Cross-stitch patterns tell you what to do. Use this yarn with these holes, make no alterations, and you’ll complete the picture as promised. The tools and materials are provided to complete the project.
Recipes tell you the amounts and techniques to create a dish. Add this much flour and yeast, whisk in liquid, proof until doubled in size. Specifics (the tools you have in your kitchen, the way you whisk, the quality of ingredients) can significantly alter the finished dish.
I think we too-often think of musical scores as cross-stitch – “just add choir” – but we should think of them as recipes. The specific strengths and weaknesses of our singers should affect the finished product. So should the weather when we’re singing, the musical background of your choir and conductor.
Cross-stitch patterns leave no room for error, but also no room for creativity by the artist. Approaching a score with that perspective is bound to produce bland music.
A good recipe in the hands of a skilled cook gives the opportunity for greatness. Have you ever had a dish and said, “I must have the recipe”, only to find that it didn’t shine in your own kitchen?
That cook looked for the beauty in the recipe, and tweaked and adjusted to make it shine. We must do the same with our scores.
The moment we start thinking of musical scores as kits to be assembled, we dramatically diminish the potential of the final performance.