They are all the rage in my diocese, and I'm very sad to say I am not joking.
Here is the link:
Make sure you check out the candid photos.
Posted on 04/26/2005 12:03:45 PM PDT by Aristotle721
Let us...come down to the level of liturgical reality in today's world. Here, the panorama is much more confused and disordered. A contemporary observer has described the present situation as one of "already and not yet," by which he does not mean the eschatological anticipation of Christ Who is to come in a world still marked by death and its difficulties. This author is simply saying that the "new" which is "already" there, is the reform of the liturgy - but the "old" (namely the "Tridentine" order) is in fact "not yet" overcome.3 And so the age-old question, "Whither shall I turn?" no longer refers, as it once did, to our search for the countenance of the living God. That question becomes instead a description of the perplexity and embarrassment which typifies the situation of church music which is said to have resulted from the half-hearted realization of the liturgical reform.
To put the matter in terms of today's trendy expression: a profoundly radical "paradigm shift" has quite obviously taken place. A great abyss divides the history of the Church into two irreconcilable worlds: the pre-conciliar and the post-conciliar world. As a matter of fact, many believe that it is impossible to utter a more fearful verdict over an ecclesiastical decision, a text, a liturgical form or even a person, than to say that it is "pre-conciliar." If that be true, then Catholic Christendom must have been in a truly frightful condition -- until 1965.
Now, let us apply that to our practical instance: a cathedral choirmaster who held his post from 1964 until 1994 at the cathedral church in Regensburg was really - if matters are really so - in a rather hopeless situation. When he began his duties, the liturgy constitution of Vatican II had not yet been promulgated. When he took office he very definitely followed the proud standard of the Regensburg tradition, or more preciselythe standard of the motu proprio, Tra le sollecitudini on church music, issued by Saint Pius X on November 22, 1903. 4
Nowhere was this motu proprio received with such rejoicing, and so unreservedly accepted as the norm and standard to be followed, as in the cathedral at Regensburg, which of course with this attitude set an example which was followed by many a cathedral and parish church in Germany as well as in other lands. In this reform of church music, Pius X has put to good use his own liturgical knowledge and experience. At the major seminary he had already conducted a Gregorian chant schola, and as bishop of Manuta and later patriarch of Venice he fought to eliminate the operatic Church-music style which was then dominant in Italy. Insistence upon Gregorian chant as the genuine music of the liturgy was for him but a part of that greater program of reform which was aimed at restoring to liturgical worship its pristine dignity, shaping and forming Catholic cult on the basis of its inner requirements.5 During the course of these efforts he had come to know the Regensburg tradition which, one might say, was something of a Godparent to the motu propriowithout implying that the "Regensburg tradition" as such was thereby "canonized" in its entirety. In Germany (but not only there!) Pius X is today often remembered chiefly as the "anti-modernist" pope, but Giampaolo Romanato has clearly shown, in his critical biography, the great extent to which this pontiff was a reforming pope precisely because he was a pastor of souls.6
He who reflects upon all of this and spends a little time examining it more closely, will soon notice that the chasm separating "preconciliar" and "post-conciliar" has already grown smaller. And the historian will add another insight. The liturgy constitution of the last council indeed laid the foundations for a reform which was then shaped by a post-conciliar committee and in its concrete details cannot without further ado be attributed to the Council itself. That sacred synod was an open beginning whose broad parameters permitted a number of concrete realizations. When one duly reflects upon these facts, then one will be disinclined to describe that broad arc of tensions which manifested itself in these decades, in terms like "pre-conciliar tradition" and "conciliar reform." It would be better to speak of the confrontation or contrast between the reform of Saint Pius X and that introduced by the Council in other words, to speak about stages of reform instead of a deep trench between two opposing worlds. And if we broaden our perspective even more, we can say that the history of the liturgy always involves a certain degree of tension between continuity and renewal.
The history of the liturgy is constantly growing into an ever-new Now, and it must also repeatedly prune back a Present which has become the Past, so that what is essential can re-appear with new vigor. The liturgy needs growth and development as well as purgation and refiningand in both cases needs to preserve its identity and that purpose without which it would lose the very reason for its existence. And if that is really the case, then the alternative between "traditionalists" and "reformers" is woefully inadequate to the situation. He who believes that he can only choose between Old and New, has already traveled a good way along a dead-end street.
