The Congregation's Choir

The church’s choir is one of the best areas of raw natural potential for use toward a congregation’s training in liturgical decorum. The pastor who is looking for ways to lead his congregation toward greater reverence and confessional piety would do well to look to the choir.

The typical American Protestant church might have a choir that works on a piece of choral music for several weeks, until they are featured singing it during the Sunday service, slotted in the order of service some time usually prior to the sermon under a heading such as “choral anthem.” The effect of this upon the congregation is as a break in the flow of the liturgy, a time-out, as it were, to listen to the choir’s performance. In that it’s generally some kind of sacred music, it likely has some edifying value of its own, but that value is just as likely mitigated by the sense that it’s an intrusion into the liturgy rather than a part of it.

What might be done? The pastor will do well to get to know the choir director, or even, if he’s able and not stepping on anyone’s toes, become the director himself. (As an aside, I would support a rigorous encouragement for seminarians to gain some musical training, in voice and musical aptitude). If the choir can be helped to understand the value a liturgical choir can have for a congregation, they might be quite willing to consider shifting their conception of what their choir is for.

A liturgical choir can be taught to sing the Propers, even in harmony. This is a good way to enhance the beauty and dignity of the service. The choir need not be large. Even as few as three or four voices can suffice, especially if they can sing parts. A choral Introit, Gradual, and Verse can play an integral role in the service, Perhaps they can sing a stanza or two of a hymn. No need for an ‘anthem’, except perhaps during the distribution of the Sacrament. Thinking of the choir in liturgical terms can add solemnity and a sense of being in the presence of the Holy One.

Gottesdienst has even published a valuable resource toward this end: The Lutheran Propers. This book provides the beautiful musical settings for the Propers taken from The Concordia Liturgical series for Church Choirs, ed., Walter E. Buszin (St. Louis: Concordia, 1942, 1944), which are currently out of print.  A major intention in the publication of this book was to make these lovely musical settings more easily available for congregational use. The book contains not only these Propers set to music, but the text of the Ordinary (the regular unchanging part of the Common Service), and about 40 hymns, some of them new, in an appendix. It is ideal for the choir’s use, but also in the pew, providing the congregation with the music for the Propers, and certain hymns unavailable in the hymnal. There are also hymn suggestions for every Sunday and feast day.

To get this book, just check out our website’s store.

Your congregation might well choose ditch the ‘anthem’ and start embellishing the Propers with harmony, as a tremendous aid to the congregation at worship.