Which is most important to you?
It has to depend on the context – if I’m picking a Renaissance motet, I’m more likely to focus on the music, because the Latin text isn’t going to be a significant resonating factor for my students. If I’m picking a contemporary choral piece, I’m thinking a lot about the text and what it will mean to my students.
But the truth is, if it doesn’t have both, I’m not really very compelled by a piece. The best art songs, the best jazz standards, the best choral music, the best of any sung music must wed an indelible melody with a compelling text. When both support each other, the music is timeless.
There are certainly songs in which the message is so powerful, we overlook a lackluster melody; there are songs (especially in the jazz world) in which the melody and chords are so wonderful that we are willing to sing clunky lyrics.
But when both come together? Magic.