The Choir as Community
By Patti Drennan

Musical groups are like sports teams; they endeavor to achieve a common goal and work closely together. They become an extension of each other’s families and can bond together not only in worship, but in times of celebration and grief. One idea that is beneficial in keeping connected with each other is to have a list of emails, cell numbers and birthdays gathered for each member. This list can be compiled from an enrollment card each person fills out when joining the choir. Also recorded could be the person’s interest in singing a solo or in an ensemble. When celebrations or concerns arise, it is important to acknowledge them with a phone call or card. This thoughtfulness will long be remembered. Identify the singers having a birthday at a monthly birthday party at the end of rehearsal. What a perfect way to fellowship with a sweet treat.

Our weekly choir handout, “Grace Notes”, includes information about our upcoming anthems and dates, monthly birthdays, prayer requests, a music joke and other pertinent facts. Attendance is taken by section leaders on rehearsal night and Sunday mornings. Near the exit is a sign-out sheet for singers to sign when they know they will be absent. (One Wednesday evening we sounded GLORIOUS as we prepared for an a cappella anthem for the following Sunday. Then Sunday came… but no tenors did, nor had they signed out. Fortunately, I asked my bass who is a band director to sightread the tenor part twenty minutes before we processed into the sanctuary. (Argh.) As a former high school choral director, I would have penalized a student’s grade for missing a performance. However, we are at a disadvantage since there is no such thing as after-church detention. Our city is in a university town and believe it or not, we must be aware of late-night or Bedlam ballgames that actually take precedence over church attendance. I have had to quickly alter an anthem when this happens.

While there are probably numerous anthems a director would like to program, the choir’s size may make it not possible for a number of reasons. One idea might be to establish a relationship with another church choir in town in order to work together, whether to perform a major work, to present an Independence Day celebration honoring the military, or even to bring a composer to present his or her music to the combined choirs. The choirs could split the costs that might otherwise not be financially feasible. These invitations might be done denominationally or even better, why not reach out to other choirs and allow everyone to learn from each other. In the case of my own choir, some opportunities have included participating in a “Festival of Spirituals”, presenting a combined “A Salute to the Vietnam Veterans” in our city park, joining for a choir performance with our neighboring church featuring composer and colleague Joseph Martin, and of course, presenting our celebrated “Patriotic Celebration” that has become a beloved event. In addition, many of our choir members signed up to sing in a Mass Choir on the beaches of Normandy and Lucerne Cemetery one year on July 4^th. Nothing is more humbling and powerful than singing to a sea of white crosses and knowing even without hearing applause, we have had an opportunity to say “Thank You for Your Service.” More and more opportunities to join together and make music are available and can become memorable events.

Community takes on another role for the director as we work to be caretakers not only of the music in worship, but also, the way our music moves and affects the soul. God intends wholeness for all He created, and our faithfulness in embodying wholeness in every aspect of our life is important not only in our music, but in our worship. Our planning for worship, our teaching and rehearsals, and even the way we manage difficult situations has the opportunity to enhance, or to discourage worship and spiritual growth. The best instances of musical and liturgical moments are when they fuse together. and we experience the expanse of God’s creation and how we are simply but a small element. We feel moved and closer to worship because we have encountered something short of a mountaintop experience. For musicians, we have abilities to blend the aesthetics of music with the spiritual, creating a sense of awe. Part of the director’s assignment is to engage not only the unsaved, but also those with strong Christian values in order to help provide affirmation and renewal of their faith. Choosing quality literature from the classics all the way to well-written contemporary music can reach both the churched and unchurched soul. Don’t be afraid to study scores and allow versatility in your choir’s repertoire.

“The human voice is the oldest musical instrument and through the ages it remains what it was, unchanged; the most primitive and the same time the most modern, because it is the most intimate form of human expressions.” ~ Ralph Vaughan Williams

By Lee Dengler and Susan Naus Dengler

Finally, they were on their way!  After years of exile in Babylon, God’s people were returning to Judah. Though some had decided to remain in Babylon, a contingent, led by the priest and scribe, Ezra, began the journey home.  To them, Babylon was still a land where they simply could not sing the Lord’s song, even when coaxed by their captors. All they had been able to do was to hang their harps, the instruments that had once accompanied their voices, on the willow trees that stood guard by the river. The drooping branches of the trees had served as a visual reminder of their own weeping. 

And then, they were home in their beloved native land! In the second chapter of the book of Ezra, we find the listing of folks who returned to Jerusalem and other Judean towns. There were the priests, the temple servants, the gatekeepers of the temple. And there were the singers!

As the foundations of the new temple were laid, the singers began their song, as they praised and gave thanks to the Lord. For those who listened, there was a mixture of emotions. While some shouted for joy, others, who had remembered the former temple and all they had endured, wept with a loud voice. It was hard to distinguish the shouts of joy from the noise of their crying.  Nevertheless, the combined sound of joyous shouts, sorrowful weeping and glorious singing could be heard for miles around.

