April 2004 Archives

The correct answer is clearly and emphatically in the negative. In this excellent article by Arlene Oost-Zinner and Jeffrey Tucker, from the February 2004 issue of the Homiletic & Pastoral Review, we get a taste of the knowledge and insight from our dear friends at St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum.

The authors hit on some very key points in trying to overcome the sometimes substantial roadblocks which have been erected in the way of moving parishes to re-discover the Church's patrimony of liturgical chant. Here's a sample:

Many people resist recovery efforts because of a visceral opposition to chant, an emotion stemming from rigid ideological commitments. Others are less strident. Many parish musicians and liturgists are inundated by contemporary music settings offered by publishing houses that specialize in marketing to parishes, and the chant tradition just goes unnoticed. Other musicians are simply unconvinced that ancient music has any real contribution to make to modern parish liturgy. In still other cases, parishes just don't know where to begin, and, fearing the unknown, they stick with the tiresome standard fare.

The value of chant as art, par excellence, is undeniable. But if left in the museum, it risks dying of suffocation; as do we, in our impoverishment for having ignored its life-giving spirit for so long.

The pure echoes of the chant can touch the hearts and minds of all who are fortunate enough to sing or listen to it. Conceived in humility and expertly and lovingly crafted over centuries, chant is our heritage, and should be allowed to live and breathe as it was intended, in liturgy. It ought not to be relegated to the concert hall where its beauty can be only half realized, as there it can point to no mystery beyond itself.

And, to the dismay of the faint-hearted, the best way to begin is not by trying a little piece here and there, as if the sacred liturgy were a cut-and-paste collage.

For chant to make its full impression (and this goes for music of any style or period) it needs to be sung within the context of a musically integrated liturgy. It makes no sense to impose one style of music upon another within the same liturgy, and expect each isolated bit to lead the faithful to an understanding of the greater mystery playing out on the altar before them. Beginning the Mass with chant can be breathtaking and mysterious, but if contemporary music dominates thereafter, the sense of timelessness and tradition evaporates.

[Via St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum]

In the Winter 1990 issue of SACRED MUSIC, we read this article:

For [forty] years, we have had a pattern, a set of directions for reforming the liturgy and its music. The Second Vatican Council, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and with the full authority of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, has clearly indicated its will, and the Holy See has given the world the authentic manner in which these decrees are to be implemented. The pattern is certain and clear. How well does the product measure up? Can the inspector approve of the results? Are we fooling ourselves when we proclaim the reform to be a great success? . . .

How can the Church in our country extracate itself from the mire into which its liturgy has fallen? Who can clean the Agean stables? Roman decrees will not accomplish it, since we have had decrees for [forty] years which have been ignored and deliberately disobeyed. Those decrees depend on the bishops to implement. But the bishops give their obligations over to their "experts" who put into operation what they have learned in the propagandizing centers of liturgical study. The process of reversal is an educational one. It must begin with the schools. This means that bishops must demand graduate centers for true liturgical studies and seminaries where the future clergy are will be correctly instructed about the intentions of the Church given by the council and the documents that followed. Bishops must seek competent and true teachers for their institutions and seminaries. Pastors must hire only those who have been correctly and competently trained and who exhibit a willingness to "think with the Church."

A time for study, yes. But some demons can be expelled only by prayer and fasting.

Father Keyes is being installed as Pastor in large a San Francisco Bay Area parish, and he seeks a competent music director.

Just to show that there are some who are taking authentic liturgical renewal seriously, you might note that, among other requirements, he is looking for someone skilled at the "pipe organ; ... Chant, Traditional and Contemporary repertoire, ... Competitive salary and benefits."

God bless you, Father Keyes, in your new pastoral assignment. We pray that many will catch your infectious bug, which is a love for the liturgy as it was intended by the Council Fathers.

Here is another list of articles having to do with the Liturgy. These questions are answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum.

From the main page, click the Liturgy link on the left hand side bar.

Here is a veritable goldmine of articles related to the Mass, particularly the manner in which the Liturgy is carried out.

