"The ideal thing is that the bishops would have a liturgical music commission which looks at the wording and the music of the hymns. And when the commission is satisfied, judgment is brought to the bishops for approval, in the name of the rest of the conference."
In actuality, the ideal thing would be for the Roman Church to promote the High Mass mentality, favoring the proper antiphons over the hymns that overwhelmingly substitute them, and for composers to set these texts (in Latin or the approved vernacular) to suitably holy music - whatever that may mean.
The moving away from High Mass as the goal has done plenty to dis-integrate the Latin Rite in practice. To substitute the prescribed canonical Scripture (as most antiphons are psalms or Gospel texts) with psalm paraphrases or lyrics of questionable theology is like substituting the Gospel reading with a speech by Martin Luther King or somesuch. It smacks of anything from ignorance to arrogance of the worst sort.
Look in your throwaway missalettes this weekend (if you attend such a church) - these texts are there as the "Entrance Song" and "Communion Song". Yes, they're supposed to be set to music. The only place where all of them are set to music? The chant books, naturally.
When the powers-that-be address fidelity to all liturgical texts - including the much-neglected proper antiphons - and an authentic liturgical spirit, then I will take notice. Until then, these comments strike me as more of the same old, same old.
The quoted solution would do nothing more than entrench the Low Mass mentality and further remove the liturgy from the liturgical movement of the 20th century (to 1962).
"In actuality, the ideal thing would be for the Roman Church to promote the High Mass mentality, favoring the proper antiphons over the hymns that overwhelmingly substitute them, and for composers to set these texts (in Latin or the approved vernacular) to suitably holy music - whatever that may mean."
In Orthodoxy we have maintained precisely that "mentality". The Divine Liturgy is sung, without random hymns. What we sing are the prayers of the Liturgy. There are those Orthodox, converts and some cradle who for whatever reason spent time in Protestant churches, who say they miss the hymns of their old churches or assemblies and have pushed for "singing real hymns". This hasn't and won't get anywhere however there are instances when some idiot priest will allow it at, say, a wedding or a funeral. This happened recently in this metropolis and the scandal is still reverberating. I understand that priest is in, finally thank God, big trouble.