A few years ago, as musicians at our Christian Science branch church, my wife and I invited a friend of ours with a beautiful, trained voice to do the solo one Sunday. She asked if she could sing a solo that her husband had composed, and if he could play the accompaniment himself. It was compatible with the Bible Lesson that week, so we agreed. All went well that Sunday until, right in the middle of the solo, the husband started singing a backup harmony part while playing the accompaniment. "Wait!" I thought urgently. "You can’t do that! This is a Christian Science church, and we only have solos, not duets . . . ." As it turned out, everyone appreciated the solo, and no one said a thing about the left-hand turn the solo took.
Later, I thought back on my experience in school choirs, remembering that solos are done all the time with a choral background. Also instrumentalists often play solos with an orchestral background. A solo with vocal background is still a solo.
Still, I knew it would be a good idea to check the Church Manual and make sure. I was surprised to find that the brief section on church music doesn’t even apply to music in branch churches, even though I always thought it did. The only Manual reference to music in branch churches consists of three single words, plus a sentence: "Hymn." "Solo." "Collection." "The services should be preceded and followed by organ or piano music of an appropriate character in all cases where this is possible" (pp. 120–125).
