Bad Music in Mass

[MonFrere]

The harbingers of this kind of bad music, mainly OCP and, to some extent, GIA, do not do the Church any kind of a service by consistently promoting stuff that really is not fit to cross the proverbial threshhold that the late Pope Paul VI referenced when he discussed the subject of music for the Mass.

I don’t disagree - but I’m reminded of the “VOICE” in the movie “Field of Dreams” – If you build it, he will come. If OCP or GIA publishes it – they will buy. If no one bought this stuff, there would be no incentive to publish it.

I think - being totally honest - that we’ve got a challenge (I’m NOT going to call it a problem) that is going to takes several GENERATIONS to work through all the details in regards to again having proper liturgical music for the Mass; music worthy of rising to the level of appropriate for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

I remember reading that one of the decisions of the Council of Trent was to establish seminaries for the proper formation of priests. GREAT DECISION - GREAT GOAL. However, in application it took 150 years for this idea to become a reality. That is about 4 - 40 year generations.

I was a young teen during Vatican II. Before this time I remember Mass in a very very small rural town - nicknamed Monkeytown - where there was a choir of men that performed all the music for the Mass. As a young child all I remember was sitting in the pew looking around and there was mostly an old man putting his index finger over his lip gesturing me to be quiet. I never sang a note. After Vatican II I left the Catholic Church until the year 2000. I did not experience any of the turmoil of the aftermath of Vatican II. But, fear not, my Protestant Church did not leave me without its own turmoil. So, when I returned I knew the Mass was different, but I took it all in stride and simply accepted it as the way the Church did things. As the months passed I began to put all these various threads together and did tons of reading and studying to work of getting as best I could a handle on all the commotion concerning the liturgy.

As a trained musician with the perspective I gave above I see things this way. We’ve got a HUGE CHALLENGE to incorporate the directives of the Novus Ordo (NO – OF) or whatever we finally decide to call it. The difficulty lies in the fact that there are so many opposing tasks and threads woven together in learning to do this “on the fly” that IMHO it seems virtually no one is really seeing the complete picture – but that is not to say that everyone does have a a clear sense of PART of the challenge. We’ve got threads of “liturgical tradition and our musical patrimony” - we’ve got issues of rubrics - we’ve got issues of people writing music that have no concept of how to write good liturgical music - we’ve got issues of people writing music that have no concept of how to write music music simple enough that it can be assimilated in one/two hearings and still be a well-crafted tune (IMO - not a task for an amateur AT ALL) - we are now finally getting a proper translation of the Mass in our vernacular (historically speaking 40 years is really not that long a time for this to resolve itself – so, IMO historically we’re getting things done in a timely fashion.

IMO – if you want to get rid of the pop influence on the Mass, the Church has got to develop college degree programs in liturgical music and then be prepared to pay these individuals a professional salary and then get these trained individuals in EVERY PARISH in EVERY DIOCESE in the U.S. The greatest writers of liturgical musc - e.g. Palestrina were brilliant men. They would NEVER be attracted to write music to inept verse. AND for the most part would also be perceptive of words that were both theologically sound and musical.

I swear that the people writing some of new stuff have got to be using a book that gives them a list of words that rhyme and they force fit –

Sing the refrain -
We are God’s grain -
Let us surrender -
the fat and the slender -
to live our most high and awesome and most holy and glorious* (gasp for breath) *call.

Of which OCP would probably edit out the word “fat” and replace it with the word “large”.

Immediately after the Council anyone who played guitar was qualified enough to play for liturgy. And without a doubt this put a great downward pressure on artistic quality and liturgical works worthy of the Mass. The lowest common denominator became just too low – thus - OCP and company was addressing music to go to this lowest common denominator. We also have not learned that “Contemporary Christian Music” is NOT liturgical music even though the topic is about the same God we all serve.

So, since I see this as taking more than my lifetime to complete this challenge I try to do my part of simply moving things forward that need moved forward. I accept things that are less than what they should be realizing, as many have mentioned, most people are simply doing the best they can. (I also remember the quality of the Church Choir of my youth in Monkeytown).

MonFrere

 

[Guitar]

Immediately after the Council anyone who played guitar was qualified enough to play for liturgy.

Anyone who knew 3-5 chords, a triple-time strum and a duple-time strum was considered qualified.

This does not consitute being able to play guitar any more than being able to play the same number of chords in two different arpeggio patterns on piano means one can play piano.

 

[WetCatechumen]

I stand corrected “lip-syncing” as I have now been informed as to where that comes from. Thank you. I also want to say that at some Teen Services music might be considered bad to the older crowd but good to the younger crowd. It is tough to try to judge what God likes as not one of us really is Him.

Judging the music I’ve heard at most teen services . . .

It should be bad to the Teens too. Traditional hymns are superior, and most older, established churches (Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopal), are terrible when it comes to introducing contemporary music. If you want to see decent contemporary music at a Christian worship service, go to a non-denominational church or one that’s newer.

But chant and classical hymnody is much better suited than rock and roll to divine worship.

Although, again, a lot of the hymondy came in because it was simpler than polyphonic chant. Polyphonic chant is beautiful, and sure, do it for big masses, but honestly, for the ordinary, simpler chant and hymondy is better because it encourages lay participation.

I mean, my parish, at Christmas, and Easter, has professional singers and they perform the Gloria in Latin set to Bach.

Not for lay use. I can’t sing it. Can you?

