Hello!

I have been hired for the summer to sing Cantor in a Church. All of the mass bits and hymns are fine, but I feel I will soon run out of religious solos to sing at communion. I am a soprano with a very straight sound. (I am really a chorister but there were no "proper" soloists interested in the job).

My repertoire of solo religious music is very small, I did the Agnus Dei from Mozart's Coronation Mass last week and I can bang out the Bach/Gounod and Schubert Ave Marias and a few similar favourites. I really love singing Handel and similar stuff.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received!

Thanks.

If you have a local music library, see if you can get hold of a copy of the Oxford Easy Anthem book.

not suggesting you need easy stuff, Pianodub ! but one reason this book came to mind is that it avoids complex polyphonic stuff, and contains items that are adaptable to being sung in unison, or by sopranos only - which means they could also be sung by a soloist. Maybe your solo doesn't always need to be a 'recognised solo' if you see what I mean. And depending on your church's tradition, communion music may not need to be elaborate.

Presumably there is an organist or pianist? competent sight-reader?

A few Bach pieces come to mind - eg
My Heart ever Faithful,

Franck Panis Angelicus

I think (? from memory) Mozart's Ave Verum can be sung as a solo - as long as you have accompaniment for the harmony.

I have a great book for such occasions: Sing Sacred Solos. Neil Jenkins. It has solo songs of every sort in it including both the Mozart and the Elgar Ave Verum.

Brilliant thanks!

I knew there would be stuff lurking in the back of my brain that I would have forgotten about, Panis being the prefect example!
I think I know the Oxford book...is it red? I might be able to borrow one from my old choir.

There is no tradition or such in this church. I did my first one on Saturday and they had never had a cantor before. The organist is studying piano and organ at 3rd level and is a good reader, so can managed most things I think. He sight-read the Mozart on Saturday, which I thought was very good. (Athough how anyone sightreads with their hands AND their feet is beyond me!)

Thanks for that book suggestions Petrat, that sounds like it would be very useful to have. Will have to poke about in the music shop.

Also, thanks Petra for suggesting Karl Jenkins for my choir. We did the Benedictus from the Armed Man yesterday for our last hurrah before summer break and they really enjoyed it. So did the organist!

My copy of the Oxford book is dark blue - a fairly thin book with maybe 50 anthems.

I have a feeling the church anthem book is red, so might be that one - a much thicker book irrc. However worth your looking through - there might be some things in there you would find suitable.

With the Oxford Easy Anthem book there is a blue one and red one, one has a couple of mass/canticle settings in the back. I have used a couple of things from there for unison anthem, eg Pray of St Richard Castre (I think), O holy Jesu.

Just another vote in favour of this book. It even puts the songs in useful categories for you (some songs are obviously in more than one category) so you can look up 'wedding', 'funeral', 'celebration', 'quiet devotion' or whatever.

That's the one I'm thinking of! And it has a lovely Howell's piece which is largely in unison. The name escapes me just now!



Thanks!

Just remembered the Howells:

"Mine eyes for beauty pine". Nice!