A Peak Into the Music Selection Process

October 8, 2023         27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Ever wondered how the hymns for each Sunday are chosen? Believe it or not, I don’t just pick hymns on a whim, or just cause I feel like they “sound pretty.” There is in fact a systematic process to music selection which considers four factors: 

1. The overarching theme of the liturgy for the day. Is it about faith? Forgiveness? Truth? Salvation? Social Justice? Are there specific passages from Scripture that are quoted in the hymn selections? I’ll let you in on a little secret… “Judgement-themed” liturgies (like this Sunday’s) are the ones I find most difficult to pick music for!
   
   
2. The musical style of each Sunday Mass. 9:30 AM should be family friendly/child appropriate. 11:00 AM should be more formal; I dare say conservative. 5:00 PM should be modern and teen friendly.
   
   
3. The capabilities of each ensemble – the Youth Choir (9:30), Adult Choir (11:00), and Worship Band (5:00). The musical product I envision must be achievable within the rehearsal time allotted to it.
   
   
4. The familiarity of hymns to the congregation. Debbie Geary was especially helpful in informing me of which hymns the congregation already knows and which ones are unfamiliar, out of every single hymn in our hymnal. That’s a lot of hymns!

Furthermore, when considering the themes of the liturgy, I follow a “hierarchy of matching.” There are three levels of specificity when matching music to Scripture: Scriptural matching, topical matching, and seasonal matching. 

• Scriptural matching. When passages from Scripture are directly quoted in a hymn, that’s a Scriptural match. For instance, the passage “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God,” (Matthew 4:4) is quoted/paraphrased in the following songs in our hymnal: Seek Ye First (#445, Verse 3), Shepherd of Souls (#362, Verse 2), Led by the Spirit (#126, Verse 2). Scriptural matching is always my first choice.
  
  
• Topical matching. As mentioned earlier, liturgies tend to fall under a specific “topic.” Examples of topics are light, faith, water, resurrection, mercy, justice, Mary, discipleship, etc. So, if for whatever reason I’m unable to pick a Scriptural match (perhaps because the song is unfamiliar to the congregation or possibly too difficult for my choirs), I resort to Plan B: topical matching. A song may not quote Scripture directly, but it may still fit with the general topic of the liturgy.
  
  
• Seasonal matching. This is the least specific type of matching. To match according to season simply means choosing hymns that very loosely fit with the spirit of the liturgical season – Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary Time. So seasonal matching during Easter could mean something as simple as picking songs that have “Hallelujah” or “He is risen” in them. This is my last resort, only when I’m unable to pick either a Scriptural or topical match. 

This Sunday, if you find yourself in an observant mood, see if you can spot any Scriptural and/or topical matches in the songs at the Mass you attend.

With my peace,
Carlo Serrano, Music Director