Matt14:
That’s weird, because the early church is what the church of Christ attempts to emulate. Of course,
we believe the church went astray early on, especially in the fourth century, but still, the roots are there growing together.
…
** Where does the catholic church stand on instrumental music now?**
Musical Accompaniment. In the beginning the Church opposed the use of musical instruments at divine service, though they were extensively employed in the old dispensation (cf. Num. 10, 8-10, Chron. 2, 24-28)…
It seems that the Christians
at first permitted only the zither for the purpose of accompanying the chanting of psalms and hymns. The Apocalypse refers to the saints in heaven as having zithers in their hands in chanting the “new canticle” to the Lamb, Christ (cf. Apoc. 5, 8 f.).
Clement of Alexandria wrote that no one was to be blamed for singing to the playing of the zither or the lyre, because he merely followed the example of David, the king of the Hebrews (cf. Paedag. II, 4). But about the year 400 stringed instruments were probably forbidden at divine service both in the Orient and in northern Africa (cf.* Canones *of St. Basil).
Later,
when the organ was invented, it was adopted first in monastery churches, and then in cathedrals and other churches. Its sustained, uniform and full tone made it easier for choirs to hold the dominant in solemn chanting. The organ gradually became in the strict sense the musical instrument of the Church. It was not until the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that other instruments also came into use at church services.
In regard to instrumental music, it is important to note that it is permitted for the sole purpose of sustaining and accentuating the liturgical chant. It has no independent character. The liturgical texts which are recited or sung must always remain the principal element of Catholic worship. The one musical instrument which is specifically ecclesiastical is the organ. Definite rules concerning its use at liturgical functions are found in the *Caeremoniale episcoporum *(I c. 28). They are supplemented by the *Motu proprio *of Pius X of November 22, 1903, and the Apostolic Constitution of Pius XI of December 20, 1928.
a) The organ should accompany only the singing of the choir or congregation, but not that of the celebrant or his assistants, the deacon and subdeacon. The playing of the organ should be serious and dignified and, wherever possible, also artistic.
b) If parts of the
Kyrie, Gloria (not of the
Credo), Sanctus and
Agnus Dei, or of the hymns, psalms and canticles are supplied by the organ for the purpose of relieving the chanters, it is necessary for the sake of completeness to recite the respective texts aloud
(intelligibili voce).
c) Since the organ imparts a solemn and joyful character to liturgical functions, its use is strictly forbidden on Sundays and ferials of Advent (except the third Sunday) and Lent (except the fourth Sunday).
d) For the same reason, preludes, postludes or interludes are also prohibited at high Masses of Requiem.
In regard to other musical instruments, the Church prescribes that they may be used to accentuate the chant, but may not stifle it. Expressly forbidden are the rather noisy instruments, such as drums, cymbals, castanets and the like; the piano and the phonography as well as the playing of bands in the church are also proscribed. By such laws the Church evidently desires to remove from Catholic liturgy whatever is worldly, profane and strongly subjective.
In the aforementioned
Motu proprio, Pius declares — in words similar to those of Clement of Alexandria, St. Athanasius, St. Augustine and St. Jerome — that instrumental music is not ecclesiastical if it savors of the profane, theatrical or pagan. Furthermore, Pius XI in his Apostolic Constitution recommends the organization of boys’ choirs, even in the smaller parishes; these choirs should be trained not only in Gregorian chant, but also in sacred polyphony. Orchestral accompaniment should always be kept within moderate bounds.
