Does your choir sing introits? My choir sings one almost every week during the program year, and I love how they can highlight a service theme and set the mood. Plus, they’re a great way to teach new congregational hymns.
What is an introit? In the broader sense, it’s a short choral piece sung at the beginning of a worship service. In the capital-I sense, an Introit is a specific opening section of the Roman Catholic Mass.
For the church where I minister, an introit needs to have these characteristics:
- fairly short (around one minute long)
- a cappella or with an accompaniment that works when the choir is at a distance from the accompanying instrument
- a straight-forward message that sets up a theme of the service – after all, the introit is the first text of the service!
Here are the ten pieces my choir will sing as introits this program year, plus the hymns and choruses that we taught to the congregation last year which are now in our congregation’s repertoire.
10 Choral Introits
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1. Let the Heaven Light Shine on Me – Moses Hogan
Sheet music and recording here.
2. God Calls You Good – Paul Vasile
Sheet music and recording here.
3. Peace Be Within This Sacred Place – Alice Parker
Sheet music here (in the collection Six Hymns to Doctor Watts).
Listen here.
4. Come Sound His Praise Abroad – Alice Parker
Sheet music and recording here (like #3, it’s in the collection Six Hymns to Doctor Watts).
5. 146 Hallelujah – William Walker
Sheet music and recordings of individual parts here.
Listen here.
6. Christ Is Risen from the Dead – Russian Obikhod
Sheet music here (no recording that I could find of this particular setting of the Eastern Orthodox Paschal Troparian – and there are many settings).
7. Come All You People – Alexander Gondo
Sheet music in the collection Come All You People: Shorter Songs for Worship, as well as Hymnary and OneLicense.
Listen here.
8. Don’t Be Afraid – John Bell
Like #7, the sheet music is in the collection Come All You People: Shorter Songs for Worship, as well as Hymnary and OneLicense.
Listen here.
9. Praise, Praise, Praise the Lord – Cameroon Traditional
Sheet music in an SATB arrangement here, plus a congregational version on Hymnary.
Listen here for the choral arrangement.
10. Lord I Want to Be a Christian in My Heart – Negro Spiritual
Sheet music here and OneLicense.
Use Introits to Teach New Congregational Music
This past year, I used our introits to teach the congregation the following hymns and choruses. Now they are in our regular rotation of congregational music.
1. We Walk in Love – Deanna Witkowski
Sheet music and recording here.
2. I Sing as I Arise Today – text attr. St. Patrick
Sheet music here…ish… I use the tune SEED OF LIFE, which is in the New Century Hymnal (the one my church uses) – and only in that hymnal as far as I can find. It’s a great tune if you can track it down!
3. I Woke Up This Morning (Stayed on Jesus) – African American Traditional
Sheet music here – although like #2, I use a version that’s in the New Century Hymnal – it has a great bass line that I prefer.
4. Jesus Remember Me – Jacques Berthier
Sheet music here and on OneLicense.
5. Jesus Still Lead On – text by Nicolaus Ludwig, Graf von Zinzendorf
Sheet music here.
6. Come and Fill Our Hearts – Taizé Community
Sheet music here and on OneLicense.
What pieces are your choir’s favorite introits?
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Hey Sarah — thank you for this list. Just this past church year, I added a small choral prelude to the choir mass. I found it was a great way of focusing everyone’s attention (including the choir’s!).
I appreciate this list, which gives me a few ideas of pieces to add.
Scot
Thanks Scot! Yes exactly – it’s such a great way to focus!