There is a thread of continuity from the worship offered in the synagogues through the Christian Liturgy that is offered today. One of the features of Jewish Liturgy was that it was generally sung. Many of the texts (psalms, canticles &c) are lyrical and congenial to musical settings.
The singing of prayer stretches back into the mists of time. It helps to create a feeling that the event is something removed from the ordinary routines of life, adding to the atmosphere of celebration and gravitas.
Music can have a decisive influence in setting the mood of the Liturgy. The choice of style, presentation and content makes an impact on the character of the service at various levels of engagement. It can also help to unify the voices offering prayer.
This musical inheritance has endured with various degrees of intensity through two thousand years of Christian worship. Classically, almost everything except the sermon (or sermons!!) was sung at solemn liturgies (gatherings for prayer of the entire community). Over the years, for a variety of reasons, the spoken word increasingly crept in; but recently the impetus towards a greater use of singing and other music has developed.
The earliest complete system of Christian musical performance that we have is "plainsong". It is often called "Gregorian Chant" after Pope Gregory the Great (6 th - 7 th century), though it is not altogether clear what role he had in its development or codification.
Plainsong was just one of a number of musical systems, but the others have more or less disappeared, being used occasionally by a few centres with which they were particularly associated.
Plainsong uses notation that differs from that familiar to most Europeans. Its use developed considerably until the Middle Ages when polyphony began to emerge. The melodies could be hugely complicated and florid and many of them are hardly used nowadays, except in convents and monasteries; but some of the simpler stuff is still quite common - people might, in fact, sing some of it without realising!
Saint Matthew's retains some limited use of plainsong at the High Mass. More importantly, the sung offices (Mattins, Evensong and Compline) are usually recited completely to plainsong tones.
The emergence of Polyphony led to a flowering of Church music. The greatest composers turned their attentions to setting the texts of the Mass. These are generally in Latin, though musicians working for reformed churches did also write for texts in the vulgar tongue.
The ritual of the Liturgy was also developing during the Middle Ages and when combined with these glorious settings could have the feel of a trip to the opera - some of the ornate Baroque churches became known as "God's Opera Houses".
Obviously, these compositions require considerable resources (professional choir, orchestra or very skilled organist &c) and they can be very long. Nowadays, few parish churches have the wherewithal to include them regularly in their services, though they can be heard in cathedrals. At Saint Matthew's, from time to time, a visiting choir will sing one of the shorter settings at a festival Mass.
One of the problems with complex musical settings, however beautiful, is that they do not lend themselves awfully well to congregational participation. With the recovery of an understanding of the place of the laity during the nineteenth century, there began the process of composing simple settings of the texts to suit various levels of musical competence and resource. There is now a large body of parochial music of various styles, some will appeal to one's personal style more than other pieces.
At the Sung Mass on Sunday morning, there is a balance between singing and the spoken word. The music is sung in unison to simple settings that are easily learnt. We try to vary the tunes so that we are not drumming out the same thing every week.
At the High Mass and Sung Mass on festivals, pretty well everything is sung except the sermon and the first two readings. The complexities of the rite draw in a wide variety of music from a wealth of sources. The changing ecclesiastical seasons provide further opportunities for variety. Whilst the singing is led by a choir, we endeavour to select material that will be within the grasp of the congregation as a whole.
The Choir is an essential part of the liturgical act. We are always happy to welcome new singers to help sustain our fairly demanding round of services.
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