Music for Your Catholic Church Choir • Frog Music Press • Englewood, TN • 423.887.7594
Jeffrey A. Tucker
If your choir is like mine, our music consists of a huge filing cabinet and each individual singer has a binder arranged in various and sometimes seemingly random ways. It is surprising how much time it takes in rehearsal just to get everyone singing from the same page, and, more recently, we've developed another problem: sometimes we have various editions of music because each year I end up downloading and passing out a different version. The mix ups multiply as the years go on.
This is all a result of using music downloads - something I love because otherwise I wouldn't even known about much of this music, but which can also be a problem. Ideally, all the music that a young choir needs should be in a single volume.
I didn't know until today that such a book does in fact exist. It is the Catholic Choirbook Anthology I, as put together and edited by Noel Jones. He did a fantastic job in choosing the contents. Here is the core of the Latin and English music (motets) that you need for singing at Mass, along with a fine selection of hymns. These are not the propers of the Mass but rather music you need for preludes, offertory anthems to sing after the propers, during communion, and otherwise. It is a great selection. The book is 381 pages, and he has used his experience - and that of William Mahrt's - to select the best of the best: the material that is most accessible and most useful for the Catholic choir.
You can read more about ithere. And you canorder the book here. Everything in it is produced using Creative Commons, so you can photocopy without fearing lawsuits. But much better is that fact that everything is nicely paginated. Mostly, I think many choirs could just replace their current chaotic system with this one book.
This is certainly what I would do if I were starting over. Oh, and the introduction is by Mahrt himself. This is really a wonderful book, certainly worth having if only to save you the time, annoyance, and frustrations of having to tackle the internet every time you need something to sing.
This link takes you to a page that outlines the series and explains how they may be used.
If you have questions:
Is your choir missing from this list? Let us know
Choir of the Monastery
Averbode, Belgium
Benedictus Choir
Hong Kong, China
Koro Ecclesiano
San Lorenzo Ruiz Pastoral Center
City of Dasmarinas, Cavite
Adoration Choir
Santa Rosa de Lima Parish
Santa Rosa City, Laguna
Philippines
St Anthony Gregorian Schola
St. Anthony Catholic Church
Wylie, TX USA
Cathedral Schola Cantorum
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
Kansas City, MO, USA
St. Dorothy Choir
St Dorothy Catholic Church
Lincolnton, NC, USA
Interlude Choir
St. Joseph Parish
Ipil Zamboanga Sibugay
Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Choir
Tugatog, Malabon City Philippines
Gregorious Choir
St. Damian Church
Bengkong-Batam, Indonesia
Servantis Catholic Choir,
Maria Bunda Karmel Church,
West Jakarta, Indonesia
Holy Cross Choir
Saint Augustine's Church
Tanza Cavite, Philippines
Church of Divine Mercy Choir
Pasir Ris, Singapore
Grace in the Desert Episcopal Choir
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Regina Caeli Choir
St. Joseph Catholic Church
Mojokerto, Indonesia
The Schola
St Peter Cathedral
Cali, Colombia
The Joyful Voices
Christi Himmelfahrt
Essen, Germany
San Diego De Alcala Male Choir
Gumaca, Philippines
Saint Joseph Choir
Shawnee, Kansas
Church of St Bernadette Emmanuel Choir
Singapore
San Lorenzo Ruiz Pastoral Center Choir
City of Dasmarinas, Cavite
St. Patrick's R.C. Church
Port of Spain, Trinidad
St. Bernard's & St. Henry's Church Choirs
Watertown, WI
San Lorenzo Ruiz Catholic Community Children's Choir
Loakan Proper, Baguio City, Philippines
St. John the Evangelist Choir
Borger, Texas
Saint Michael Catholic Choir
Sebha, Libya
Shrine of Don Bosco's Madonna
Mumbai, India
The Revelations Choir
St. Joseph Church, Mumbai, India
Sto. Niño Parish Church Choir
Lianga, Surigao del Sur, Philippines
Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish
Queen's Row Subdivision, Bacoor, Cavite, Philippines
Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Mission
Francistown, Botswana
Immaculate Conception Youth Choir
Bauan, Batangas, Philippines
Mark's Parish Choir
Gundaway, Cabarroguis, Quirino
Santa Maria Tak Bercela Choir
Surabaya, Indonesia
Carmelite Monastery
Miri Sarawak, Malaysia
Mount St. Aloysius College Seminary
Gumaca, Quezon, Philippines
Mother Ignacia Men's Choir
Saint Paul the Apostle
Quezon City, Philippines
Christ the King Catholic Church
Gaborone, Botswana
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Jubilate Choir, Good Shepherd Church
San Diego, CA
Catholic Choir, Salem, India
Ivisan Catholic Church,
Capiz, Philippines
Church of the Incarnation Choir
Centerville, Ohio
St. Aloysius Gonzaga Choir
Surabaya, Indonesia
Tudor Choir, St. Joseph Church,
Mombasa, Kenya
Church of the Assumption,
Georgetown, Penang, Malaysia
St. Joseph Choir, San Ildefonso,
Bulacan, Philippines
St. Agnes Choir, Sellersville, PA
Incarnation Choir, Sarasota, FL
St. Columba Traditional Choir,
San Diego, CA
St. Michael's Singers,
Portland, OR
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