Okay, what about the Black Catholic liturgical music? Like the Hawaiians, the African Black Catholics have "inculturated" the mass throughout Africa.
Here in America, it is interesting to note that there are 20 million black catholics (US, Haiti, Dominican Republic)and more than 200 million worldwide.
Consider the following comments by Elliot Wimbush, a master cantor and musician.
Catholic liturgical music has been criticized for being so slow to change or welcome different elements or song writing structures. Its not like Methodist services where folks have been listening to Amy Grant for over 10 years.
WIMBUSH: Because Vatican documents are so specific as to what music should or shouldnt sound like in the context of liturgy, it really is confining.
In a book Im working on called "Breaking the Bonds of Liturgy" talks about how we should use liturgy as a platform to praise, not as the cage in which we put it. A lot of the things that we do in liturgy dont lend themselves to the free expression of praise.
If we are doing a song for the offertory in some parishes, once the priest washes his hands, I dont care where you are in the song, its over. You stop. But if youre doing a song that is beginning to resonate and the assembly is really beginning to sing, we need to let them sing.
If I understand liturgy correctly, and I think I do, liturgy is about the work of the people and about the prayer of the people being united in body. Thats what happens in the Mass. So anything we can do to promote it, to encourage it, to nurture it, to pull it out, then thats what we need to do. Anything that minimizes it, that truncates it for the sake of scheduling, is something we need to revisit.
To keep our distinct religious traditions alive, the use of Kente cloth, gospel music, and African drumbeats are not sufficient. These external material signs of culture must be transformed into sacraments of a deeper consciousness of our collective sojourn and communion with God and one another, which is at the root of our distinct African American spirituality.
As Catholic Christian followers of Christ each of us is called to engage in the evangelizing and liberating mission of the Catholic Church as it seeks to transform itself and in a manner which conforms with Jesus' preaching of the reign of God. In other words "We are summoned by the Holy Spirit and called to New Life".
I wonder if Mr. Wimbush has any clue what happens when the Priest says "This is my body", and "This is the cup of my blood". I wonder if Mr. Wimbush understands the term "Sacrifice", and why we refer to "The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass". I see no evidence of such understanding in the entire interview on the black Catholic website. Mr. Wimbush should remember that the Divine Liturgy is not a performance of his (or anyone else's) music. I wonder if the phrase "re-presentation of Calvary" means anything to him.