On tactus, "pulse," and tempo…
Feed: Pastoral Meanderings
Posted on: Thursday, April 29, 2010 7:41 AM
Author: Pastor Peters
Subject: Some Words on Hymnplaying...
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A disclaimer: I took many years of organ instruction but have not played anything but hymns for mostly 25 years and I am by no means an accomplished organist -- a frustrated one -- but you know, a little knowledge is a dangerous thing...
Tactus... the tempo of hymn playing... I wish we could teach it... It is really something to be felt. You cannot get it from the time signature on the music or extrapolate from one hymn to another. It is intimately connected to the text as well as the tune. It is affected by the singing of the people in the particular place you are located. It is a hidden component to the successful musical leadership of the congregation.
I was in Minnesota a few weeks ago and am still trying to catch my breath. The tempo was way too fast. Breath and you lost at least a couple of words and perhaps a whole musical phrase trying to catch up. Still and all I like it better than the opposite.
I was at an event in Synod and a noted organist was on the console and, well, I could have been filing my nails while I waited for the organist and most of the people to catch up with me... It was way too slow and discouraged not only the singing but any appreciation of the text and tune whatsoever.
We have a wonderful parish musician. He tends to play about right most all the time -- though he can slow down a bit for me (especially if he is uncertain how well the people know the tune and as the second service gets near the end). But I am the typical Pastor with the loud booming voice trying to get the folks to keep up. I am sure this bugs him some of the time (if not all). But tactus, the sense of tempo, rhythm, and how the text and tune combine is the key here.
Perhaps the bad rap on hymns with many stanzas and hymn singing in general has more to do with bad hymn playing than anything else. It is an art and it is not helped with the organist does not have the art -- and congregations are not willing to pay for their training to equip them to better assist the singing and probably do not pay them adequately in the first place...
It is a wonderful thing when the person on the bench knows how to make it easy to sing... last Sunday I felt it from the less known hymn Our Paschal Lamb, that sets us free... to the familiar The King of Love My Shepherd Is... to the beloved Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Me... There is no way to overvalue the gift and art of accompanying the liturgy and hymns... not with esteem or money... so parishes take note and people wake up... 
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