Posted on 06/02/2014 1:42:10 AM PDT by markomalley
One of the more prominent features of Protestant denominations over the decades was hymn singing. Get in your time machine go back 50 years, to any Protestant denomination, and you would find every member of the congregation on their feet, hymnal in hand, singing quite loudly, even harmonizing the old familiar hymns: Onward Christian Soldiers….Amazing Grace….When the Roll is called up Yonder….More About Jesus….Praise God from Whom All Blessing Flow!
Catholics congregations were rather different. Low Masses in Latin were common where there was little or no singing. High mass featured complex music that a trained choir largely handled. And the few hymns the Catholics did know quite well, were generally not sung with the gusto anywhere near that of the Protestants.
I’ll admit, I’m a big fan of the metrical hymns of the Protestant tradition. One of the regrets I have is that, in the years just after the Second Vatican Council when vernacular songs were permitted, was that we did not borrow more heavily from the English and German traditions of hymns.
Hymns are stately, easy to learn, and have memorable melodies. They were also metrical, which meant that they were sung to a steady beat and almost never had the complicated rhythms of many modern church songs. Congregations have a hard time singing syncopated rhythm (a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected which make part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat).
Many of the old Protestant hymns, especially those from the English tradition, are actually magnificent translations of the Latin hymns of the ancient Catholic Church. Many of them also beautifully paraphrase the Psalms. As such, their themes were biblical, and richly theological.
A beautiful example of this is the English translation of a verse from the beautiful Hymn by St. Ambrose (Veni Redemptor Gentium):
Thy cradle here shall glitter bright,
and darkness breathe a newer light;
An endless light that shines serene,
Where twilight never intervenes.
And there is this line from the well-known English him For all the Saints:
And when the strife is fierce, the warfare long;
Steels on the ear a distant triumph song
and hearts are brave again and arms are strong
Alleluia!
One final example is from the grand hymn O Worship the King:
Thy bountiful care, what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air, it shines in the light;
Thy mercies how tender, how firm to the end,
our Maker, Defender, Redeemer, and Friend.
I love to sing and listen to these old hymns, I love to play them at the organ.
But lo and behold, it seems the old hymns are dying out, even in many of the Protestant denominations, especially those of the Evangelical sort. Paradoxically, many of the old mainline Protestant denominations which are theologically and morally very liberal are one of the few places where the old hymns are still sung. Many of the Evangelical denominations which adhere more closely to biblical teachings and morality are now using Christian contemporary music which seems to have largely replaced the old hymns.
But most Christian contemporary music, is really music to listen to more, than to sing, and certainly is not designed to be sung by a large group of people.
Here are some excerpts from a recent article article at the Holy Soup Blog by Thom Schulz: (I add a few remarks of my own in plain red text)
Looking around the church last Sunday I noticed that the majority weren’t singing….That’s been the case for years now–in churches large and small. What used to be congregational singing has become congregational staring…. (Looks and sounds like a average Catholic Congregation)
What happened to the bygone sounds of sanctuaries overflowing with fervent, harmonizing voices from the pews, singing out with a passion that could be heard down the street? I suspect it’s a number of unfortunate factors.
Increasingly, the church has constructed the worship service as a spectator event….It seems it’s paramount for church music to be more professional than participatory. The people in the pews know they pale in comparison to the loud voices at the microphones. (Yes this is certainly the case in most megachurches which are even built like theaters and many of the services look more like a production than a worship service.
[Further] The musicians’ volume is cranked up so high that congregants can’t hear their own voices, or the voices of those around them, even if they would sing. So they don’t sing. What would it add? The overwhelming, amplified sound blares from big speakers, obliterating any chance for the sound of robust congregational singing. Yes, I learned this as an organist, that if I played too loud, people stopped singing. The singing of the faithful needs to be supported and accompanied, not drowned out and overwhelmed. In some Catholic parishes volume from musicians and even lectors and preachers is a problem too where even smaller church structures have massive PA systems that overload the listeners rather than enhance their listening).
Sometimes people refrain from singing because the songs are unfamiliar, hard to sing, or just cheesy…I long for an environment that evokes my real heartfelt vocal participation. As stated above it is really rather difficult to get a larger congregation to sing syncopated music. Clear metrical music is better if congregational participation is desired. Just because some song by a soloist sounds nice doesn’t mean its easy to sing. I get the impression that a lot of Catholic contemporary music is really written for soloists and then forced on the congregation who vote with their mouth which stays shut during the song. All the wild flaying of a cantor’s arms doesn’t really change the situation either. If something is singable for a congregation, the wild gesticulation of the lady cantor is not needed.
