Oh, How They Could Sing

Posted on October 28, 2015 under Storytelling with one comment

Boychoir Christmas dinner 1960

 

 

“I have a dream …” – Martin Luther King, Jr.

And so did Father Terrence Lynch.

A Roman Catholic priest, Fr. Lynch was a Cape Breton native who grew up in a musical household.  In June of 1951, he was appointed Choir Master of St. Ninian’s Cathedral in Antigonish by the Bishop, Most Reverend John R. MacDonald.  At the same time it was requested that he start a boys’ choir.  At Christmas of the same year, the Marian Boychoir made its debut in conjunction with the St. Ninian Senior Mixed Choir.

Fr. Lynch approached the Bishop with the idea of founding a choir school. The project was given the green light in the spring of 1952. The St. Ninian Council of the Knights of Columbus provided seed money of $4000 for the construction of a building.  The remainder of the money was borrowed and the debt was retired through the generosity of some benefactors.  The project started in November of 1952 and was completed in April of 1953.  Among the many superior features of the building was the acoustics, designed by the incredibly talented Rev. Dr. Ernest Clarke of the St. F. X Physics Department.

And so began the fulfillment of Fr. Lynch’s dream.

A group of former choir members met recently at a local coffee shop to reminisce about their shared experience. To a person, they remarked on the compelling leadership of Fr. Lynch.  They marvelled at the dedication and passion that he had devoted to this endeavour.  In his book “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell says that it takes roughly 10,000 hours of practice to achieve mastery of a skill.  Fr. Lynch knew this long before Gladwell.  Several members said that practice was paramount.  “Practice, practice and more practice,” was the common refrain.

And how did these young boys become interested in singing? Truth be told, they didn’t have much of a choice.  At a very early age, their mothers gave them a choice of either being an altar boy or a member of the choir.  Many ended up doing both.  And none of them have any regrets, as many of the lessons learned under Fr. Lynch’s tutelage helped form a solid foundation that remains with them to this day.

Through the genius of Fr. Clarke, the choir had a facility that had world class sound. The large sliding divider wall provided an opportunity for different sections of the choir to practice in different locations under the same roof.  The sound equipment was so good, in fact, that a number of the boys who played guitar were able to record themselves at the Marian Boychoir School on reel to reel tape. The result was radio station quality sound.

The building was always spotlessly clean. Every weekend, several of the boys went to the Choir School and scrubbed and waxed the floors.  It would appear that Fr. Lynch took seriously the notion that “cleanliness is next to godliness”.

Fr. Lynch was a strict task master. His goal was excellence.  His dream was to create a choir equal in calibre to the world famous Vienna Boys’ Choir.  He even went to Europe and studied under the direction of one of their choir masters.

Back in the 50’s and early 60’s, multi-day travel was not an everyday thing, so embarking on a road trip was a very big deal. The Marian Boychoir toured extensively throughout the province, thrilling audiences wherever they went.

Fr. Lynch instilled discipline in the boys. There was no such thing as showing up late for a practice.  Many of those sipping coffee the other morning attribute their success in life to the many lessons learned from Fr. Lynch: the importance of punctuality, hard work, perseverance, dedication … and practice!  And there was no such thing as quitting.  The only thing worse than suffering the wrath of Fr. Lynch would have been a fate much worse at home as you tried to explain this to your mother!

For Father Lynch, the music was all for the glory of God. It is not hard to imagine that he might have imparted this classic line more than once: “Qui bene cantat bis orat.”  The rough translation of St Augustine’s words is: “He who sings well prays twice.”

Besides giving these young people their musical start in life, Fr. Lynch also gave them the most important tool that anyone can be given at a young age; confidence. One spring two of the boys, who had received no formal musical training prior to joining the choir, were dispatched to the church in Lakevale to sing for the Easter vigil.  Neither one of them could have ever imagined doing this without Fr. Lynch as their teacher and mentor.  As well as any spiritual rewards they may have garnered from performing these duties, their earthly reward was a gigantic feast at the home of Mrs. Fred Boyd in the wee hours of Easter morning.

Fr. Lynch was an early adopter of community outreach. As well as directing the Marian Boychoir and the choir school, he assisted the parishes of St. Joseph’s, St. Andrews, Heatherton and Pomquet in establishing choirs for their churches.

Fr. Lynch was always quick to point out that the choir would never have achieved its success without the unbelievable efforts of its Ladies Auxiliary. First of all, it was these women who marched their young boys to the doors of the Choir School (altar boy or choir member?!).  They could be found in the depths of the cathedral an hour before Mass helping the boys get ready.  As one of the fellows said, “We wore white cassocks, blue sashes, blue capes with golden tassels and blue skull caps.  And at concerts, we wore our blue sweaters with our crest on it.  We were the Marian Boychoir!” The choir outfits were lovingly prepared by the Sisters of St. Martha.

A young James MacPherson caught the ear of Fr. Lynch. He recognized James’ genius and gave him his first lessons on the pipe organ.  In those days the choir was blessed with the enormous talents of Mrs. W.J. MacDonald, who was their accompanist for many years.  Sometimes she would literally stand up at the great pipe organ in order to hit all the notes with her feet.

In the early 60’s, a young group of mop haired Brits vaulted on to the world stage. One of the choir members recalls Fr. Lynch commenting that the Beatles music would someday form part of the classics. He was a true visionary.

Vatican 2 changed a lot of things, including the introduction of congregational singing which was one of the factors leading to the demise of the Marian BoyChoir.

Poor health plagued Fr. Lynch for much of his life. After many performances, including the Mass for the installation of Bishop William E. Power in 1960, Fr. Lynch would nearly collapse in utter exhaustion.  He gave his all for every performance of the Marian Boychoir.

The profound influence of Fr. Lynch is still very much in evidence in the boys who became men, and who continue to sing his praises.

“Deo per Deiparam canto.”