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".
