The Anthems Choirs Actually Love to Sing (By the Numbers)

It’s been a while since I posted specifically about intergenerational worship. Much longer than I intended. Life got in the way! As I revisited some research over the past few weeks, I realized I hadn’t reported half of the findings in my blog. So, I’m planning to dedicate the next few posts to analyzing data I collected in 2014. This research, although over a decade old, still offers valuable insights into how we approach music ministry in intergenerational churches today.

Let’s start with something fun. What are church choirs actually singing?

When I asked church choir leaders to name their choir’s all time favorite anthem, a handful of titles kept coming up again and again. Here’s what I found, in order:

1. Thou, O Lord (19%). By far the most named anthem in the whole survey, and it doesn’t surprise me one bit. It gives every section something that actually fits their voice, it builds instead of sitting at one dynamic level for four minutes straight, and it lands on a text, Psalm 3, that a congregation feels even if they’ve never opened to that page themselves.
2. Majesty and Glory of Your Name (11%).
3. We Will Remember (11%).
4. Jerusalem (8%).
5. This Blood (8%).
6. Days of Elijah (6%).
7. Revelation Song (6%).

What struck me, looking at this list again after all these years, is how it mixes eras. You’ve got at least one choral standard sitting right next to praise and worship arrangements like Days of Elijah and Revelation Song. I don’t think these choirs are choosing between traditional and contemporary at all. I think they’re choosing whatever text and music “hooks” their people, generation by generation, and building a shared literature out of it, whether it fits neatly into one category or not. One more reason history and context matter as well as familiarity in choosing both congregational and choral music.

Paul tells the Colossians to let the word of Christ dwell in them richly, teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in their hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 (ESV). Notice he doesn’t specify an era of music there. He specifies a purpose, the word of Christ dwelling richly, taught to one another through song. That’s really what a favorite anthem is doing when it finds its place in a choir’s heart. It has carried something true into a room full of people long enough that grandparents and grandchildren resonate with it.

If you’re a choir director of church music planning literature for next season, I’d encourage you not to overthink the style question nearly as much as whether it actually says something true, sung well, and resonates with your context. That’s what made this list what it is.

What’s the one anthem your choir would riot over if you retired it? I’d love to hear it in the comments. I’m building a list for a future post.