Father Skeris' article from the September 1996 issue of Crisis Magazine attempts to shed more light on the dignity of sacred music, and its contrast from the profane:

What does sacred mean? ... Profane simply means the unexceptional, that which belongs to the realm of the normal, the average, the everyday. A "preeminently sacred action," then, will be simply the accomplishment of an action, performed by a community in a nonordinary way.

But some may think that any music which is put to liturgical use thus becomes sacred. Not so, says Father Skeris:

It is not the music in itself that determines the distinction between sacred and profane, but rather its expression and the soil in which it develops, along with its interpretation or signification in the act of being received by the congregation -- in short, its associations. It is not sufficient if the music merely serves as an expression of the community's (perhaps secular) life.

Father Skeris realizes that a widespread change in attitude is the only thing standing between the status quo and a rightful return of liturgical music to its authentic sacred foundation.

But the present is no time to stand idle. Books have been written, courses are being offered, techniques and tools are already available. This eleventh hour must be filled, not with noise, but with study, teaching, and carefully wrought performance -- all governed by the pastoral good sense... A perceptible change will come about only through greater willingness toward interior conversion that leads to a new and more profound reflection on the spiritual level.

The Vatican has finally released its followup instruction to the Holy Father's encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia, which provides norms "on certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist".

Not having read it in its entirety, I wanted to get an initial sense as to what the document will mean for liturgical music. For the record, the word "chant" does not appear in the document; and the word "music" appears in the following sentences:

• Commissions as well as councils or committees established by the Bishop to handle “the promotion of the Liturgy, sacred music and art in his diocese” should act in accordance with the intentions and the norms of the Bishop; they must rely on his authority and his approval so that they may carry out their office in a suitable manner...
  
• While the Priest proclaims the Eucharistic Prayer “there should be no other prayers or singing, and the organ or other musical instruments should be silent”, except for the people’s acclamations that have been duly approved...
  
• It is the right of the community of Christ’s faithful that especially in the Sunday celebration there should customarily be true and suitable sacred music...
  

At least in terms of liturgical music, it sounds as if a few basic reminders have been given, but it's difficult to imagine how the apparent lack of specificity or vigor in these instructions will cause anyone to be dissuaded from their existing course, where contrary to its true intent. Rather than laying down the law, it seems more like a set of gentle reminders. I guess this is where we invoke trust in the Lord to carry out His work.

Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical Athenaeum, deals with the issue of attaching a particular theme to a Mass in this article, entitled "Polka Masses", supposing that would attract those who feel drawn to that theme.

Perhaps the principal difficulty with such things is not so much the music in itself, which like many human elements in the liturgy may have different meanings in different cultures and in different epochs, but the idea that the Mass needs some sort of a theme in order to enhance its significance or relevance. When we label the Mass we tend to diminish rather than augment its importance. We restrict its universal meaning as Christ's very sacrifice renewed upon the altar and the sacred banquet which forms and increases our union as part of Christ's Mystical Body, the Church. This is the Church's greatest offering to God and any addition to the Mass itself -- such as "Polka," "Clown," "Disco" (yes, there have been cases) or any similar extraneous element -- reduces its scope and attempts to press it into service for some cause other than the worship of God. It could be argued that this is done in order to make the Mass more attractive or welcoming to certain groups. I am certain that it is often done in good faith. Yet, I think that 40 years after the Second Vatican Council it is clear that such attempts have failed to fulfill their promises. The best and most efficacious means of making the Mass meaningful is to teach Catholic truth as to what the Mass is.

This is, without a doubt, the most concise expression I have read on how the modern mentality toward the Mass has reduced it to a strictly human work. They think it is just another form of entertainment to be sculpted at will. Rather, we ought to take our cue from the Book of Revelation as to how the Eternal Liturgy is celebrated in heaven, of which the earthly Liturgy is supposed to be visible manifestation.

In the September 2001 online edition of the Adoremus Bulletin, we read Part V of an article called Buried Treasure, by Susan Benofy, which poses the question, "Can the Church recover her musical heritage?"

Editor's Note: This is the concluding section in a unique series of essays by Susan Benofy, research editor for the Adoremus Bulletin. Dr. Benofy surveys the rise and decline of sacred music during the 20th century liturgical reform. Part V comments on the most recent documents affecting music for Mass both for the US and the universal Church.

