Posted on 11/23/2007 4:01:21 AM PST by Gamecock
The Pope is considering a dramatic overhaul of the Vatican in order to force a return to traditional sacred music.
After reintroducing the Latin Tridentine Mass, the Pope wants to widen the use of Gregorian chant and baroque sacred music.
In an address to the bishops and priests of St Peter's Basilica, he said that there needed to be "continuity with tradition" in their prayers and music.
He referred pointedly to "the time of St Gregory the Great", the pope who gave his name to Gregorian chant.
Gregorian chant has been reinstituted as the primary form of singing by the new choir director of St Peter's, Father Pierre Paul.
He has also broken with the tradition set up by John Paul II of having a rotating choir, drawn from churches all over the world, to sing Mass in St Peter's.
The Pope has recently replaced the director of pontifical liturgical celebrations, Archbishop Piero Marini, with a man closer to his heart, Mgr Guido Marini. It is now thought he may replace the head of the Sistine Chapel choir, Giuseppe Liberto.
The International Church Music Review recently criticised the choir, saying: "The singers wanted to overshout each other, they were frequently out of tune, the sound uneven, the conducting without any artistic power, the organ and organ playing like in a second-rank country parish church."
Mgr Valentin Miserachs Grau, the director of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, which trains church musicians, said that there had been serious "deviations" in the performance of sacred music.
"How far we are from the true spirit of sacred music. How can we stand it that such a wave of inconsistent, arrogant and ridiculous profanities have so easily gained a stamp of approval in our celebrations?" he said.
He added that a pontifical office could correct the abuses, and would be "opportune". He said: "Due to general ignorance, especially in sectors of the clergy, there exists music which is devoid of sanctity, true art and universality."
Mgr Grau said that Gregorian chant was the "cardinal point" of liturgical music and that traditional music "should become again the living soul of the assembly".
The Pope favoured the idea of a watchdog for church music when he was the cardinal in charge of safeguarding Catholic doctrine.
He is known to be a strong supporter of Mgr Grau, who is also in charge of the Cappella Liberiana of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome.
Maybe Darwin's words set to Gregorian Chant would be the ultimate expression of Catholicism?
Let’s not forget about the 80% of American Catholics who disagree with the Pope on birth control.
I like modern praise music.
As for Handel's Hallelujah, being a fan of classical music, I am sure that Pope Benedict is a great fan. This does not mean that is should be sung at a liturgy. At a special concert in praise of God, by all means!
… his statement about Protestants not being real Christians.
The Pope never said that Protestants were not real Christians, but rather that their ecclesial gatherings were not true churches. This flows from the Catholic belief that a church is a divine institution based upon Apostolic succession of Holy Orders and centered around the Eucharist (neither of which most Protestants claim they have). It is a question of Sacramental theology. As for being a real Christian, this comes from Baptism. Provided that the proper matter and form are used, the Catholic Church does indeed recognize that baptized Protestants are real Christians.
It seems to me that a liturgy can be so out of date that it is an impediment to real worship. The Protestant churches have been having a transition to modern musical styles from the great hymns of the 1800’s and early 1900’s . . . traditionalists and older congregants like the old hymns because the words are so theologically sound and meaningful and the younger church members want music that they enjoy. When you freeze music for 100’s of years though, in my opinion, it becomes at best an acquired taste and at worst a form of worship that no longer leads to actual worship but just rote repetition . . .
Unfortunately, in the rush to replace Latin with the vernacular in the Mass, Catholics were cut off from their musical heritage. The need of instant music in English after Vatican II led to the adoption of singing hymns at the Mass, first old Protestant tunes then newly composed ones. However, if you were to study the liturgy you would find that where we have introduced these hymns (the Entrance, Offertory, Communion) should actually be a sung Psalm with Antiphon. Additionally, the Ordinary of the Mass (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei) should also be sung. In all these places the words take precedence over the music which leads to a different musical style than in hymns were the meter leads the music. Furthermore, none of these are an independent pieces acting as a musical interlude as do hymns is a Protestant service. Thus the creation of Gregorian chant which is proper to the Roman liturgy. Different music for different purposes.
Singing Psalms is wonderful . . . if you understand the language it’s being sung in!
Catholic schools teach English so the people can read the translation in the Latin-English Missals. Latin was also once widely taught, in Protestant schools as well as Catholic ones, so more people could once understand it than you think. Latin was once, and should be again, a common cultural heritage in the West whose use was not limited to the liturgy.
Yes, I’m sure they discussed that a bit at Vatican II . . . at some point though the old common languages just die and are replaced with new ones. Greek, Latin, French, English . . . what’s next? Pray it’s not Chinese!
I don’t ‘spose Mercy Me will be invited to the Vatican anytime soon, will they?
And surely not the Reformed Bob Dylan.
I’m with you. Sorry, monotonous hymns with an organ and religious traditional music in other tongues just doesn’t bring me into the presence of God.
Handel’s music would also be very Lutheran.
That just might be a show-stopper.
We should just forbid those country parishes from singing altogether.
Just a bunch of stupid farmers -- I say just excise the whole batch. Then we don't have to worry about their wretched music!
I’ve heard that Alice Copper is now Calvinist.
Alice Cooper a Calvinist?
I hadn’t heard that.
I’d be careful, though, if he wants to play a Chicken Dance at a Calvinist Wedding. :>)
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