Posted on 11/29/2009 12:36:46 PM PST by NYer
My thoughts tend to wander in church. The lector might open with a biblical passage describing the Israelites assailing Jericho. I’ll picture myself inside the city, as a trader bartering in the ancient streets. This, in turn, will cause me to wonder how people got along in those days without air conditioning.
So it was that, waiting for Mass to begin one recent Saturday evening, I was unruffled by the sweet, dark strains of “Night and Day.”
“It’s just me,” I thought. “Just my wayward imagination.”
It was with a jolt that I realized, “No, it’s not just me.” Someone really was playing a Cole Porter song in church. It was the violinist.
Later, as the parishioners filed out after the recessional hymn, the same musician struck up a Bobby Darin tune, “Beyond the Sea.” This may have been meant to put a bounce in our step as we exited the building, but I was feeling too disoriented to do much bouncing. Bobby Darin? Was this a Catholic church or a nightclub?
Or was it me? Had I at last turned into the brittle old square I always thought my father was? Music, after all, is largely subjective. By what authority could one anoint some musical pieces for admittance into church while excommunicating others?
I checked the hymnal. It contained hundreds of songs composed for church. Sure enough, though, it also contained a small battery of privileged foreigners — songs composed for other forums but that nonetheless enjoy the occasional performance at Mass. Among these interlopers were “America the Beautiful” and “God Bless America.”
A revelation dawned on me: Admittance into my church depended on a song’s being either composed for Catholic worship or endowed with rightly ordered patriotism. This comported with the idea of a nation under God. (For more on this, see Tim Drake’s essay here.)
That notion, however, exploded in the next instant when I thought of another song I’d heard at Mass, “Ode to Joy.” With music composed by Ludwig van Beethoven, a German living in an era when there was no German nation over which to be patriotic, the ode gets its lyrics from another German, Friedrich Schiller, whose sentiments were neither Christian-specific nor dedicated to any particular country.
I thought also of the church song “Morning Has Broken.” This was a song I’d first heard sung by the popular entertainer Cat Stevens, who, as far as I knew, was now a devout Muslim.
As if “Ode to Joy” and “Morning Has Broken” were not remote enough from orthodox Catholicism and Old Glory, I thought also of “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” This hymn is sung in Catholic churches even though its composer, Martin Luther, was a catalyst of the ecclesiastical revolt that would come to be known as the Protestant Reformation. If Luther enjoyed entry into a Catholic church, then why not Cole Porter or Bobby Darin or, heck, the Rolling Stones?
“There must,” I thought, “be something about the music itself.” A song’s melody could have a spiritual temperament that could qualify it for admission into church. In that case, time might be necessary. Like purgatory, time could wash away any stains or taints inappropriate in the house of the Lord, admitting only unblemished gold.
Just so. From its beginnings, the Catholic Church has worked through local cultures to spread its message, honoring differences in expressions of faith. The Catechism, No. 1207, states: It is fitting that liturgical celebration tends to express itself in the culture of the people where the Church finds herself, though without being submissive to it. Moreover, the liturgy itself generates cultures and shapes them.
I was gratified to participate in this process, howsoever humbly, by voicing my views regarding the music played at my church. Locating the church’s website, I left an e-mail message criticizing some of the music I’d heard at Mass. Before receiving a reply, I telephoned the church office. A deacon answered. Briefly and courteously, I explained why I thought some of the music played at Mass had been inappropriate and suggested that the musicians confine their church repertoire to songs of worship.
My efforts seemed to work. Next week, church sounded like church again.
The Catholic Church is no democracy; nor should it be. But through its parishes, it can respond to local, even individual, concerns — like mine — accommodating a vast variety of continually evolving customs, traditions and personal tastes within the compass of a truth that is both universal and eternal.
>>It isn’t pop.<<
You may know the history of that song, Pete in the Pew thinks Cat Stevens. To me, to my fellow parishioners, it’s pop, no matter where it came from.
AND it is not appropriate for the liturgy. While you may not find any of the words to be anti-Catholic, we are at Holy Mass for a reason.
There has to be some variation or the singing gets stale. That is a fact of life. And if the singing gets stale and lifeless, it will certainly impede worship instead of aiding it. And that is not something that ought to happen.
