandfather in Blue Bloods: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCZOF4XxmUU Also, don't be afraid to be on the nose about it from time to time: "just a reminder, my rehearsal starts AT 7 PM, not after."

Comment by tandrews January 26 permalink
Diocesan Websites
Our Diocese tried to have the Mass of Wisdom for all parishes, but that was over a decade ago. It is rarely used now.

Comment by tandrews January 16 permalink
Sang “Hail Mary: Gentle Woman” at a funeral today…
The Gordon Lightfoot Ave Maria.

Comment by tandrews January 4 permalink
Walking the Baby and the Diddly Music
We (hopefully) wouldn’t ever refer to a sermon or homily as “that rambling after the Gospel”. Tom Lehrer's Vatican Rag comes to mind lol

Comment by tandrews December 2025 permalink
Generational Conflict between a young music director versus an aging and diminishing volunteer choir
Ah, I should also add "overly ambitious" to the list of church choir problems, which OP seems to mention and I've definitely also experienced. Yup, just because you sang it in grad school with a choir of 70+ 20-somethings with all th…

Comment by tandrews December 2025 permalink
Walking the Baby and the Diddly Music
If you absolutely must do this for your job, Baptized in Water (Bunessan) is probably right up his alley. Treat it like a sprinkling rite I guess.

Comment by tandrews December 2025 permalink
Walking the Baby and the Diddly Music
Sorry, in the wake of abuse scandals and celebrity trials, the priest has to find a better descriptor to use than "diddly" music when walking around church with a kid.

Comment by tandrews December 2025 permalink
Humor
Not seasonal, but these remind of the square note "Hoc in loco lux lucens nova" chant I have hanging in my office...

Comment by tandrews December 2025 permalink
Gloria that does not repeat refrain
Carol Thomas Andrews’ Gloria from A New Mass for Congregations is pretty versatile for both festive seasons/occasions and Ordinary Time. No relation :(

Comment by tandrews December 2025 permalink
How to determine how many carols to schedule before Christmas Mass
Time how long a verse takes, multiply by number of verses. Add 30-60 seconds between carols or choral solos. Allow a buffer of 2 minutes before Mass for any surprises!

Comment by tandrews November 2025 permalink
Legal Letters from the USCCB
my fee is about $500 for a finished minute of music. Is this a common way to pay composers? Genuinely curious, I don't know anything about this!

Comment by tandrews November 2025 permalink
Ordinariate of the Chair of St Peter - New Parish
Will one be returning to Minnesota anytime soon?

Comment by tandrews November 2025 permalink
Salaries and hours
Keyword: "decently"

Comment by tandrews October 2025 permalink
Salaries and hours
Nothing to contribute, I just keep reading the title as "Salieri's..."

Comment by tandrews October 2025 permalink
Fake/Accelerated Organ Videos
With the limited information available so far, we can say that the speed-up happened between 1992 and 2018; but we don't know who did it or why. To allow for more commercial breaks!

Comment by tandrews September 2025 permalink
History of Liturgical Music during the Romantic Era (~1800-1910)
Brosig was a Cecilianist and then he wasn't. Silesia was technically German during his life. I can talk your ear off about him ;)

Comment by tandrews September 2025 permalink
Fake/Accelerated Organ Videos
In the immortal words of Dr. Craig Cramer: "Possible dissertation topic!"

Comment by tandrews September 2025 permalink
Fake/Accelerated Organ Videos
I want to share links, but won't on a sacred music forum, but there are videos of James Hetfield doing some pretty serious headbanging throughout his career with Metallica. And there are reddit subthreads on how to headbang without wrecking you…

Comment by tandrews September 2025 permalink
Fake/Accelerated Organ Videos
What's the tuning of the instruments involved? If the video sounds like its pitched higher than what is known to be, that would be some good evidence. The Walloon organ is set to A=465, so if it's sounding at, say, A=470, then that could m…

Comment by tandrews September 2025 permalink
Standard Pronunciation Guide when singing in English
Ok, but when do/don't you flip or roll Rs when singing in English?

Comment by tandrews July 2025 permalink
Choir Space Decoration

Comment by tandrews July 2025 permalink
Looking for 1940 St. Gregory Supplement PDF
This is what I've been looking for. Thank you!!!

Comment by tandrews June 2025 permalink
Looking for 1940 St. Gregory Supplement PDF
Please share! Thanks!

Comment by tandrews June 2025 permalink

Welcome to the MusicaSacra Forum!

To participate in the discussions on Catholic church music, sign in or register as a forum member, The forum is a project of the Church Music Association of America.

About

Username: tandrews
Joined: February 2019
Visits: 5,697
Last Active: 3:50PM
Roles: Member
Posts: 224
Thanked: 301