By Chris Starr

“The most demanding aspect of parish life is its choir. The task is never ending.”

In an interview, Hamilton Smith, music director for the Cathedral of Christ the king, spoke enthusiastically about the work of the choir and his directorship.

He emphasized that both should be an example of Christian community in action. “This feeling has been built up over the years in the Cathedral”, he said, “and I feel each member serves as a witness of what community can mean.”

“Keeping others in the parish informed about the ‘what and why’ of changes is also important”, he said, “and not allowing the music director to dictate his likes and dislikes on others.

“This requires that parishioners express their opinion about what goes on in a parish. They should also be careful to allow the director who is qualified to make his own decisions. If he is not allowed some license, very often the music and worship becomes geared to the lowest common denominator.”

He called this a trap, when music does not serve the function of a spiritual expression, but becomes dull and mediocre. Music, he said, should uplift the mind of a believing people and help them express their relationship to God.

As director of music for the Cathedral, Smith is responsible for choosing the hymns each week and rehearsing the choir one night a week and Sunday morning. The choir, he said, should always stay within its skill level.

Most congregations fail to realized the work that goes into the choir and even fewer see a financial commitment to the choir as important,” Smith said. “We have been lucky here at Christ the King because we get such wonderful support from the administrator, Monsignor John F. McDonough. Our efforts to help revitalized the parish liturgical life have been well received.”

Church music is “fully” part-time for Hamilton Smith. Besides his work as a trust officer at an Atlanta bank, he has helped other parishes by giving liturgical workshops and diocesan-wide symposia on Church music and the parish choir.

Smith also spent a summer studying music at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y., and another at Harvard University. His credentials as a musician continue with the composition of original works and with 15 years of studying piano. Two compositions that have been published by Smith are the “Mass for Brotherhood” and “Easter Meditations for Brass, Organ and Choir.”

A former member of the Archdiocesan Liturgical Commission, Smith believes that this group can offer an invaluable service to the archdiocese. “The commission can be most effective in offering training programs for music directors and helping select and screen music for the parish level. The commission has the potential of becoming a resource center for the parishes on developments in liturgical worship.”

Asked about the efforts of the parish to develop good taste in their music selection, Smith said the parish should become involved in planning special seasonal events such as Lenten penance services.

Stating that the new liturgy is no longer new, Smith added that the choir should provide variety in music selection. He stated that Vatican II has opened a vast reservoir of music that includes the traditions of other faiths as well as other areas of the Catholic musical tradition.

“Trying to sing outside the choirs’ skill range is usually a disaster”, he said, “and choirs compound the problem when they look for numbers and not quality in their choir members.”

“By no means is folk music the only way to celebrate the liturgy. Music should help express the cultural background of a people. There is no need to force music on people who cannot understand this as a spiritual expression or who fail to appreciate its meaning.”

One area that Smith felt had been forced on people is congregational singing during communion. He said that many find this distracting and unacceptable. “The same is true of rehearsing the congregation before Mass”, he said, “because if the people like what is being sung it won’t be long before they will be able to pick it up.

“Musical impact has as much to do with the liturgy as the message of the word. Our concern should be with liturgical standards of excellence that will uplift the congregation.”