Also, dedicated choir singers want to present their best to God. That's what we're there for. And because we're human, and fallible, singing the same thing Sunday after Sunday and also singing our best is not possible. That's why the Liber changes every day . . . the old-time liturgists knew this simple fact of life!
We are observers. Just as those standing at the base of the cross when it happened.
Yes, but you see, if you are bored as a musician, you will not be very inspiring. And if part of your purpose at Mass is to be inspiring, there has to be a bit of a balance. It’s part of the give and take of being an artist. Aside from that, the same stuff over and over does not inspire one to rehearse and review and it gets sloppy and that shouldn’t be at Mass, either, if we are there to give our best.
Good luck. An suggestion of the sort is usually met with great disdain in these parts. Fortunately,our beloved Cathedral has marble.
We have an awful lot of dead wood and trash - truly rotten music - to get rid of before we start throwing out music because of mere passing associations. Then we can start weaning the congregation back onto the old Catholic stuff (but you have to make sure that they don't put that awful random leap into the middle of "Infinite thy vast domain". Shudder.)
>>There has to be some variation or the singing gets stale. That is a fact of life. And if the singing gets stale and lifeless, it will certainly impede worship instead of aiding it. And that is not something that ought to happen.<<
That’s a line that Choir Directors have been using for years.
How can anyone say that a part of the Holy Mass gets stale when the Mass never changes? Catholics live on repetition. If one understands the Holy Mass, it doesn’t get stale. Jesus is there in person. We need to be in awe.
When the parishioners participate, your Holy Mass is alive. I went to a LifeTeen Mass where they had rockin’ performers. They sounded great. Drums and guitars and wonderful singers.
That congregation didn’t even have the chance to participate at all. The band did it everything. Then people complain that Catholics don’t sing. Geez, we don’t get the chance.
Well, some of us just don't like it no matter where it came from.
We have an awful lot of dead wood and trash - truly rotten music - to get rid of before we start throwing out music because of mere passing associations. Then we can start weaning the congregation back onto the old Catholic stuff (but you have to make sure that they don't put that awful random leap into the middle of "Infinite thy vast domain". Shudder.)
Actually, since we all do it the same way, it can't be that random. It's the way we all learned it before we could read music.
Bad music to ditch...where to start...hmmm.
Well, not tonight. Still getting over the head cold that we've been passing among the choir members. I'm the most recent victim. 'Night.
It’s not a perfectly good hymn in the liturgy because it is not a Catholic hymn. It has nothing to do with the liturgy. It’s not a Processional Hymn, it’s not about the Offertory, it’s not about the Eucharist and it’s not Recessional. It’s not about Mary, nor Christ the King, nor the Trinity.
YOU may think it’s great, but it’s not Catholic.
I grew up on “Holy God we praise thy name.” The cradle Catholics like the old tunes.
Do you want the congregation to participate?
I used to attend a church (Episcopal) where the original pastor had the bright idea of not having a choir. Congregational hymn singing and full participation would be the order of the day. Only they weren't. By the time we joined that parish, the church had wound up having to make some major physical alterations to squeeze in the choir they thought they didn't need.
Repetition of music is different from repetition of words. Why do you think the Liber Usualis has different chant settings for every day of the liturgical year? And that goes back as far as chant goes back, so it's no modern or pop innovation.
>>Why do you think the Liber Usualis has different chant settings for every day of the liturgical year? <<
And why do you think we only use the common chants at Holy Mass? Just because they are written doesn’t mean they are used, eventhough they are allowed.
Our chants don’t change for our Latin Vernacular nor our Traditional Latin Mass.
They don’t change in our vernacular Holy Mass both English and Slovak.
Perhaps choir directors like liturgical committees perpetuate their jobs by innovations.
Why is it not appropriate for a processional? It mentions the opening of the day (appropriate to begin the Mass) as well as praising God for the Creation.
Not holding a brief for that particular hymn, it's not one of my favorites (3/4 time is a bit problematic for hymns generally), nor is Farjeon one of my favorite writers (a little too precious, as you can see if you read her Martin Pippin in the Apple Orchard). My only point was that the criticism of it was not accurate. Now, if the author had said that it wasn't a Catholic hymn, he would have had a point, at least.
