Next Stop On the Liturgy Train.... (Music!)

WITL ^ | June 25, 2006 | Rocco Palmo

[NYer]

With the successful first vote on the Missale Romanum behind, the US bishops are girding to tackle the directives of Liturgiam authenticam with regards to liturgical music.

In its most recent Newsletter, the USCCB Committee for the Liturgy announced that a 9 October consultation is to be held in Chicago to seek "the advice of organizations and groups dealing with questions of music and the liturgy." LA, the 2001 Vatican instruction on vernacular liturgical texts, said that such pieces "are particularly important because they convey to the faithful a sense of the solemnity of the celebration, and manifest unity in faith and charity by means of a union of voices."

Within five years of Liturgiam authenticam, the document stipulated that each episcopal conference was to prepare an official Directory "or repertory of texts intended for liturgical singing" within its jurisdiction. The USCCB will likely be the first conference to vote on a proposed Directory at its November meeting, to be held this year in Baltimore.

As with the vote on the Order of Mass taken in Los Angeles eleven days ago, a US music directory must receive a 2/3 vote of active Latin-rite bishops and be forwarded to the Holy See for its recognitio.

The Chicago consultation will be held with an eye toward "discuss[ing] the revision" of Music and Catholic Worship and Liturgical Music Today, which are viewed as the "two foundational documents on the subject of the music and the sacred liturgy."

And so it goes....

[Nihil Obstat]

wow... the hits just keep on coming. God bless Pope Benedict. And thank God the meeting isn't in St. Louis. (nothing against Bishop Burke of course)

[Carolina]

Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas

[pgkdan]

Don't forget Dan Schutte!

[Carolina]

Please, I'd like to forget Schutte!

[AnAmericanMother]

ALL RIGHT!!!!

(Thank you Jesus, Mary & Joseph for our German Shepherd!)

[AnAmericanMother]

That makes three of us!

We all did a little victory dance after church yesterday just on the prospect that we could get rid of the Haugen Mass . . .

As our choirmaster says, "I knew the first time I heard this that it was awful - and that everybody would LOVE it . .. " < sigh >

Our choirmaster has composed two beautiful Mass settings, maybe we can use one of those . . . (and I mean they really are lovely. They're chant based, easy for the congregation to sing, and with some neat little harmonies here and there . . . )

[dsc]

"Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas"

I'm waiting for the Society for the Criminalization of the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas.

[livius]

"I knew the first time I heard this that it was awful - and that everybody would LOVE it . .. "

LOL! That, unfortunately, is one of the problems: Catholic musical taste was horrible even before VatII. This is one of the reasons that many Catholics were completely unbothered by the schlock: it wasn't a change to schlock, it was simply an increase in the amount of it. And some people can never get enough, alas.

[AnAmericanMother]

Oh, yeah, there was plenty of junk before Vatican II -- mostly gooey sentimental stuff along the lines of the May crowning hymns, etc.

But the old Episcopal Hymnal (which really is a great resource) had treacly Victorian weepers too. The new ECUSA Hymnal (1982) cut out the Victorian weepers, but added comparable New Age trash. I think there's just a certain percentage of junk that's inevitable because of the taste of the congregation . . .

. . . but that percentage has risen exponentially since VCII, and it needs to fall!

[ninenot]

No reason to "reform" Music in Catholic Worship.

Utter and complete deletion of the document would be better.

[ninenot]

At least ONE of the reasons for the continuing presence of schlock is a total lack of education on Musica Sacra and hymnody--in the seminaries, and subsequently in the parishes.

Frankly, my dears, no one GIVES a damn, with exceptions counted (perhaps) on one hand--B-16 being the most prominent.

[Aquinasfan]

May I suggest getting rid of crappy music?

[pravknight]

Could we get rid of the guitars, rock music and that aweful song "One Bread, One Body." How about a little Mozart or Gregorian chant?

[Aquinasfan]

I'm waiting for the Society for the Criminalization of the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas.

Can you list some of their greatest hits?

I'm an illustrator, and I would like to start a Society for the Criminalization of Crappy Woodcuts on the covers of missalettes, and inside too!

[NYer]

Let's be certain the bishops definitively rule out any of the following.

and of cours .........

[Nihil Obstat]

>>>How about a little Mozart or Gregorian chant?

Maybe Georg Ratzinger has been saying that to his little brother.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_Ratzinger

[AnAmericanMother]

LOL! This one too:

OK, Sisters, you have your instructions!

[ArrogantBustard]

Whazzis?

All y'all are beating up on the unholy trinity(haugen, hass, and schutte), and you didn't invite me? I'm so lonely and all alone ... I'll just have to post this (from the Moratorium siteP:

Anthem of the Hymn Writers (after Tom Conry's Anthem)

We write hymns, we're composers,
We are fans of one another.
We make hymn books for tomorrow
While we rake in cash today.
We're the best, we're the greatest,
So our hymns are all you need.
And our songs are all you hear in church,
The only ones indeed.

A pox on the National ASSociation of Pastoral Musicians.