To answer the original point:
I dislike folk music. My personal musical tastes lie elsewhere. My girlfriend, however, quite likes folk, which is of course up to her. She doesn’t like some of the music I choose to listen to, neither do I like some of the music she chooses to listen to.
Both of us are, however, of the opinion that folk music is **not suitable **for the Mass.
Having examined the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the writings of St. Pius X (Tra le Solleticudini, 1903) and Pius XII (Musicae Sacrae, 1955), and various other writings, it seems obvious to me that a lot of folk music–and, to be fair, a lot of other contemporary music as well–lacks the necessary qualities needed for sacred music. Now, one could claim that I have a pre-existing bias against folk music, which would probably be true; the fact remains, however, that my girlfriend, a fan of folk, agrees with me in this regard.
It is my sincere conviction that parish musicians, parish priests, and diocesan bishops need to go back to what the documents of the Second Vatican Council ask for–that Latin and Gregorian chant take pride of place in Ordinary Form Masses, that the entire congregation be enabled to sing the liturgy in Latin, that scholas be set up, etc. There seems to have been an awful lot of musical claptrap smuggled in during the 1970s-80s under the guise of the “spirit of Vatican II”, but what is not in accord with what the Second Vatican Council actually asked for cannot then be part of its “spirit”.
There is a lot I am not saying here. I am not, for instance, saying that there has been no good music written in the last 50 years or so. No doubt that there has. Observe, for instance, the
Chabanel Psalms project, which successfully brings together the traditional and modern. Neither am I saying that we should wind the clock back and do the Mass entirely in Latin. Having certain sections of the Mass in the vernacular is, I believe, a good thing–but it’s called the Latin Rite for a reason! I don’t think that the Second Vatican Council envisaged the Mass being held entirely in the vernacular, as now so often happens, hence why Sacrosanctum Concilium carves out a privileged place for Latin in the liturgy.
Hopefully, when the new English translation of the Missale Romanum comes into force, a re-examination of liturgical music in light of what Vatican II actually says will be made, and truly sacred music will return to the Mass.
For the moment, inspired by our Holy Father Benedict XVI, I certainly will attempt to ensure that the parish I am part of does its re-reading of Vatican II, in continuity with the tradition of the Church and not separate from it.
