Choral and Congregational Singing in the Church Orders

Abstract

The church orders show that a wide variation existed within Germany as to whether the services were essentially choral or essentially congregational. Local variations also existed: in general, the smaller the parish (and the fewer the musical resources), the more congregational the liturgy. As a rule, the traditional parts of the mass tended to be sung by the choir, the exception being the Creed, which was usually sung by the people in a German paraphrase. German hymns inserted before and after the sermon, during the communion, and at the end of the mass tended to be sung by the whole congregation. Matins was a choral office, and Vespers was usually sung by the choir if one was available, with the Office canticle often sung by the people. They also sang a catechism hymn at Sunday Vespers in places where catechism instruction was held at that time. In a few places, the singing of the people seems to have suffered because of the predominance of choral singing.