Evelyn Jock
The Covid 19 pandemic had an impact on how the masses were conducted particularly the St. Mary’s Cathedral parish choir. The church has never really closed but for many months masses were live streamed via the internet into our living rooms including a virtual choir. With restrictions being lifted, masses resumed with a minimum number of only 4 members in the choir but this was gradually increased. At present with more of the general population getting fully vaccinated, we see more parishioners consisting of families, adults and children coming back to participate in the so called physical mass. The choir is an integral part of a holy mass. A harmonised choir touches the soul of a person and help them experience a pious moment and transform them.
The correct use of the new and revised edition of the official Catholic Hymnal was briefed by Mr Neil Mah of Kota Kinabalu Archdiocese, a member of the Committee responsible for the publication of the hymnal, on 27 February 2022, at the St. Mary’s Cathedral. About 50 choir members and lay faithful attended the briefing. It was also viewed by other parishes through the St Mary’s youtube channel. The hymnal consist of a Collection of 386 traditional hymns with musical notations, antiphons and arranged according to the Liturgical seasons.
As a continuation of the session on the Catholic Hymnal, a 2 days Choir Formation workshop was held on 25 March 2022 and 26 March 2022 at the St Mary’s Cathedral. Some 75 parishioners and choir members from the Cathedral and other parishes in the Sandakan Diocese joined the workshop physically and through the parish’s Youtube channel. Choir members from diocese in the west coast also joined the workshop online.
During the first half of the session, Neil explains the Responsorial Psalm, its meaning and how best to acclaim the Responsorial Psalm especially during mass. The first document, Sacrosanctum Concilium,(1963) no 14) was the fruit of the 2nd Vatican Council regarding the renewal of the church and that the way we pray and worship is through our liturgy.
Liturgical music is part of the Holy Mass being celebrated every Sunday and it is the lay faithful’s right and duty, by reason of their baptism, to participate fully, consciously and actively in the liturgical celebrations. They have to participate in the mass in full, from the start to end Why is music so important in the church? Neil explained that the church sees music as so valuable because when we sing, our soul is lifted up to God. That is the power of music! The music becomes very powerful and effective if it is connected to the liturgical action. It serves the purpose in the glorification of God and the sanctification of his people.
The Responsorial Psalm has a special importance among the songs of the proper. It brings meaning to the first reading and is a prayer of the church. The psalm should also be sung as these are poems of praise, mostly written by King David. If it is recited, then the musical character, quality and the rhythms of the psalm are to move the heart of the lay faithful.
On the 2nd day of the workshop, Neil led the participants to discover the beauty of chanting the mass texts and he also introduced a lot of breathing exercises. Chant is a melodic prayer that is sung. The basic on chanting shows that how we pray or say the mass text is how we should chant. Chanting brings out the spirit of prayer. With practice, chanting becomes easier. Chanting makes melodies smooth, well controlled and beautiful. Neil also shared a lot of beautiful Easter hymns for the participants to learn.
The St. Mary’s Cathedral is the mother church, the seat of the Bishop and is the example for all the other parishes in the Diocese. Therefore, it is imperative that the quality of singing is elevated and that it should live up to the name of the Cathedral. Neil advises the participants to not stop learning and that it is important that they, as the choir, lead the lay faithful to sing for the glory of God.
Sharing from participants
Learnt deeper understanding on the liturgy, the mass order, new hymns and proper way of chanting, especially on proper presentation of the psalm. – clear pronunciation of words, emphasize the message and to let the congregation participate. – Cesar Escobido, St Mary’s Cathedral Choir
A very interesting workshop. I gained from this workshop, in terms of music, psalms and the correct way of singing the choir – Helen Joseph, Holy Cross Choir, Toboh Tambunan
The recently held choir workshop was a very valuable experience for me, as it opened my eyes and thoughts on how to deliver a song that can touch the hearts of every congregation as well as make the congregation more focused and deepen the spiritual verses that are being delivered by a psalmist or choir. Thank you, Brother Neil Mah for the guidance. – Paula Denis, St Mark’s Church Choir
From the workshop, I learned the proper way to chant the Responsorial Psalms using the different tunes/keyboard sounds and identify the type of psalms (sad/joyous/pleading, etc.) – Catherine Chua, St. Mary’s parishioner
From the recent choir workshop, I have come to know why certain hymns are being selected for our masses celebration. It is a useful workshop and we learned a lot from Mr Neil Mah. A big applause to him. Praise the Lord, he has explained to us clearly in the workshop without which, we will blindly continuing all these without knowing the reasons why lots of hymns have been extracted from the old SYPG. We have come to love chanting now and many new hymns to follow. Thank you Lord for sending a messenger to teach us all we need to know. May God be praised. – Elizabeth Fung, St. Joseph’s Church Choir
Very detailed descriptions along with easy to understand references and information on song selection and procedures are presented in an easy to accept way.-Justine Marcus, St. Mary’s Cathedral (BM Choir)