Special Lecture on 'Liturgical Singing: The Right Etiquette' at Most Holy Redeemer Church Derebail Back

Special Lecture on 'Liturgical Singing: The Right Etiquette' at Most Holy Redeemer Church Derebail

The Choir Group in association with The Liturgical Commission of Most Holy Redeemer Church Derebail organized a lecture on Liturgical Singing: The Right Etiquette  on Sunday, 4 September, 2022 from 4.30 to 6.30pm. 

The attendees were served refreshments before the programme commenced. The Choir President Mrs. Sheela D'Souza along with Mr. Anil Patrao began the programme on a prayerful note where the hymn to the choir patron saint St.Cecelia was sung. Mrs.Sheela D'Souza then welcomed the dignitaries Rev.Fr.Joseph Martis, Rev.Fr.Vijay Machado, Rev.Fr. Gerald Pinto and the attendees of the programme. 
Mr.Anil Patrao gave a brief introduction to the programme stating how exactly the members would benefit from the lecture. The lecture was divided into two parts. The first section of the lecture was presented by the Resource Person Rev.Fr.Vijay Machado , Director of Mangala Jyothi Publication Mangalore.  In his lecture Fr.Vijay Machado  emphasized the purpose behind Liturgical Singing and elaborated on the role of the choir at various occasions and official Liturgical celebrations in the church. The lecture primarily aimed at equipping the choir members with right amount of knowledge on how to choose hymns for  distinct seasons in the church calendar and make the celebration of the Holy Eucharist more relatable and prayerful for the congregation in general. His insightful ideas on how the instrumentalists must play in order to support the choir gave a new perspective to the role of the instrumentalists in the liturgy. 

In the second section of the lecture Mr.Anil Patrao addressed a few issues from his practical experiences in the choir for the last 40 years. His lecture focussed on improving the etiquette among the choral singers and making the choir a more disciplined and systematic body of the liturgy.

This session was followed by a question answer session where the attendees enquired and sought clarifications for many of their doubts. Rev.Fr.Joseph Martis moderated the session and gave his concluding remarks. Fr. Joseph Martis appreciated the parish choir for its relentless service and suggested that the members could work on improvising the choir gradually. He concluded by highlighting the importance of 'silence' during the Eucharistic Celebration. 

Mrs. Lavina Quadros, Secretary of the Parish Choir thanked all the attendees for their presence.

A total of 59 members were present for the lecture.

Report by: Lynsha Lobo