I have thought about these people many times during the months of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially after we learned that singing in groups had the ability to spread the virus more virulently than almost anything else.  How could we sing the Lord’s song in such a land? But now, it seems that we too are on our way home.  Almost daily, we learn of positive indicators that tell us that choirs can safely return to in-person, close-up, full-choir singing. Thanks be to God!  This is the news for which we have been waiting over these past, long months!

To be sure, those months were long! What could two musicians, a composer and a lyricist, find to do that might be helpful, when the voices of choirs, across our world had been silenced? During the dark days of the pandemic, as we hoped and believed that this day would eventually come to fruition, we began work on the resource, Restore Our Song, to be used by choirs and congregations when life (and church singing) would, once again, return to normal. We had faith that lying ahead of us would not only be a return to singing, but enormous potential for renewal and growth, and with that in mind, we came up with tools for celebrating the return to corporate worship. We wrote plans for a special celebration for choirs, to capture much that had been missed over the past 15 months.  We wrote devotions to be used during those early rehearsals, that remind us of God’s faithfulness, even during dark times. There are anthem suggestions, all of which are very accessible for voices that have grown rusty over months of a hiatus. We also came up with a list of recruitment ideas, as we hope that many church members who had not sung in choirs previously, (especially younger singers) might now consider joining their choir, to be part of the group who would lead their gathered flock back to worship.

Yet, Restore Our Song is not just for choirs.  For entire congregations, we created a special, celebratory worship service, and two different hymn sings, that churches might use to find festive ways to return to singing the hymns of our faith. There is a long list of scriptures that are appropriate to use for several worship services. And, finally, there is a song written especially for this momentous time, appropriately called, “Restore Our Song.”  It can be used by choirs, congregations and worship teams, and lends itself easily to accompaniment by any instruments.

It is our prayer that churches, across our nation, and our world, will find this resource to be useful in helping them to find their way home as they raise their voices in songs of praise for God’s abiding faithfulness and love. 

By Sondra K. Tucker

             If you’re reading this, you certainly don’t need me to tell you that 2020 has been a heartbreaking year.  Amid the closing of Broadway and theaters around the country, church choirs on indefinite hiatus, community bands not meeting, summer conferences cancelled, school choirs, bands, and orchestras scrambling to find ways to teach, and all manner of music-making ground to a halt, one thing stands:  the desire of musicians to make music.  We need it like we need air to breathe.

            The ingenuity of those who have adapted online platforms to create virtual ensembles lifts my spirits, as do the rank and file people who have braved the technological hurdles to participate.  It’s not quite the same as being in the same room, but it is fulfilling, nonetheless.

            I am here to suggest that one way to keep your music-making alive is to take up handbell ringing, or resurrect it, or continue it, depending on your situation.  The Handbell Industry Council, which includes manufacturers of handbells and peripheral equipment, publishers, and elite performing organizations, has guidelines for ringing safely on their web site: https://handbellindustrycouncil.org/covid-19-information-2/. 

The benefits of ringing during the pandemic are:

It’s probable that what worked before – full ensembles of 7-15 people lined up along linear tables, sharing enharmonics and music – is not going to be possible right now. You might  have ringers who are not comfortable returning to ringing yet, or you may not have space to keep everyone six feet apart.  Let’s dive a little deeper.

 Look for music written for 2-3 octave handbells, or even smaller ensembles.  There is a wealth of 12-bell and 8-bell music that can be rung by as few as 2-4 people.  Look for music with no accidentals/bell changes and you don’t need tables, just music stands!    Don’t forget the vast repertoire of solo handbell music with piano accompaniment. Many of these titles have MP3 accompaniments that you can purchase if you can’t perform with a pianist.  An exciting and emerging sub-genre is belltree music.  Bells are hung on a stand with straight metal arms and malleted. Many pieces written for solo handbells can be rung from a belltree instead of off a table.

Jubilate Music Group, which publishes the Alfred Handbell line, has some exciting new solo and ensemble pieces which can help provide you with ringing resources.  The Jubilate Handbell Chamber Series has everything from solo and belltree music to duets and quartets.  We also have a vast repository of 2-3 octave music for those who can’t manage larger ensembles right now, for personnel or space issues.  Our Fall and Christmas 2020 release for full choirs is on the shelves, and we hope that you’ll take time to see what creative and refreshing offerings are there for your future needs, too. 

We will be together again, singing and making music.  Until then, pull out those bells and have a great time ringing.  I bet you’ll want to keep going forever.  A handbell ensemble is easy to get started and you can take it as far as your imagination will go.  Happy ringing!