Can we have a frank discussion about music in Mass?

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FloridaCatholic

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Am I the only one that doesn’t like church music? I’d rather just have the mass without music. When did music in mass become a thing? And why do we have to sing the Gloria instead of just reciting it?
 
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Some parishes have no music at the really early masses. You might try one of them.
 
Right but the church has to meet the needs of its people though, right? At least somewhat? That’s why the liturgy was changed into the vernacular
 
Do you not like any music at all, or just not the music played in your parish?
 
You’re not the only one. I do hesitate to admit that I would prefer the Sunday Liturgy to be celebrated without music, or with less music, the way we usually celebrate daily Mass, because I don’t want to hurt or offend our music ministers who give so much of their time and talent. I prefer reciting the Gloria to any sort of musical arrangement. I know, however, that my personal preference in this regard is out of step with the Church, and so I sing.
 
You probably feel this way because of the musty folksy music generally used in the Catholic Mass today. The authentic music proper to the Catholic Mass, at least according to the documents of Vatican II, is timeless. How we could have for the most part lost the sort of music heard in this movie scene is absolutely beyond me.

 
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Makes me weep. Such beautiful music. And we only hear it in movies.
 
Nice to watch. But pretty hard for most of us to participate in singing —I would be really sad if our Sunday Masses were like that every week.
 
I was a kid back right before Vatican II. Mass music was never like that at our church. And also, that is Hollywood and it was a wedding.
 
It is correct that the Mass isn’t supposed to be about personal preference. That’s why pop / folk type music that is bouncy and sing-able is not what the music at Mass was originally. It’s not about whether the parishioners can sing to it. That’s why we had well trained choirs. The old Mass was a completely different focus than the New Mass and the new music reflects that.
 
I do not mind singing to the Lord, as I had the most memorable sacramental experience after doing just that.

As to the seeming prevalence/predominance of the activist-driven “all justice all the time” song lyrics and protestant theology songs, well… we worship Jesus Christ not Che Guevara.

A possibly amusing anecdote. The priest who married us was moved to a cruciform proto-Cathedral which is simply beautiful. When he arrived, they had a guy with an acoustic guitar singing folksy songs. Next time we visited, he asked “Remember the guitar guy? I got rid of him”

Gregorian chant.
 
slyboots1 said:
Makes me weep. Such beautiful music. And we only hear it in movies.
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We had polyphony yesterday at mass. They were outstanding!

It might take some searching, but if you want to hear polyphony and chant at mass you can probably find it.
 
Heaven is full of music! Worship of God since the beginning with the Children of Egypt has included music.

Yes, we can have Mass without any music, however, when we are able to have music it is more like the heavenly liturgy!!
 
The reason few are capable of signing such music anymore is exactly because we abruptly dropped it. Back in the day there was no shortage of tenor, soprano, baritone, and mezzo-soprano voices. We are not giving the same glory to God in our inadequate lackluster singing at Mass today and I believe such has contributed to the general loss of grace in the world. I’m incredibly sad that singing St. Louis Jesuits garbage such as the “Missa My Little Pony” has become the norm while music like heard in the video is now only heard infrequently.
 
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It would surely depend upon who was creating the list. I am sure many people love Marty Haugen’s songs. I like them myself. But not during Mass.
 
The purpose of having music in the Liturgy isn’t (or shouldn’t) to please the congregants. It is to glorify almighty God.

There seems to have been a trend in recent years to have songs which are appealing to people’s lower faculties. The problem with that is, not everyone likes the same things, as you are demonstrating.
 
FloridaCatholic said:
Am I the only one that doesn’t like church music? I’d rather just have the mass without music. When did music in mass become a thing? And why do we have to sing the Gloria instead of just reciting it?
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According the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, there has been no time in all of Christianity when music at Mass was not “a thing.” What has changed is that instead of singing the Mass, now we tend to just want to sing songs to go with it:

Here is the pertinent section of the GIRM
The Importance of Singing

39. The Christian faithful who come together as one in expectation of the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together Psalms, hymns, and spiritual canticles (cf. Col 3:16). Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy (cf. Acts 2:46). Thus St. Augustine says rightly, “Singing is for one who loves,” [St. Augustine of Hippo, Sermo 336, 1: PL 38: 1472] and there is also an ancient proverb: “Whoever sings well prays twice over.”

40. Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass, with due consideration for the culture of peoples and abilities of each liturgical assembly. Although it is not always necessary (e.g., in weekday Masses) to sing all the texts that are in principle meant to be sung, every care should be taken that singing by the ministers and the people not be absent in celebrations that occur on Sundays and on Holydays of Obligation.

However, in the choosing of the parts actually to be sung, preference is to be given to those that are of greater importance and especially to those which are to be sung by the Priest or the Deacon or a reader, with the people replying, or by the Priest and people together.(Cf. Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instruction, Musicam sacram, March 5, 1967, nos. 7, 16: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 59 (1967), pp. 302, 305)

41. The main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other kinds of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that they foster the participation of all the faithful.(Cf. Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 116; cf. also no. 30.)

Since the faithful from different countries come together ever more frequently, it is desirable that they know how to sing together at least some parts of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, especially the Profession of Faith and the Lord’s Prayer, according to the simpler settings. (Cf. Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, no. 54; Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instruction, Inter Oecumenici, September 26, 1964, no. 59: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 56 (1964), p. 891; Instruction, Musicam sacram, March 5, 1967, no. 47: Acta Apostolicae Sedis 59 (1967), p. 314.)

In most places, the question should not be “Why are we singing so many songs at Mass?” The question ought to be “When are we going to go back to singing the Mass itself?”
 
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DignumEtJustum said:
You probably feel this way because of the musty folksy music generally used in the Catholic Mass today. The authentic music proper to the Catholic Mass, at least according to the documents of Vatican II, is timeless. How we could have for the most part lost the sort of music heard in this movie scene is absolutely beyond me.
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I don’t think there was a time when that wouldn’t have qualified as exemplary church music. Not beyond what a church of that size could manage, but exceptionally lovely.
 
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