Posted on 01/13/2006 2:32:52 PM PST by Petrosius
A recent Vatican statement calls for parishes to revive traditional music at Mass?what Rome has been saying all along.
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| By Arlene Oost-Zinner and Jeffrey Tucker |
A moving moment occurred at Pope Benedict XVI's outdoor inaugural Mass last April. During the recessional, the Marian antiphon for the Easter season, the ?Regina Caeli,? was sung by worshipers from around the world, including the pope himself. It was beautiful and inspiring but for one problem. Most American Catholics under the age of 60 can't conjure even the first notes or words of this once-popular hymn. Even the most basic of Catholic chants?"Ubi Caritas," "Ave Maria," "Ave Maris Stella"?are unknown by most U.S. Catholics.
If the U.S. is going to participate in a revival of sacred music, particularly from the Gregorian repertoire?which is what the Vatican has now made it clear that the Benedict wants--something has got to change to bring U.S. parish practice in line. To achieve the musical goal of the Second Vatican Council?to elevate Gregorian chant to pride of place in the Mass?will require Herculean educational efforts and massive dedication of musicians of all sorts.
Not that a dictate or document from Rome is going to be enough to inspire every parish to sing the Credo in Latin or look away from their missalettes and toward Solesmes, France, the center of Gregorian chant, for Psalms and Communion chants. What this pontificate can do is provided liturgical and theological leadership by example. This will assist refuting the primary misunderstanding about sacred music today: that the choice of musical style at Mass is a matter of cultural and personal preference to be determined at the parish level, on the theory that any music that is suitably religious is appropriate for liturgy, so long as the people can participate (in theory) by singing along.
This misunderstanding, which is contradicted by two millennia of authoritative Church teaching, is widely held by Catholic musicians at the parish level. This is why parish music is so often reduced to a variety show, however well intended the performers may be. These same musicians, however, can play an essential role in the revival of chant and truly sacred music, provided that they are called to a higher standard and are willing to undertake the effort to acquaint themselves with the astonishing richness of what our heritage has to offer.
Nor does Benedict XVI need to issue new teachings. The Vatican's focus on Gregorian chant as proper to the liturgy has been consistent during the 40 years since the Second Vatican Council. There has been no letup in the insistence that chant is Catholic music, from the council document "Sacrosanctum Concilium"'s explicit call for chant to displace popular hymnody as the music of the people, through Paul VI's issuance in 1974 of "Jubilate Deo" (a booklet of basic chants for every parish), to John Paul II's prayer in 2000 for the beauty of sacred music to return to our liturgies.
Gregorian chant received new emphasis in a series of documents that appeared in the last years of John Paul II's pontificate. In 2003, John Paul called for renewed attention to "outward forms of mystery" that inspire eucharistic devotion. Among these forms, he wrote in "Ecclesia de Eucaristia," we find sacred music, particularly "the inspired Gregorian melodies and the many, often great, composers who sought to do justice to the liturgical texts of the Mass."
In 2005 John Paul issued the apostolic letter "Mane Nobiscum Domine." Here he set forth his "serious concern that singing and liturgical music be suitably "sacred." Furthermore, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, which came out in 2000, stated plainly that "Gregorian chant holds pride of place because it is proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other types of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded."
Immediately following John Paul's apostolic letter, the Vatican's Congregation for the Divine Worship issued its definitive document on the liturgy, "The Year of the Eucharist: Suggestions and Proposals." It is here where we find the words of John Paul II more fully spelled out in what was the most explicit call for restoring sacred music to be heard from the Vatican in decades.
The guidelines first addressed the core of the problem: Priests are not prepared to act as leaders in placing chant at the forefront of the musical life of the parish. The guidelines demanded that anyone in a position to do so should "inculcate in the seminarians an understanding of the usefulness of a certain fluency in the Latin language and Gregorian Chant, so as to be able to pray and chant in Latin when the need arises, and so rooting themselves in the tradition of the Church at prayer."
The Congregation further wrote that the simple settings of Gregorian settings of the Credo and Lord's Prayer help "encourage the participation of various groups in the same Eucharistic celebration of the Mass.? And so here we see Latin and Gregorian chant being cited not as a source of division among Catholics (as many believe), but rather as a source of unity in order to achieve the multicultural aims of Catholicism that everyone agrees are centrally important. Parishes were asked to establish choirs that "should dedicate singular attention to liturgical song, taking into account the indications of John Paul II in his recent document on sacred music."
Thus the Vatican's emphasis on chant did not begin with Benedict XVI. In his writings on liturgy before he became pope, he merely clarified existing post-Vatican II directives, famously saying, for example, that rock (hard or soft) music has no place at liturgy.
