Queen of Angels Church - Dickinson, TexasAbout 28 years ago, my Mom went to a church that had the Latin Tridentine Mass. This form of Catholic worship existed for thousands of years until Vatican II and Pope Paul changed the Mass. That's history. What was new for me was hearing the hymns, the prayers, experiencing the reverence, inspiration and familiarity that existed when I was a child. I began to go to Queen of Angels and joined the choir as I had been in choirs as a kid, sang soprano, was in All State, honors chorale, etc. The church choir sang very complicated things - four and six part polyphonic masses, baroque and classical music, Gregorian chant, music written in the 16th century and beyond that was transcribed by monks and handed down for generations.
This is what Gregorian Chant looks like - very different from modern notation!We needed a bass - I remembered my Dad sang Bass in the Naval Academy choir. I asked him to join - and he did. Eventually my Mom joined too - she sang alto. It was awesome and I will never forget those days, but this is about Dad.
My Dad had a great voice - and that's not just my opinion. I have evidence in tape recordings. I heard his beautiful voice throughout the 9 years I was in the choir as we practiced long hours and sang for every Sunday Mass, wedding, funeral and other celebrations. I was so proud of my Dad and loved to hear him sing. But it wasn't just his voice that was an asset.... When you put more than 10 people in a group you will have at least 9 opinions of how things should be run. The choir was no exception. We would discuss our particular opinions over coffee and donuts in the parish hall after church. When we asked Dad what he thought about such things, he always had the same reply: "I sing bass in the choir". That was it. Done. My dad knew who was really in charge in that church, and it wasn't my Dad.
When I was home for Easter, I heard the choir sing a familiar Mass that I could sing with my eyes closed. What was hard was that I continued to hear my Dad sing - even though he had passed away the night before. I heard his voice come in when the bass' took the lead. I cried, because I realized that for those 9 years I took hearing that voice for granted. Now, I miss it so much. I will always hear my Dad singing bass in that choir. And, I will always remember who is really in charge -- we are all just doing our own little parts. God is the one who is really in charge. My Dad knew that.
2 comments:
Great memories I'm sure, Cherie. You were very blessed indeed to have been able to spend those years with dad in the choir. I was never able to hear dad sing in the Mass like you; being a Novus Ordo guy I just never got the chance. I believe that all of us will have a chance in the (hopefully distant) future though; you Soprano, mom Alto, me Barritone, and dad sings Bass. We should have it covered!
I also remember dad singing fun tunes as a kid. They're embedded in my mind and will be for as long as I live, and I find myself humming them when I least expect. A few favs:
"Good king Sauerkraut look out, on your feets uneven..."
"Be kind to you webfooted friends, for a duck may be somebody's mother..."
And, at the end of many of my own renditions that I would sing, dad would end it with a "Cha,Cha, Cha"!
and don't forget Rock Candy Mountain! --- Cha, Cha, Cha! :)
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