But there's so much truly bad stuff to get rid of before we start attacking hymns for mere associations. And I would get rid of the theologically destructive words and hideous trash tunes in the Haugen-Haas-OCP-St. Louis unholy quadrivium, before I started in on merely non-Catholic stuff with tunes I personally don't like.
We have some serious, heavy-duty work to do to renovate Catholic music, and we're going to have to set some priorities if we expect to make any progress.
>>I used to attend a church (Episcopal) where the original pastor had the bright idea of not having a choir.<<
In our Catholic Church we have two Holy Masses on Saturday and six on Sunday. We have a chant choir at the TLM and another group of adults at the 7:30 Sunday morning. The Slovak Mass has a Cantor.
With an organ, NOT a piano, one doesn’t need a choir at all. Our Holy Mass at 6:30pm never has a choir. We sing.
My point was that the Church from old times has recognized the need for some variation in the music (as opposed to the text, which does not change). That's because the folks compiling the Liber were musicians and understood what music and musicians require in order to do their best.
We do have three Mass settings - one for the Latin Mass and two for the Ordinary Form. The congregation doesn't seem to mind (although they are struggling with the Latin).
Anyhow, there's so much GOOD music to choose from that changing out the hymns is in my opinion a good idea. That's why so many of them were written in the first place. And yes, we sing "Holy God We Praise Thy Name" as well as many of the other old hymns regularly (that's how I found about the habit of 'swooping' on the line 'infinite thy vast domain'.) We have the St. Gregory and Adoremus Hymnals in the choir loft, plenty of good old Catholic music there.
I need to hit the hay myself. Drove 14 hours today. . . . eek!
That’s a line that Choir Directors have been using for years.
Staleness is NOT a "line". It is a massive pitfall. Part of the musician's mission, as outlined by numerous popes, bishops, etc., is to INSPIRE the congregation. That means everyone, including the lukewarm and those who are back for the first time in 30 years. When you sing or play the same stuff over and over again, and you get bored with it, or you think you know it better then you do, you don't pay as much attention and it gets sloppy. From first hand experience, I can say outright it is true.
Before every Mass, our choir says a prayer: "Open my mouth, O,Lord, in praise of thy holy name. Cleanse my heart and inflame my will that I may worthily sing this divine service. As we gather to sing your praise, may we but touch one soul and lead it to thee. May the gift of music we share foreshadow the beauty we shall share forever in your kingdom. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen."
How can we possibly inspire anything with staleness. Even the Mass which we all know by heart, gets tired if the priest saying it isn't filled with passion for Christ. Do we hear the same readings and sermons every week? No. Then why should we have the same music?
The reality is that so little emphasis has been put on music in the church and in Catholic schools that we never really learned to sing. And when we do sing, it's what we like. Well, among the congregation. Right now, there's so much chaff in the hymnals it's hard to find the wheat.
So, please understand, it is NOT easy to keep music fresh and sounding good when you're bored with it. And if musicians are there to help inspire, you just can't be bored. Like I said, it's a give and take.
Good for you for speaking up! I’ve been on the receiving end of some of that criticism in my time. I’m still doing penance for singing “Blowin in the Wind” and “Teach Your Children Well”, at folk Masses, when I was in college in the early 70’s ;o)
>>My point was that the Church from old times has recognized the need for some variation in the music<<
No, they have allowed for variation.
But if one is speaking of pre-Vatican II the chant never changed in a low mass nor in a High Holy Mass. The Church recognized that Catholics thrive on repetition. Parish to Parish one heard the same music and same chant.
Vatican II allowed change in the liturgy. With it came the “Kumbaya Catholics” who thought everything should be changed to make it better when nothing was actually broken.
If we want to bring Catholics back to the Church, give them Old Time Catholic Masses. Push for one in every parish. Because I can tell you, in my area, my parish (where we kneel for communion), Assumption Grotto (who’s altar faces east) and San Francisco (that chants every mass) are packed and the other parishes with the great performers are closing and clustering.
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