All serious musicians, regardless of personal taste, know the suffering that comes with tackling new compositions and traditions. Technique must be learned and practiced and interpretive skills must be honed. Church organists struggling with the works of Bach and singers attempting to master the intervals and nuance of Gregorian chant face very similar battles.
It is not enough to stick with the standard fare. Musicians need to rethink their place in liturgy and begin to think of the sounds they create as part of the structure of the Mass and not purely additive. That means acquiring chant books from Solesmes and spending time every week and every day on familiarizing oneself with Catholic tradition.
The demands of truly sacred music are uniquely challenging. Sacred music requires humility and a willingness to go beyond pleasing ourselves and our immediate audiences alone. Sacred music requires sacrifice and loving service to the God the Father and his Church. And what are the rewards? From the earliest days of the Church, Catholics of all times have found in the chant a glimpse of Heaven. That is what the liturgy can bring us, not just in Rome or in cathedrals but in every parish and every heart. What a wonderful rediscovery it will be.
But can you dance to it?
No! That is one of the things that I like about it. Goodbye liturgical dance.
I enjoy a group called Mediaeval Babes. They sing a mean plainsong.
Why is it that liturgical "dancers" can never actually DANCE?
From a technical point of view, the girl in red is OK I guess (but she's not doing anything really difficult. I don't like her arms though) but the girls in white are like textbook examples of Bad Dance. Misaligned hips, bad turnout, shoulders wrong, arms stiff and out of line, backs curved . . . I mean, geez . . . is this where bad dancers go to die?
It looks like a bad imitation of the old Pas de Quatre. Frankly, I'd rather see it done by the Trock:
We had Gregorian Chant at our Mass last Sunday. It was so beautiful. Our priest brought in a couple of young men from Benedictine College to sing it for us. Their voices were amazing. I wish they were there every Sunday!
Grab a couple of others who would be foolish enough to try and start your own schola. If you break the selection into small pieces it is not as hard as you would think. The great thing about chant is that since it is monotonal you do not have to worry about harmony. This also has the advantage that you can have a complete choir with only three of four people singing the same notes.
It should also be remembered that it is written in a relative key. In other words just sing in a range that is comfortable for everyone. It is the interval between the notes that is important, not a perfect pitch. If you can sing do-re-me you can sing chant. Chant also lacks a strict timed beat as in modern music. Just allow the notes to flow around the words. (There is a theory of rhythm but it need not concern you.)
Your results may not be perfect but do not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. In many ways chant is more natural than modern music and in time you will get the hang of it. Since your priest has already shown an interest, if you showed interest and initiative I am sure that he would provide the resources you need.
Not knowing the Ave Maria should be a capital offense. It's my favorite hymn...and, when done right, it can move me to tears.
First problem - most church "musicians" aren't serious. They do it because "they like to sing." Just getting some people to do simple warm-ups is incredibly difficult. I've actually heard people ask why they are wasting time with warm-ups.
Church organists struggling with the works of Bach and singers attempting to master the intervals and nuance of Gregorian chant face very similar battles.
Most Bach isn't really suitable for anything other than a postlude. Vocal Bach takes a specific sort of voice, too. There are other composers who's work is far more challenging.
Maybe it's just years of hearing it, but chant nuance is nothing in comparison to trying to master Mozart line and phrasing. And Gregorian is much easier than some of the other forms of chant.
Musicians need to rethink their place in liturgy and begin to think of the sounds they create as part of the structure of the Mass and not purely additive. That means acquiring chant books from Solesmes and spending time every week and every day on familiarizing oneself with Catholic tradition.
It also need to be explained that Mass is not an alternative to being a member of a rock band.
Sacred music requires humility and a willingness to go beyond pleasing ourselves and our immediate audiences alone. Sacred music requires sacrifice and loving service to the God the Father and his Church.
Yes. When you can't get people to join choirs, though, because they don't want to commit themselves to a weekly commitment....
It looks like they've avoided Latin pieces on this one, thankfully. Not that I don't love the language - actually it's the opposite problem - I love the language too much to hear their horrible enunciation of it. English, French, Welsh, whatever, just leave my Latin alone unless you're gonna do it right, Babes!
Duh -- that should be "avoided Latin on this one for the most part, thankfully".
I'm glad to see the comeback. I hope it is restored - and not in some new agey way. It is beautiful music, awe inspiring and haunting. It really does direct the mind and soul heavenward.
The Trocks! Remember their prima ballerina Ivan Toratyrov? Great fun, but hardly suitable for church.
The Trocks can dance and know perfectly well what they're doing and where they belong, unlike those idiot women in red and white profaning the sanctuary . . .
My favorite is still Galina Tschickaboomskaya.
I cajole 'em - my husband "persuades" 'em . . . < g >
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