Part V: Conclusion
Contents:
General Instruction of the Roman Missal - 1969
American Adaptations to GIRM
Functionalism and flexibility
Missing Chant -- the Pope ignored
ICEL -- More revisions proposed
New Missal and IGMR
New Instruction on Council's Liturgy Constitution
American Adaptations 2001
Art, Beauty and Truth

In the July-August 2001 online edition of the Adoremus Bulletin, we read Part IV of an article called Buried Treasure, by Susan Benofy, which poses the question, "Can the Church recover her musical heritage?"

Editor's Note: This is the fourth part of Buried Treasure, a series of essays by Susan Benofy on the development of Catholic liturgical music before and after the Second Vatican Council. Part III introduced the 1967 document, The Place of Music in Eucharistic Celebrations (PMEC), composed by a Music Advisory Board appointed by the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy (BCL). PMEC was issued by the BCL, but never voted on by the full body of bishops. In contradistinction to the conciliar and papal documents (such as Musicam Sacram), PMEC introduced a detailed "threefold judgment" process for the selection of music for Liturgy. Part IV continues the account of this little-known document on music, and its marked influence on the entire post-conciliar liturgical reform in the United States.

Part IV: Music for Mass - Functional vs. Sacred
Contents:
"Ritual" vs. "Sacred" Music
Sacred Music "Deforms" Liturgy
Law of Functionalism
Historical Reconstruction
Functionalism in Postconciliar Practice
Acoustics and the "Cultural Ear"
"Functional" Environment and Art
From Broadway to the Sanctuary
The Roman Rite: "It is gone".

In the May 2001 online edition of the Adoremus Bulletin, we read Part III of an article called Buried Treasure, by Susan Benofy, which poses the question, "Can the Church recover her musical heritage?"

Editor's Note: The first two parts this series reviewed the liturgical reform -- particularly as it affected music for Mass -- before the Second Vatican Council, and the developments during and immediately after the Council. The liturgical documents issued by the Holy See, the Constitution on the Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, and others that followed, had to be implemented. In each country the national conference of bishops had the authority and responsibility to accomplish this. In the US, although the local bishops still had some authority over the liturgy in their dioceses, the major responsibility for putting the Conciliar liturgical reforms into effect was assumed by the conference's newly created liturgy committee.

Part III: US interprets Vatican norms for sacred music
Contents:
Latin vanishes
The "Folk Mass" appears
The Music Advisory Board
"The Place of Music in Eucharistic Celebrations"
Principles of PMEC
Out with the "outmoded"
"Humanly attractive" vs. Catholic heritage
Three "judgments" key in PMEC
The "pastoral judgment"
"All else is secondary"?

In the April 2001 online edition of the Adoremus Bulletin, we read Part II of an article called Buried Treasure, by Susan Benofy, which poses the question, "Can the Church recover her musical heritage?"

Editor's Note: Part I of Buried Treasure traced the history of the reform of the liturgy and its music in the first half of the twentieth century. Pope Saint Pius X issued Tra Le Sollecitudini in 1903, a Motu Proprio that was the first in a series of papal and curial documents urging the active participation (participatio actuosa) of the people in the Mass, especially through the singing of Gregorian Chant. The spread of the desired reforms was slow, and the movement for reform was not without abuses. Later popes continued to encourage participatio actuosa and a greater use of chant and the rest of the treasury of sacred music at Mass. The Congregation of Rites summarized the series of documents and codified the musical reforms in a 1958 Instruction on Sacred Music and the Sacred Liturgy, De Musica Sacra. Pope Pius XII appointed a commission to study liturgical reform, and their work led to the reform of the Holy Week liturgy in the 1950s and to a simplification of the rubrics in 1960. It was in the midst of this ongoing liturgical reform that the recently elected Pope John XXIII issued his call for an Ecumenical Council in 1962.

