A wide variety of musical instruments can be used effectively in accompanying hymns and anthems. Creativity in the use of instruments should always seek to reflect and illuminate the text that is sung. The following article gives suggestions for how a variety of instruments can be used to proclaim the text.
Music Proclaims the Word
As a church musician, I am vitally concerned about, almost obsessed by words. This is because I believe strongly that music in worship, and by extension a musician making music for worship, is a servant of the Word assisting in leading God’s people in prayer and praise, Word and sacrament. The musician encounters text, be it biblical, prose, or poetry, and responds to it. Thus the music, its style, character, timbre, and spirit have evocative power to communicate a sense of the text’s focus. The musician (composer or performer) functions exegetically to proclaim and, in the process, to interpret the text.
Instrumental Color in Proclamation
One of the most creative ways a parish musician can enter into this exegetical world of musical proclamation is to be aware of the possibilities for instrumental color. Most of us are not composers or arrangers, but we all can be alert to possibilities for the addition of instrumental color to the song of the congregation and choir. In a way, we are like a cook who imparts a distinctive personality to a common recipe by choosing to modify the proportions of certain spices. Instrumental color provides spice for vocal music.
Creative use of instrumental color is most helpful in hymn singing. It is easy for us and the members of our congregations to get into a rut as hymn singers. This is especially true for those familiar texts and tunes used so often that they have lost some of their power to speak to us. If indeed the hymnal is a kind of theological handbook for the people, then we must be ever alert for ways to challenge our congregations to sing with understanding as well as spirit.
The Organ as Primary Instrumental Color
In most churches, the pipe organ continues as the primary instrument for the leading of congregational song. It is ideally suited for this task, able to produce a rich quantity of sound—complex and colorful sound—a sound still controlled and played by one person. No other single instrument (not even the wonderful synthesizers and samplers available today) can begin to equal the organ in its versatility and quantity of sound. In addition, the pipe organ is wind-driven—its pipes sing, supported, and energized by air, just as the human voice is. This shared energizing source explains in part why a well-played pipe organ works so well in leading vocal songs.
Unfortunately, many organists have not considered the remarkable color possibilities of their instrument, especially in relation to leading congregational songs. It is not enough to play through the hymn, perhaps with a louder combination for the last stanza. Gentle reed stops add excitement to a hymn stanza. A solo trumpet soaring out on a hymn melody provides a heightened level of leadership. Gentle flutes 8 and 4 with a soft manual 16 create a warm, dignified, solemn sound. The absence of a pedal on a stanza, the absence of the organ on a stanza (unaccompanied singing is wonderful both in harmony and sturdy unison) provides the opportunity for an instrumental punctuation when the organ returns.
To devise a registrational strategy for each hymn, carefully read the text to see what it has to say and consider registrational enhancements that support the message. Some hymns are strong statements of praise, while others are more introspective and contemplative. Some hymns can be envisioned as a crescendo from beginning to end. Others function in just the opposite way. (Interestingly, Wesley’s magnificent text, “Love Divine, All Love’s Excelling,” will work either way.) Some hymn texts reach a climax in the middle. Skillful use of organ registrations can encourage a congregation to begin to sing with varied dynamics if the choir is encouraged to be sensitive to these changes and sing accordingly. If the organ is quiet, we sing more introspectively; if the organ is full and rich, we sing with greater intensity.
While the organ is the primary and most important single source of instrumental color in most churches, it should not be the only one. My ideal collection of instruments for worship leadership would include a good piano, handbells, Orff instruments, a good synthesizer with its own high-quality audio system, plus an ever-expanding group of instrumentalists who could be called upon to add the sounds of orchestral instruments to the congregation’s song.
Handbells as Punctuation
In many churches, no resource is more underutilized than the handbell. Many churches have bell choirs, but few use the bells other than for the performance of set pieces as an adornment to the service. Although such contributions are fine and to be encouraged, they only scratch the surface of what bells (or choirs for that matter) can to do assist in propelling the flow of the service and enhancing our encounter with the Word.