The real question is rather: What is the essential nature of the liturgy? What standard does the liturgy set for itself? Only when this question has been answered, can one proceed to ask: What must remain? What is permanent? What can and perhaps must change?
(Excerpt) Read more at adoremus.org ...
Incidentally, the choirmaster mentioned in the excerpt above is his older brother, Fr. Georg Ratzinger, and the choir, the Regensburger Domspatzen, is an excellent choir, according to online reviews.
One thing that we can be very optimistic about regarding Benedict is his love and familiarity with art and music. Our church is blessed with some of the most beautiful music ever created, I'm sure he is aware of this.
The wreckovators had a particular zeal focused on destroying our historic sacred music and replacing it with comtemporary or folksy schlock.
Listening to Mozart's Great Mass in C minor right now in honor of the Holy Father. Triumphant. Lofty. I love the Credo section.
*Amen, brother. Now, I know the mail is slow but its been 40 years since the Council ended and I have YET to hear Latin or Gregorian Chant in my Church despite the promises of Vatican Two.
Now, we have a new Postmaster General, so to speak,...we shall see. My expectations are stratospheric.
You probably won't get to hear it in a contempory Mass.
Chant is very difficult to sing and requires at least to some degree a basic working knowledge of ecclesiastical Latin. Non-tradtional congregations wouldn't have enough of the type of vocalists needed, even if the Pastor would allow it. Even in my chapel the choir has difficulty pulling it off, despite their familiarity with the songs and the Latin.
There's a chapel in Georgia that I visited once where the choir was absolutely angelic. They could bring tears to your eyes and really added a beautiful other-worldly dimension to the Mass.
Our sacred music has the ability to convert on it's own accord and often has. The musical structure of the chant has its roots in the hymns of the ancient Hebrews before Christ walked the earth. He would have heard something similar in the synagogues and in David's temple.
This isn't to say that all Novus Ordo outlets play total junk, you'll hear a good cantor do Panis Angelicus or Ave Maria. But if you're seeking to hear the sacred Catholic liturgical music of the ages you'll probably need to find yourself and indult or some other traditional vehicle.
* I have read that, on more than one occcasion, atheists upon hearing the Dies Irae at a funeral began their journey into the Christian Church
I heard the Regensburger Domspatzen on Ascension Thursday, 1984 when I was in Regensburg, and a Bavarian friend took my nephew and I to the church for Holy Mass. They are indeed an excellent choir.
Music ping!
Well put.
The various glorious Masses composed by the great masters of Europe still resonate with me. Every composer worth his salt composed a Mass or two. Why not use some of them? What's "old" would be "new" to 99% of the folksy schlock-meisters.
They are all the rage in my diocese, and I'm very sad to say I am not joking.
Here is the link:
Make sure you check out the candid photos.
They give me the willies.
Liturgical Ping!
Au contraire, my friend. Chant is the easiest thing on earth to sing. And I say this as a classically trained singer. Believe me, next to Beethoven, it's a piece of cake. What's difficult, if anything, if spitting out all the consonants and making it sound like a line.
A lot of "musicians" make it out to be a lot harder than it really is. Mostly likely because it is a cappella.
Agree, Des.
Not only is it easy to sing--it gets easier the more you do it. There's something about the way the Propers-chants are constructed which "works" in the memory banks so that even when reading unfamiliar Propers one almost 'knows where to go' in advance.
It depends on what "chant" is. If we're talking "Missa de Angelis" or similar, the scales used are familiar as they are derived mostly from "major". Even so the Latin would be a challenge for the uninitiated.
If we're talking true Gregorian chant, that's another animal. Maybe someone would know better than I, but I don't believe much of what we hear are "scales". At least not any that I've known. Also the layout of the "songs" tend to be unstructured and difficult to internalize.
That and if you notice, most chant sounds as if they cloned a monk from 1240 AD and reproduced him to record CDs for us. They all pretty much sing with the same voice and same inflection, no single singer distinguishable from the others. Vibrato is pretty much verbotten on many pieces. Bob the opera singer standing next to Top 40 Tom would cause both to have a bit of re-adjusting to do.
I guess my point to borncatholic was that I don't see a pastor in the average parish being able to announce "hey we're going to Gregorian chant... any volunteers?"
I pinged pyro, he sings the chant. He'd probably have some input on the subject.
bttt
Since when did Donny Osmond wear a Roman Collar?!?!
If you're trying to imply some connection between that photograph and the Mass (any Mass), you owe us all an apology for insulting our intelligence.
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