Part II: Sacred Music in 20th Century Liturgical Reform
Contents:
Norms and precepts on music
Implementation and experts
International music organizations
Universa Laus and Father Gélineau
Post-conciliar revision
Developing the "Simple Gradual"
"Simple Gradual" approved
Simple Gradual led to "Diversity and adaptation"
The Instruction, Musicam Sacram
Preserving the treasury
Effects of Musicam Sacram

In the March 2001 online edition of the Adoremus Bulletin, we read Part I of an article called Buried Treasure, by Susan Benofy, which poses the question, "Can the Church recover her musical heritage?"

Editor's Note: It is an undisputed fact that nearly every twentieth-century pope -- and an ecumenical council -- have called for the revival of Gregorian Chant in the Church's living liturgy. Yet, after nearly a hundred years, we seem no closer to achieving this goal than when Pope Pius X urged that this buried treasure be recovered. Why didn't it happen? Although the secular world has recently shown renewed interest in and appreciation for classic Catholic music, can Catholics today hope to recover and "re-inculturate" the Church's heritage of sacred music?

Part I: Sacred Music in 20th Century Liturgical Reform
Contents:
In the beginning - Pope Pius X - Tra le Sollicitudini
Pope Pius XI - Divini Cultus
Pope Pius XII - Mediator Dei and Musicae Sacrae
Further Instruction -Sacred Music and the Liturgy
Pioneers in the revival of chant
Enter GIA and Dorothy Day
Hellriegel and Holy Cross
Other early achievements

The Naples Daily News reports recently that there was a new player in the media market.

News junkies reaching for their favorite all-news radio station on the FM dial had a jolt when they pressed the button last week. What they got instead of 24-hour news was 24-hour Gregorian chant. Ave Maria University has entered the radio business.

From the Fall 1990 issue of SACRED MUSIC, we read this article:

But why has so little of value developed since the council, and, in fact, why has church music declined and even decayed in the last quarter century? Why? Because it is not certain today just what church music is. What is sacred? What is art? For some, church music is hymn singing. For others it is the folk group, the combo and the guitar. For others it is a sweet and sentimental vocal or instrumental performance, mood music, like piped-in elevator sounds, intended mostly to cover noise, without any real value in itself.

But then we know that without significant preparation, nothing of substance will ever be accomplished.

The training of those responsible for the making of music is the basic element of success in carrying out the wishes of the council fathers on every level within the Church. Without it, we will continue as we have been going for the past [forty] years--downwards. Every institution knows that its success as well as its future depends on the training of its leaders. Church musicians need preparation. Just as with candidates for the priesthood, preparation is imperative, but those providing that preparation must know what are its goals in order to present the means toward the end. When the goal is uncertain, the preparation will be inadequate and the candidates few and inferior.

Father Raymond J. de Souza, in this contribution to First Things, pulls together several disparate but troubling events from recent years in Canadian society. His thesis is that, though not yet openly so, Canada is quickly becoming a "Thinly Disguised Totalitarianism", due to the "totalitarian impulse" that can already be felt.

The Holy Father's encyclical, Centesimus Annus (1991), sums up the danger of authentic democracy degenerating into totalitarianism:

Authentic democracy is possible only in a state ruled by law, and on the basis of a correct conception of the human person. It requires that the necessary conditions be present for the advancement both of the individual through education and formation in true ideals, and of the “subjectivity” of society through the creation of structures of participation and shared responsibility. Nowadays there is a tendency to claim that agnosticism and skeptical relativism are the philosophy and the basic attitude which correspond to democratic forms of political life. Those who are convinced that they know the truth and firmly adhere to it are considered unreliable from a democratic point of view, since they do not accept that truth is determined by the majority, or that it is subject to variation according to different political trends. It must be observed in this regard that if there is no ultimate truth to guide and direct political activity, then ideas and convictions can easily be manipulated for reasons of power. As history demonstrates, a democracy without values easily turns into open or thinly disguised totalitarianism.

With the occurrence of similar events in the American legal sphere, can we be far behind?

And who says there's no money in poverty? Here we read about the monks from St. Meinrad's Abbey, and how two well-heeled frequent visitors left them a substantial amount in their wills. For those who think the name sounds vaguely familiar, these are the guys that created the True Type Chant Font. Since they re-designed their web page, I can't seem to find a direct reference to it, but there is some contact info here and here. Hope you can track it down. The fonts do work very well.