Handbells are marvelous pitch pipes. A simple bell tone or a short cluster of pitches can establish tonality for an a cappella anthem or give the pitch to a worship leader about to sing a psalm. In the hymn “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” bells E4, B4, E5, B5, E6, played in order from bottom to top, provide ample accompaniment for the congregational singing of the hymn. Play the pattern in the speed of the eighth notes of the tune: twice before each stanza and once every time the melody ends on an E or G during the stanza. The free, random ringing of a cluster of bells (or a triad doubled in additional octaves) makes a fine accompaniment for the chanting of a psalm. The refrain to “Angels We Have Heard on High” takes a new spirit of joy with free-ringing bells added. A repeating pattern of E-B alternating with D-G, one pair per bar, works wonderfully to accompany “What Wondrous Love is This.” Handbells in slightly more elaborate patterns provide a marvelous accompaniment for a choir (see my arrangement of Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence [Augsburg 11-2517] or Ding Dong Merrily on High in Two Carols [Augsburg 11-2080]). Because they are portable, bells work wonderfully to provide pitch for a choir in procession (consider the Boyce Alleluia Round [GIA G-2494] for Easter and the Dufay Gloria ad modum tubae for Christmas [GIA G-2150], the former with free-ringing bells, and the latter substituting bells for the suggested trumpets).
Limitations of space preclude spending more time on handbells. The church musician interested in devising bell patterns for use with choir or congregation is encouraged to experiment at the piano with the damper pedal depressed to simulate the decay of bells. Sound patterns built upon intervals of fourths work especially well (remember bells sound one octave higher than written). Also do consider investing in these two useful resource books: Tintinnabulum: The Liturgical Use of Handbells (Richard Proulx, GIA Publications, G-2358) and Handbells in the Liturgical Service (John Folkening, Concordia Publishing House).
Orff Instruments
The German musician Carl Orff devised an approach to music for children which included a collection of instruments that now carry his name. Some were untuned percussion (various hand drums, miniature timpani, etc.) and others were tuned instruments (xylophones, glockenspiels, and metallophones). All were designed using quality materials to assure good sound but in miniature size for young people. (For example, an Orff xylophone uses the same rosewood bars to produce the sounds made by a regular xylophone.) The pitched instruments were designed so that bars not needed could be removed to minimize the chance for wrong notes.
Orff instruments lend themselves to ostinato (“repeated”) patterns which work well in accompanying certain hymn tunes, especially pentatonic folk melodies such as holy manna or beach spring. A minimum collection of Orff instruments for church use would include bass and alto xylophones, alto metallophone, and glockenspiel.
Such an ensemble can work well to accompany a reasonably large congregation. Since adults enjoy playing these instruments just as much as children do, members of the choir singing a given service could accompany a hymn with Orff instruments. Often it is good to add a treble instrument (flute, recorder, synthesizer, or even organ) to double the melody with the congregation. The collection of hymn arrangements Take a Hymn (Augsburg 11-2172) includes arrangements of hymns with Orff that would work well for congregational or choral song. My arrangement of the hymn All Things Bright and Beautiful (GIA G-3104) calls for Orff alto and bass xylophone with piccolo and works as a choir anthem or as a congregational hymn, the congregation joining the choir each time on the refrain. A good resource book to consider is McRae’s Celebrate: A Practical Guide for the Use of Orff Techniques and Materials in the Church (Augsburg 11-5328).
Orchestral Instruments in Worship
Of course, everyone loves brass with organ on hymns for festival Sundays. The quartet of two trumpets and two trombones works especially well: the four instruments can play four-part harmony from the hymnal, and their principle of construction is similar, so they produce a seamless, blended sound together. There are many published versions of hymns for organ, brass quartet, and congregation, often with special choir parts as well. Another option is the single trumpet. Vocal descants sung by choir sopranos are wonderful but if the congregation is really singing out, the descant is rarely heard. A solo trumpet, lyrically “singing” the descant will be heard and save rehearsal time for the choir director as well.
It is wise to come to know the band director in the local high school who could provide suggestions for instrumentalists. Even better is a nearby college. College instrumentalists have a bit more experience and will be more secure than many high school players. I know of some churches that have established resident brass ensembles, thus assuring a supply of players who have worked together and are readily available when needed. One congregation provides free rehearsal space for an area brass ensemble and free use of facilities for concerts in return for appearances of the brass ensemble a few Sundays each year. Another congregation has established a scholarship program with an adjacent university underwriting music lesson fees for members of their brass ensemble, all music students selected and coached by the trumpet professor, who is a member of the church. Church musicians need to be creative in exploring ways to identify a cadre of instrumentalists ready to play when needed. Most communities have a wealth of talent; we need to find it and harness it.
