Hello, friends. I've recently taken up a position as a full-time music/liturgy director at a medium-sized Catholic parish. I'm going to re-arrange a few things, but I'm running into a few design problems.

In the past, there was just an organ and the choir members would sit in (I believe two) rows. The back row was elevated on a platform of some kind and ordinary chairs were placed on it. Organ console would be in the center of the loft facing the back of the loft (west).

One day, the parish got a piano, and since there apparently wasn't space for elevated seating AND an organ/piano combination, they flattened the whole loft and people just sat in rows of chairs as they would in a classroom.

Some time after that, the organ was moved to the side a bit and the piano placed in the middle, since, like myself, directors have had more education in singing, conducting, and piano-playing than organ playing. My degree's in piano, so with considerable practice I can incorporate more of that, but only graduale-ly. ba da dum pssh

Anyway, here are a few pictures of how things look now. The problem is that, historically, the choir has felt really disconnected from the congregation because they sit so far back in the loft, which is considerably deep compared to most other lofts I've been in. Additionally, since they're so far back there, we rely a lot on electronic amplification, and it gets way too cluttered with mic stands and cords and booms.

Now, about a year ago, we got a whole new sound system that works brilliantly and which included 6 wireless mics to reduce the cord clutter. That's a fine thing, but the church is old and the loft was designed to carry everyone's voices without the aid of electronics. My dream scenario is one in which I can conduct (either from the piano or not) a group of singers that are close enough to me, the edge of the loft, and each other that all they really need is a couple of microphones in the air that amplify a wide space, if even that. I certainly don't mind having one individual mic off to the side somewhere so a soloist can come up and use it for a spell.

The problem with that is that the piano and organ are taking up so much space that they've already gotta stand back a ways, and the organ as it is right now isn't even facing the back of the loft, but rather the side (the organist currently faces south, whereas the versus populum priest faces west and the choir faces east). If I re-oriented the organ console so that it faced the back of the loft (west) and stuck it next to the piano, now I'm taking up half the length of the choir loft with organ + piano + sound rack + table where the streaming equipment is. Said table can move, but not too far.

Anyway. That's a lot. Looking for design solutions, tips, or general help of any kind that you may be able to offer. Thanks for reading, and God bless!

I don't totally know how to ask this question, but can someone give me a primer on the differences between the different books of traditional chant/hymns? For example, I've heard of the Graduale Romanum, the Liber Usualis, the Liber Hymnarius...and it feels like I've seen a few others thrown around. I'm a liturgical musician but didn't grow up with these. I'm growing in appreciation for the hymns used in the Liturgy of the Hours and for Gelineau-style psalms, and I want to know where some of these texts and melodies come from so I can learn them, both for their own sake and to be able to compose usable liturgical music. Which of the books listed above would be the best combination of portable, all-in-one, and usable for this sort of purpose? Bonus if it has both Latin and English, but slight preference for English.

Hi! I was wondering if maybe someone could recognize this song. I recorded this bit when I visited the Vatican in 2015. It was August 15, Assumption of Mary.

https://vocaroo.com/mUS2U7KpsAz

I've listened to it many times, and I think it's great music. However, I can't seem to find the full song on the internet. The only thing I understand is "Magnificat anima mea dominum", and I've listened to pretty much all the music that appears when I search for that online. No success for now. Does anyone know what it is? It's been 5 years, but it would be amazing to finally find out.

Thank you so much!