I think I might have said this before, but....

....sometimes it doesn't hurt to repeat oneself.

I've just begun a wonderful book on the Masses and motets of William Byrd by Joseph Kerman. In the early pages of this book, mention is made that in one or more collections of mid-16th century English polyphony, the Easter selections far outnumber selections appropriate for other times of year.

The thought then struck me: So why do we continually go back to the Hallelujah Chorus, which is not liturgical music? In the amount of time it takes to properly prepare a choir to sing this piece (as opposed to letting them simply shout over the organ), one can probably learn one of the meatier polyphonic works for Easter.

Wouldn't it be a nice change of pace?