 

[MonFrere]

Although, again, a lot of the hymondy came in because it was simpler than polyphonic chant. Polyphonic chant is beautiful, and sure, do it for big masses, but honestly, for the ordinary, simpler chant and hymondy is better because it encourages lay participation.

I mean, my parish, at Christmas, and Easter, has professional singers and they perform the Gloria in Latin set to Bach.

Not for lay use. I can’t sing it. Can you?

Good comment WC. I forgot to make this point, even though it was initially one of my major points as to where we have to go via the NO - OF. Because of the desire for more participation by the laity - to get them more involved in the greatest prayer of the Church (the Mass) REQUIRES an heretofore uncomposed body of music that is “worthy” of the Mass AND “simple” enough for the laity. IMO - to do this well will take the talent of men as a Palestrina or a Mozart; men of great learning and skill.

I’m a piano teacher and there was a story asked of how one should write music for children. The wise sage said – Just as you write any other music - ONLY BETTER. I think one problem that contemporary writers make is that they know deep inside they are no Bach or Mozart - so they compensate by becoming complex ----- the exact opposite of what they should be doing. Writing simply takes very great skill - especially when it is carrying the weight of prayers of our greatest devotion as found in the Mass. I think a great hymn tune is Holy Holy Holy. The exalted lyric praising the trinity is in one sense a very simple unadorned tune – but that’s EXACTLY the kind of tune you need to carry the weight of something so glorious as beautiful words showing deep adoration of the Blessed Trinity. Like I said – we need much better training, and a promise of professional compensation, for those who would devote themselves to the writing of liturgical music. I almost think a “minor” should be required in theology and religious literature for the degree.

MonFrere

 

[pnewton]

Anyone who knew 3-5 chords, a triple-time strum and a duple-time strum was considered qualified.

This does not consitute being able to play guitar any more than being able to play the same number of chords in two different arpeggio patterns on piano means one can play piano.

I have already said to people that the best compliment we, as church musicians, can get, is when nobody says anything about the music at a Mass. People always comment if it is bad. They comment if it is a good ‘performance.’ If the music doesn’t call attention to itself, then, I think it complimented the liturgy well, as it should. It wasn’t outrageous. It wasn’t over the top. It was just right!

More often that not, it is not a matter of who can do the job right as who can just do the job. I admire anyone who is willing to do something, anything, knowing that they may not be all that good, but that they are the best available.

 

[Guitar]

More often that not, it is not a matter of who can do the job right as who can just do the job. I admire anyone who is willing to do something, anything, knowing that they may not be all that good, but that they are the best available.

I do know a 5-chord, 2-strum guitarist with a true understanding of serving the congregation as best they can who I would honestly truly rather have play/sing at Mass than some better-trained “musicians” for whom music doesn’t serve God (or the congregation), it is God.

I mean no denigration of the kind of person of whom you speak. I am often in exactly the “best available” category myself.

I simply point out, yet again, that style and individual player ability and “liturgical awareness” are not to be confused with the instrument. I don’t think Mon Frere confuses these things at all, but many others do, and wilfully at that.

 

[agp2176]

Although, again, a lot of the hymondy came in because it was simpler than polyphonic chant. Polyphonic chant is beautiful, and sure, do it for big masses, but honestly, for the ordinary, simpler chant and hymondy is better because it encourages lay participation.

I mean, my parish, at Christmas, and Easter, has professional singers and they perform the Gloria in Latin set to Bach.

Not for lay use. I can’t sing it. Can you?

These professional singers and their Bach/ Mozart/ et al is exactly the problem as I see in a lot of parishes. All of this is fine but just as we do not go to Mass as if it were a magic show, neither should Mass be presented as an entertainment spectacle. If you want a Bach, fine, then do it in a Christmas concert. For Mass, the music MUST be accessible by the people.

I actually walked out of a noon Mass on a weekday Holy Day of Obligation (went to a later Mass to fulfill the obligation then) when they trotted out the children’s choir, and had trumpets accompany the presentation of the gifts. The Andrew Lloyd Webber-isation of some Masses totally offends me. The music ministry is not there to be a spotlight on someones solo vocal talent!

Where it tends to go all wonky is cases where

a) the parish provides no missals or hymnals. The music director may of may not print up little sheets (often without the text of the readings) of just the words but no notation.
b) the music directory substitutes other music etc for the responsorial as opposed to that in the missal
c) If hymnals are available, the selections therein are ignored and other hymns are chosen, in some cases spotlighting a soloist, vocal or instrumental.
d) Mass settings used are not in the missal.
e) the music director leads a ‘choir’ and not the people.

As a cantor, I look out on the people that I am leading in song, and while in my case, the majority of them are joining in, I do see that far away look in the eyes of some. I try to avoid that by choosing stuff that everyone knows, and by that I don’t mean some of the folky feel good post-Vatican II we had to endure these past few decades.

In the instances I’ve mentioned above, when I’ve been in some parishes sitting with the people, I look around and I see that glazed over look amongst almost all the other people. In most cases the people look like they are there in only the corporal sense. In others where the people are particularly keen on all of it, perhaps because little snow flake is singing Gift of Finest Wheat, I half expect them to break into applause after the choir finishes!

I’ll close by telling about the worst thing I ever saw/ heard. This was about 15 years ago. On Father’s Day, after communion, a young lad was brought out and sang Danny Boy! And they did applaud!

God bless

Tony