What do you do if you, your choir or cantors foul up?

[asb]

One of my cantors this morning fouled up the alleluia: it was Richard Shepherd's "Christmas Alleluia" which has a specially composed verse for each Mass from Midnight through to the Baptism. He sang the Epiphany verse while i played the Baptism verse; totally different tune and harmony. We started again, me assuming he would have realized what happened. he hadn't - the same thing happened again. I had to call to him, "******, you're singing the wrong verse" (Gales of laughter from congregation) He replied "oh, it's the Baptism! I' sang last week's verse. Start again!" (more laughter).

I haven't done it yet, but my inclination is to resign.

As the SSG, whatever ones views may be, encourage the best possible, today I did not provide the best possible, so could I please ask Admin to disable my account as I have no place here.

[Reginald]

I was the cantor fouling up...though in a different place.

Had the Alleluia dropped on me at the last minute (should have seen it coming as I was singing the Resp Psalm). Anyway usual story of trying to contrive a verse and somehow set off for the lectern sans dots! Did I mention that we were singing a new Alleluia? Had a vague idea of how it went, sang something like it, the rest of the music group then sang it correctly whilst I frantically tried to remember whether the interval in the middle of the verse was a tone or semi-tone...Well, since you get two goes at it in this setting I sang it with an interval of a tone first time, decided it didn't sound too pleasant and opted for the (correct) semi-tone next time around. Then drawing myself up to my new height of 3'6" I headed back to the organ bench that I should never have left!

Don't know about you asb, but I offered it up and then got back into the saddle secure in the knowledge that my local church won't find anybody cheaper than me

[docmattc]

As Martin Barry said at summer school, its good for the soul to occasionally fall flat on one's face. (Or something very similar)

We're all human, and it happens, but knowing this doesn't make it any easier when it happens! The odd 'one off' is going to occur now and then and we really have to live with that hanging over us. I'm willing to bet a substantial sum that every musician on this forum has a tale to tell of a monumental *beep*. As long as its not intentional and we're striving for the best possible, its OK. We always try for the best possible, but sometimes Murphy's Law comes into play and we don't acheive it.
I don't think you should feel that you are to blame for your cantor not knowing what Sunday of the year it is. Its not unreasonable to assume that everyone knows today isn't epiphany. If the congregation laughed, its better than them being mortally offended by a mistake. I would laugh with them and put it behind you. That's what I would do, along with telling anyone who complained that they're welcome to come and play/sing if they feel they could do a better job.

One of my tales of monumental *beep* involves accompanying a priest singing a piece (can't remember now what it was) where he got completely lost in the verse and stopped singing, I carried on playing the melody line for him and he came back in a line ahead of me, which through me completely and then I stopped. I think at that point we both gave in. He said to me afterwards "I looked at it Matt, and thought 'all those words, and so few notes to fit them too'"
I once had a guitarist accompanying the Taize 'Jubilate Deo' who set off on a really odd chord progression. I suddenly realised that the six parts of the round are labelled above the music as A, B, C... and he was playing these as the chords. That went horribly wrong before it even started!

As musicians, I think we set ourselves far higher standards than do many other liturgical ministers, and due to the nature of the job, we're certainly more vulnerable and exposed. I well remember a reader many years ago on 26th Sunday C adding an l to 'stall-fattened veal' (making it stall-flattened veal) but missing the h and r out of the word 'thwart' in the line in the psalm " the Lord [...] thwarts the path of the wicked", (I'll leave you to work it out cos I'll get beeped )

[docmattc]

I have been beeped anyway! The *beep* replaces the male of the species Gallus gallus. A species, incidentally, that is very skilled at singing in three part harmony. This prompting Julius Ceasar to observe "Omnes Gallinae in partes tres divisae sunt" (all chickens are divided into 3 parts)

...And when I say "which through me..." obviously I mean 'which threw me'

[musicus]

We've all been there, asb, and I can see no reason at all for you to resign, either from your post or from the forum. Of course we set ourselves high standards, but when we fail to reach them we need to be able to forgive ourselves (or, as in this case, the perpetrator). If the congregation laughed then they are almost certainly more ready to forgive than to condemn. Try and see the incident from their perspective: I'd guess that most of them would have forgotten about it by the time they got home.

I urge you not to do anything about this today. Sleep on it and see if you don't feel much better about it tomorrow.

[asb]

We've all been there, asb, and I can see no reason at all for you to resign, either from your post or from the forum. Of course we set ourselves high standards, but when we fail to reach them we need to be able to forgive ourselves (or, as in this case, the perpetrator). If the congregation laughed then they are almost certainly more ready to forgive than to condemn. Try and see the incident from their perspective: I'd guess that most of them would have forgotten about it by the time they got home.

