Christ is Risen!

Some time back (before I changed my display name from Ja Rusin Byl), I mentioned how we were in need of a church choir. I had spoken with our priest about the topic, and soon enough the arrival of a new parishoner who majored in music was considering leading a small choir. It turns out he has accepted the position, and we will be having a preliminary meeting soon! We are all very excited to be starting a choir again.

Can anyone offer any advice for the new choir (since some will not have any music experience)?

Thank you. Viruju

[Hopefully these replies will not be deleted as the last query on this subject was.]

Does your parish have a good cantor to start with? IMHO choirs are great,....BUT.... we should remember to keep the plainchant tradition too. A good cantor is critical to this end.

I sing in my church choir as well as being a regular cantor.

A few questions might be in order. Do those who don't read music pick up their parts quickly and correctly if the part is sung for them? Ideally, even some very basic music reading will need to be used, so even though there are members who don't read music now should be encouraged to read music through appropriate instruction.

Am I correct by your posting that you are involved with the choir? Choirs take a lot of practice and rehersal time. The time is worth every minute spent! I know because in my own case I feel our own choir needs more practice. Even I need to practice more than I can usually allot in each week.

When it comes to what compositions a choir should sing.... I definitely have opinions, which I will not post yet(again, because of the last time this subject came up and was so nicely deleted/dismissed). Suffice it for me to say that in the end, I would hope that plainchant (prostopinije) will survive, with choral arrangements being an adjunct, augmenting plainchant in regular use.

Steve

The choir hasn't even had a meeting yet. Unfortunately our priest is very busy and has not had a change to "contact" this music major.

Regarding plain chant, I'm sure that will be all we will essentially (be able to) do. Maybe if things go well we will be able to try some simple arrangements.

Also:

One of the reasons I asked to remove my orginal post was because I stated my opinion about our cantor (which I realize should just have been left alone, according to other posts and comments); I did not want to offend anyone who I may know here, and so was uncomfortable having the post up.

However, I must say, the one cantor at our parish is not very popular with the parishoners, and has actually caused several families to go to other byzantine or roman churches. We are ready for a change.

Yet again,

I have this link posted under "fading music" but I think it's bad now; this should work:

http://rapidshare.de/files/21377671/REC0000_04.mp3.html

This is a recording of our choir from 1970.

You want to click the "free download," then allow the timer to run out to get it free (I don't know how to start my own webpage to post my music...sorry).

I know this reply is somewhat off topic to start. The reason for some of the frustration and lack of responses is that there had been a good thread on this subject that was entirely deleted, not just the starting post (which can be edited by the <i>moderators</i> even after the original poster's editing time out has expired).

Perhaps it would be better to "talk shop" via PM or email?

Steve

Kliros helps cantors, choir directors, and those who support their ministries to compare notes on materials, practices, and procedures, especially when many of us do not have other opportunities for that face to face. Private messages can also help when the discussion needs to be more personal. So, do what you think is best for this parish ministry, remembering that you may be able to help a larger community by sharing your ideas and experiences. If any of us has ideas we think might be helpful, we'll probably find a way to share them with you, and hope you will, too.