Here’s what I’m looking for in sacred choral music (seriously, I would love to spend money on the following):

Gorgeous anthems that my 20-25 member volunteer choir can learn in 20 minutes.

Criteria:

  • Must have beautiful, flowing melodies. Nothing that sounds like grown-ups could sing it, but has a range and style more appropriate for elementary school kids.
  • Must be unison if a newly-written tune, or, if a familiar hymn-tune, it must have intuitive, practically straight-from-the-hymnal harmonies that can be SATB or two-part.
  • Must have a musically-satisfying piano or organ accompaniment that carries the piece. (Think of it this way: I’m a skilled keyboardist who has time to learn music ahead of time, while my choir, even with skilled vocalists, has only twenty-minutes to learn one of these anthems. This is the case in many churches—a skilled keyboardist who prepares ahead of time, with a choir that, due to ability or time constraints, needs something vocally easy. So much “easy choral music” has absolutely banal accompaniments—why would I purchase those anthems when I could have my choir sing from the hymnal while I improvise something much nicer? If I wanted a four-measure intro that arpeggiates I-I-V-I, I would improvise it myself.)
  • Must be compositionally excellent. I will not buy music in an ostensibly-traditional SATB style that sneaks in parallel fifths or janky part-writing.

I would use these pieces for a substantial chunk of the year. All summer, my choir rehearses for only twenty minutes before a service. Plus, there are plenty of other services when I need something with vocally-simple (e.g. next month I’d love something like this for the Sunday services on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, as well as one of our Christmas Eve services when I have about six volunteers singing).

Yes, this is an invitation to send me your recommendations of music in this category that’s already published (composers feel free to self-promote!)—and also a plea to composers and choral editors as you consider what to compose and publish. All the churches that I’ve worked in have had this gap in their (extensive) choral libraries—and have had a need for this type of anthem.

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