I urge you not to do anything about this today. Sleep on it and see if you don't feel much better about it tomorrow.

I know that at least some of the laughter was along the lines of "O good, now that **** is going to get it in the neck from Monsignor" (Who, incidentally, went blank during "Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation, through your goodness...etc..." which he normally does from memory!)

I would like to resign from the forum please, I really feel awful to think that today's foul-up is all they'll remember of the Mass.

[Peter]

It's very sad, asb, if you feel the need to resign over something that was not your fault (you played the right verse, the cantor sang the wrong one) and sadder still if there are people in the congregation willing you to get it in the neck for a mistake that's very easily made (one of my singers had prepared the psalm for 2nd Sunday of Christmas rather than Baptism of the Lord but fortunately realised it in time!). Given that the priest himself apparently does not always give a 100% perfect performance, I hope he'll be forgiving enough to decline your resignation and give you a chance to rethink.

As far as the forum goes, I hope the messages already displayed show you are welcome to remain with us.

[nazard]

Please don't resign, asb, we value your opinions highly, and I'm sure your parish needs you. For myself, I have fouled up more often than I care to think of. My highlights have included playing the Gloria in lent and completely loosing my way in a hymn. In errors of judgement, I once tried one of those fancy descants for the chorus of the Salazar gloria. I carefully wrote out an organ part with the SAT in the left hand, the B in the pedals, and the quaverful flute descant in the right, and practiced it for weeks until I could play it. When I tried it at the Easter Vigil, as soon as the congregation heard the quavers, they doubled their speed. The effect was spectacular but unmusical.

A fortnight ago I reached out to draw the 2' flute between verses and got the particularly raucous quint instead to top off my flute chorus. The congregation thought I had modulated up a fifth, screeched for a moment and then went quiet...

As cantor singing a psalm to one of Gregory Murray's settings unaccompanied I once forgot to go up the fourth between the last note of the response and the first note of the psalm tone, and had to finish the psalm singing in my boots...

Since SP, I suppose we can say "Erare humanum est."

[musicus]

I would like to resign from the forum please, I really feel awful to think that today's foul-up is all they'll remember of the Mass.

On a technical note: all anyone needs to do in order to 'resign' from this forum is to stop posting. It is probably better to leave your username in place and unused: if it were to be removed, someone else could come along subsequently and take it for their own, which would be very confusing. Another consideration is that, by leaving it in place and unused, the option is always there to resume posting at some time in the future.

[asb]

Fair comment. I just know that some forums have "purges" of inactive accounts from time to time and to remove me now would reduce the number of inactive accounts taking up space. I do take the point about someone re-using the name. (Although I am sure they would be far more worthy of a place here!)

Signs off for good

[gwyn]

I remember with toe-curling clarity a few months back, as were singing something meditative and scriptural composed by Bernadette Farrell which begged for a gentle clarinet interlude twixt communion procession verses. I drew what, to my mind was a light clarinet only to achieve a Tuba Maribilis 8' unenclosed. I've not seen so many head turn as one since Busby Berkley's films.

Paul Inwood said at one of his dayschools "One day we'll join the heavenly liturgy which will be perfect. Until then . . . "

The reality is that most foul-ups go unnoticed unless they're biggies. They come, they go.

Stick with us asb.

[alan29]

Is there such a thing as a liturgical smile or even fit of the giggles?
Liturgy by its very definition is a very human thing. So stuff will happen from time to time.
Alan

[lesley wright]

The very first thing I was told, when as a nervous teenager I slid onto the organ bench many years ago, was that every organist needs to leave his pride at home, because for sure it is going to take a dent. Haven't we all been in a similar position? At least ASB's wasn't his fault. It's not as though he pulled out all the stops for a magnificent flourish to introduce verse 5 of a four verse hymn (been there, done that). If you can honestly say that you do your best, you really have to accept that human nature is fallible. To resign over such an error does seem a bit self-indulgent

[JW]

asb,

I suspect you are considering resigning your music post and that is a bit more serious than resigning the forum

Have you discussed this at all with your Monignor and the cantor? When I foul up I make a point of apologising afterwards. Mistakes happen - big ones sometimes. I can't believe your Monsignor is really going to give you a serious dressing down - if he does, ask him if he wants you to continue. You will get an answer one way or the other!

[asb]

I am obviously still "watching" the forum, and have signed on as I must reply.

The cantor and choir think it a huge joke - which saddens me. The Mass is not a joke.

Monsignor sees the funny side too, as he is far from perfect (overslept on Christmas Day!! )

I wish I could see the funny side of a ruined Mass.

Perhaps I was influenced by a PP in a previous (Anglican) parish who dressed everyone down for the smallest fault. I was suspended for a week after my then 6 year old daughter hid some service books in my acedemic hood, which fell out as i walked up the aisle to the organ before service!