At any rate, I’ll just conclude again by saying that I favor metrical hymns for congressional singing and there is a noble history of some five hundred year on which to draw. There are some nice Gregorian Hymns too. I know the combos is bound to find more than a few comments about ditching hymns too and sining the Introit, gradual, etc. But honestly the number of parishes that can accomplish that reasonably are few. Further, even if a trained schola exists in your parish, the topic here is conjugational singing. Sadly, that reality seems to be disappearing even in the denominations which once resounded with hymns and enthusiastic singing by most of the congregation. Its too bad really.
I’m interested in your experience of congregational singing. I find in most parishes that less than 20% even make a pretense of singing. My own congregation is a bit of an exception since we use a lot of Gospel hymns and music that are very easy for the congregation to sing; lots of refrains and memorable melodies. What of your parish?
See also my post 60.
One of my favorites, which as my mother's too (she was a convert from Old School Baptism) was 145: "My faith looks up to the, thou lamb of Calvary, Savior divine, Oh hear us while we pray, take all our guilt away; Oh, let us from this day be wholly thine." I had it sung at her funeral.
The hymns we're asked to sing are either insipid, or like Amazing Grace embody a non-Catholic theology. Yes, while many of the Protestant hymns Catholics have borrowed since Vatican II are very singable, the fact remains that intrinsically they're Protestant. They embody a Protestant theology (as they should; they're for Protestants, after all).
One of the promises made after Vatican II was that once Catholic composers were freed from the rigors of Latin liturgy, we'd have good quality Catholic hymns to sing. It hasn't happened. What hymns were written post-V-II have been for the most part musical trash. The St. Louis Jesuits were among the worst offenders, but there were plenty of others as well.
Finally, I find much hymn-singing is intrusive. For instance, when I've just come back from Communion, I want to talk to my Lord. I can't. A cantor, or the choir, is bellowing out some hymn that is not just distracting but completely blots out my thoughts. That, of all times during the Mass, should be a time for silence. Unfortunately, it isn't.
Hymns, if sung at all, should be a complement to the Liturgy, not a substitute for it.
I read once about a child wondering about the song ‘Rex chewed the parafin’ from Sunday School.
Um, no.
A lot of folks don’t have a clue what sheaves are.
I’m 55 and grew up on a farm and have never used that word apart from the song.
That would be music-free early mass. I spend too much time cringing at the ditty-masses.
So yes, if you take a close look at shape note and Palestrina you can see the similarities! And if you can sing one you can sing the other.
. . . your vocal performance technique however is going to be just a LEETLE divergent . . .
Zactly. Yes it is a bit different than Palestrina.
I would love to sing some Palestrina.
I have wanted for yearsvtovget about 16 singers together and sing a few pieces bel canto.
It would be beeootiful.
Palestrina: "Sicut cervus" - "As the hart longs for fountains of water, so longs my soul for thee, O God."
This one has the score, so you can follow the parts visually.
Thank you. That is so beautiful. Absolute beauty.
I am going to send link to my choir director. He will enjoy it immensely.
I thought the last measure was a wonderful close to the song. A quiet, peaceful landing.
it's not just you. Just yesterday at church I was thinking the songs couldn't be any worse if they tried! The melodies were so non melodic, almost like a bunch of random notes strung together. Just horrible.
When they're sober.
Ah the old twelve tone technique.
Those’ll jar your teeth.
As a quick example of some old hymns I really like (among many others), which I believe would get a much greater and more enthusiastic and active singing response from the congregation, are these great old classic ones:
"are these great old classic ones" should read "check out these great old classic ones"
(Sorry for the awkward wording.)
Just because you liked it here is my other favorite example, this time from "our Phoenix, M. William Byrd" - probably the greatest English composer of all time (better even than Thomas Tallis or Henry Purcell):
Ave verum corpus - "Hail true body! born of the Virgin Mary, [who] truly suffered and was sacrificed on the cross for mankind, from whose pierced side flowed water and blood: may it be for us a foretaste [of the heavenly banquet] in the trial of death. O sweet Jesus, O pious Jesus, O Jesus, son of Mary, have mercy on me. Amen."
You'll recognize the close imitation in the second section as something very like the typical refrain in Sacred Harp hymns like "Alabama/ 196" or "Soar Away/ 455". It's the same principle, just a country cousin to Mr. Byrd's method.
At least Schoenberg had a METHOD. These people have no earthly idea what they are doing, and what's worse, they have no desire or intention of learning anything.
I have it on very good authority (one of the people directly involved!) that a group of highly qualified musicians and composers approached OCP with an offer to give FREE lessons in counterpoint and composition to OCP's "stable" of "composers". They were turned down flat.
You are welcome to come sing with us, any time. We sing really good music - mostly Renaissance polyphony but also chant, some medieval works, some Baroque, and selected 'moderns'. Our choir director is a splendid musician but not at all proud or despising of amateurs like me. And he could teach a rock to sing.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.