The flute is an especially useful instrument to use in hymn singing. Since it is rather weak in its lower register, transposing up an octave is often necessary. When played an octave higher than the written melody, its sound soars above a congregation providing ample leadership for the unaccompanied singing of a stanza. Children’s choirs are given confidence by the support of a flute or recorder, doubling their melody especially if the accompaniment is for Orff instruments, which do not reinforce the melody. Another possibility is an ensemble of flutes; six or more flutes playing together producing a rich, warm sound that works well on many hymn tunes (have most play at the written pitch, one or three an octave higher). In this context it is well to consider Ferguson’s first rule for soprano instruments; one or three on the top part, never two. When two play together on the same part, slight imperfections of intonation result in “sour sounds” but the imperfections of three players cancel each other out producing a “warm ensemble sound.”
Clarinets are often overlooked as a useful color, perhaps because we all have heard beginning players squeaking away. The lower registers of a clarinet well-played provide a rich mellow sound. Clarinets are transposing instruments so the director must be ready to cope with the special needs of these players. Again, having a cadre of instrumentalists ready to play helps because everyone knows what to expect.
One other observation about wind instruments needs to be made. Do encourage players to slur some intervals. Instrumentalists will tongue between each written note unless instructed otherwise. At the very least, any notes which encompass one syllable should be played slurred just as they are sung. Careful consideration of this dimension of the wind players performance will result in smoother, more elegant sounds from wind instruments.
String instruments also provide lovely additions to our palate of instrumental color, even though they are not quite as useful since they are not strong enough individually to lead a congregation (with the exception of the violin soaring above the congregation, much as a flute can do). Strings are especially painful when not played well, so again it would be important to identify players and nurture them so that they gain experience and poise. There are a few choral octavos for solo string instrument and choir which would provide a special punctuation to a service (for example, my setting of Ah, Holy Jesus for choir and viola [Morningstar MSM-50-3012], exploring the mournful sounds of the viola as a color for this passion text). When using a single solo instrument for an anthem in a service, be sure to find other ways to use that instrument as well. A solo instrument can provide a fine introduction to a hymn. If the player is gifted, ask him or her to play alone, melody only, to introduce a more lyrical tune. On a gentle text and tune, solo cello, viola, or violin could be heard joining with the congregation, especially if you encourage the soloist to play out even though choir and congregation will sing rather gently.
Synthesizers and Samplers
No discussion of instrumental color for worship would be complete without some mention of those wonderful, provocative, upsetting instruments made possible by the remarkable technology of our age. A synthesizer makes sound by the manipulation of basic electrical patterns (for example a sine wave is a very pure, flute-like sound). This basic sound or wave is then processed and mutated electronically by the synthesizer, adding additional character to the sound. A sampler begins by taking an electrical picture or “sample” of a real sound (any sound can be sampled—one note of an instrument, a waterfall, a dog bark), which can then be manipulated and processed somewhat like the basic sound waves of a synthesizer. Neither should be considered as replacements for real instruments, but rather as resources that do things real instruments cannot do.
For example, very “windy” sounds can be made that complement wonderfully the profound concept of the Incarnation—the breath of God upon Mary. Or such sounds might work as part of a reading of the biblical story of the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Published examples of such creative use of these instruments are beginning to appear (for example, GIA recently published a version of the Genesis creation story, appointed for the Easter vigil with parts for the reader, organ, percussion, and synthesizer) and more are bound to come. Anyone doubting the powerful, evocative, colorful possibilities of these instruments to exegete text need only listen to the gifted use of synthesized sound as accompaniment for some of the songs in The Broadway Album of Barbra Streisand (Columbia). I am especially taken by the accompaniment using only electronically generated sounds for the Leonard Bernstein song “Something’s Coming” from West Side Story. The sounds of the accompaniment evoke the excitement, the anticipation, the impatient waiting that is reflected in the text and tune—a kind of Advent feeling if you will.
No clearer demonstration of the remarkable power of musical color to enhance a text can be cited than this setting of the Bernstein song. Martin Luther is often quoted as saying that the devil didn’t need to have all the good tunes. Neither does our secular society need to frighten us away from the many wonderful ways instrumental color, from piccolo and drum to synthesizer, can enrich our worship. Just like Luther, we must be ready to adapt and modify in creative ways and not merely copy things done in secular musical contexts. Here is a challenge worthy of us all.