Do U ENJOY the music at your church?

[Cat]

LOL…Why would anyone, priest included, possibly think this is appropriate? I went up to the organist one day and asked her if she knew the history of a piece they had played during Mass. Not a clue.
Sunday, there was an African spiritual. We’re not Africans. It loses something. It would be like asking the Africans to play the bag pipes. Let the Scots and Irish at that. I enjoy black spiritual music done by black church groups. Sounds lame for us to do it and it makes me think we’re trying to be pc, or giving out the idea that we are so encompassing when the people whose music we’re playing are not in attendance. What’s the point of all this?

Neither do African-Americans have any connection with white Europeans (other than bad associations), but apparently some Catholics think that it’s OK to ask them to submit to Gregorian chant and other ancient European music for all the Mass music.

Or most Hispanics in the U.S., although I suppose you could go way back and trace their connection with Europe.

If your parish is entirely Caucasion, but the music is entirely Negro spirituals, then I think you have a legit question to ask the music director. But if you just get the occasional Negro spiritual or other ethnic piece, I say, enjoy it and say some prayers for all your friends of that particular ethnic group.

You could always ask to placed in charge of the music and that way, you could make the selections that are totally correct.

 

[FatHead]

Neither do African-Americans have any connection with white Europeans (other than bad associations), but apparently some Catholics think that it’s OK to ask them to submit to Gregorian chant and other ancient European music for all the Mass music.

Or most Hispanics in the U.S., although I suppose you could go way back and trace their connection with Europe.

If your parish is entirely Caucasion, but the music is entirely Negro spirituals, then I think you have a legit question to ask the music director. But if you just get the occasional Negro spiritual or other ethnic piece, I say, enjoy it and say some prayers for all your friends of that particular ethnic group.

You could always ask to placed in charge of the music and that way, you could make the selections that are totally correct.

first and foremost chant is not “european music” it is catholic music

 

[At_Trent]

I love the music at our EF parish but barely tolerate the music at the local OF parish.

Same here.

 

[Newbie2]

For the most part, I enjoy it.

 

[lo_amo87]

We go to our city’s cathedral and 98% of the time, it’s wonderful. They have a full, classically trained choir that almost all the time sings gregorian chant. The only thing I can’t stand are the responsorial psalms. Most of the time they are new agey and nobody wants to sing them. Now before I married, and went to my parents’ parish, I could barely stand it. They wanted us to clap and carry on and This Little LIght of Mine and Celebrate Jesus and just…deep sigh…I can feel my blood pressure rising already. I don’t know what it is. It just sounds disrespectful–or that I’m at a broadway show. Gregorian chant helps me to focus on prayer and the mass. Protestant “praise” music is just completely distracting and it sounds like the 1st grade school performances we used to put on for our parents. Just…urgh. Okay, I’m sorry I don’t want to affend anyone, I will just never understand how that music got into the Catholic church.

 

[newf]

No, not at all. I can’t stand leaders who sing off key.

I was happy to be traveling this summer so I could enjoy music at other churches across the country. I was in northern CA, and southern CA, Chicago area and Maine… all were terrible!!

I felt better because now I know it’s not just my church. But still, it’s pretty sad to have so much bad music. I think most churches don’t have a clue.

The only place I’ve found good music in in NYC and I think it might have something to do with all the people there interested in the arts.

 

[LilyM]

first and foremost chant is not “european music” it is catholic music

Jews chant, Muslims chant, Hindus chant and Orthodox chant. There is nothing uniquely Catholic about chanting. Chant was developed in a Europe that happened to be Catholic, true, but then so were Universities, so was the Wesrminster system of government, so was the printing press. That doesn’t make any of these things uniquely Catholic.

 

[FatHead]

Jews chant, Muslims chant, Hindus chant and Orthodox chant. There is nothing uniquely Catholic about chanting. Chant was developed in a Europe that happened to be Catholic, true, but then so were Universities, so was the Wesrminster system of government, so was the printing press. That doesn’t make any of these things uniquely Catholic.

we are talking about gregorian chant here i thnk that seems pretty clear

 

[Musician]

Since I began directing two years ago, I do.

 

[mark_a]

I for one do not understand why the Gloria, when sung, needs to have the chorus sung 5x and drags on for what seems like an eternity.

I also have no clue why folks who have no business singing at all are able to shoehorn themselves into the rotation. And I’m not talking about mediocre singers who “step up” when called upon. I can see their discomfort and admire them for their courage.

Having said that, our Church is blessed with many wonderful singers.

 

[OraLabora]

we are talking about gregorian chant here i thnk that seems pretty clear

Gregorian chant is uniquely Catholic, but the Catholic Church does not uniquely use Gregorian chant. Only the to Western Church is Gregorian chant peculiar, with the exception of the Milanese Church. And even prior to Gregorian chant becoming the de facto “official” chant form, the Western Church also had Gallican, Old Sarum, Mozarabic, Beneventan, and Old Roman chant. Moreover Gregorian chant decomposed into something unrecognizable as such in the 16th-19th centuries, and was not revived in relatively pure form until just before the 20th century, when the monks of Solesmes revived the original version through the study of original manuscripts, leading the release of the Roman Gradual in 1908 under Pius X.

 

[SirKnight2557]

My parish has the worst singing (cringe worthy):banghead:

 

[Angel_Bradford]

We are fortunate to have a very talented and gifted music minister. He has worked a small miracle with our choir and taught himself to play the organ!

 

[JerrySeibert]

The only thing I do not like about the music at my parish is that some of the longer songs (Which are the more beautiful songs) we only sing verse 1-3-5 for example.
He explained to me it is because some would complain church lasted too long. Sad I think as so many of the older hymns are longer but beautiful none the less.