The Chamber Choir from St Catherine’s College, directed by Dr Eunan McCrees, perform during Advent celebrations in the Market Place Theatre. Cathy Burke
Cathy Burke describes a new choral project for Dublin’s primary schools
Catholic Schools Week has long been welcomed in Ireland with many of its regular features, e.g. Grandparents Day, looked forward to eagerly. It is clearly of value to continue to celebrate the core events, but it is also important to give regular consideration to how the message of Catholic Schools Week may be augmented or further extended.
Laudate is a pilot project of the Dublin archdiocese involving over a thousand pupils from primary schools in the singing of congregational hymns culminating in two celebratory festival nights during Catholic Schools Week 2017.
The project came about as a result of a discussion at a meeting of the Dublin Council of CPSMA (Catholic Primary Schools Management Association) in spring 2016, when it was proposed as an idea that could add a different and lasting dimension to the celebration of Catholic Schools Week 2017 in the Dublin Archdiocese.
A sub-committee was set up, in association with the Education Secretariat and the Diocesan Liturgy Office to organise the project and 22 schools were invited to participate, each responding quickly and enthusiastically. No effort was required to ‘sell’ Laudate to schools and no substantial waiting period was requested before a response arrived!
Hymns
A repertoire of congregational hymns was selected for use in the festival events and for inclusion in liturgical and assembly celebrations in the archdiocese’s schools and parishes.
The selection consists of a variety of traditional and current popular congregational hymns along with hymns from the Gospel tradition.
The hymns were selected with a view to building a common and lasting repertoire across the generations so all may share a familiar language of song and music when gathered for liturgical celebration.
Teachers from the participating schools were invited to an introductory meeting in September where the repertoire was sung and discussed, with associated supporting materials being made available. At least two teachers came from each school even though schools had been asked simply to send ‘a representative’!
The hymns were sung with gusto and great harmony, and the meeting’s discussion about Laudate was engaged in with tremendous enthusiasm, prayerfulness and positivity. The attending teachers returned to their schools with CDs, PowerPoint presentations for all the hymns, along with music for teaching and for instrumental accompaniment.
All were encouraged to teach the repertoire to all pupils and then to select 50-60 pupils to represent their school at one of the festival celebrations.
Many schools report that their pupils are enjoying the repertoire and that the hymns are being used in assembly and other liturgical celebration in both school and parish. Practice sessions in schools for Laudate have been welcomed by pupils who have said the songs are enjoyable and fit with their experience, with some being declared as ‘cool’!
Children are being surprised to learn that the more senior members of their local parish congregation know the same hymns as themselves! The first steps of enjoying and using this shared repertoire are already bearing fruit.
All the parishes in the archdiocese have been provided with material regarding Laudate 2017, including a list of the hymns for this year’s programme. Parishes in which the participating schools are located are encouraged to engage with their parish school in this project by attending the festival celebration, providing opportunity for the local choirs to engage with the school Laudate choir and including the hymns from the repertoire in liturgical celebrations through the year.
It is hoped that Laudate will bring about the experience of young people arriving at liturgical celebrations and feeling a level of comfort and inclusion in parish community by nature of the fact that they can join in the singing of hymns.
It is beneficial for young people to learn hymns of the praying community as well as those which serve the purpose of Religious Education in school.
School and parish
As well as leading the singing, the pupils will also guide people through the interspersed reflections on both evenings. Members of the school and parish communities, parents, families, parish choirs, parishioners and all who are interested in celebrating Catholic Education in the shared context of school and parish are invited and encouraged to attend and to sing along with the participating school pupils.
What happens after the event? Is that the end? Schools and parishes will be encouraged to seek/build an event or opportunity at which the repertoire may be revealed, extended and celebrated locally. There are many ways by which the value of Laudate could be extended:
- Shortly after the celebration of the festival evenings during Catholic Schools Week 2017, the parish school could perhaps lead singing of the learned repertoire at one of the Sunday Masses or a weekday morning Mass in the parish.
- The Parish Team may choose to formulate a parish prayer service at which the pupils could lead singing of the Laudate repertoire.
- The school and parish community may gather for a shared evening of song, reflection and celebration.
- Pupils from the school may be asked to join the parish choir on a regular basis or for particular events.
- Hymns from Laudate may be played on piped music when a choir or cantor is not leading singing.
- The Parish Pastoral Council may provide the pupils who participated in Laudate with certificates on behalf of the parish.
- Pupils may be invited to be part of a sub-committee of the Parish Liturgy Group or Parish Pastoral Council so that they may have a voice in choice of music used in the life of the parish.
- Laudate hymns could be included in school assemblies, Masses to celebrate school events, sacramental celebrations, funerals and weddings.
It is envisaged that this year’s celebration of Laudate will be the first of many so both school and parish communities may continue to build their shared repertoire and to build a purpose of celebration together, with teachers playing a key role in helping manage and foster the project.
Laudate 2017 will be celebrated at two festival evenings of song and reflection, with 500-600 pupils singing at each of the two venues:
Our Lady of Victories Church on Ballymun Road at 7pm on Tuesday January 31, and in St Laurence’s Church in Kilmacud at 7pm the following evening, Wednesday, February 1.
Entry to each event is free and advance reservation is not necessary.