All the Parishes I’ve ever been to the people haven’t sung, save a few. Why? The lyrics are boring and don’t rhyme and adequately catechise and the melodies are too hard to sing esp. when compared to simple chant.
This is a very simplistic and inadequate explanation of why people, specifically Catholics at Mass, don’t sing.
Do you honestly think that the lyrics to great modern hymns like How Great Thou Art are boring? Or traditional hymns like Crown Him With Many Crowns?
As for not rhyming–isn’t that one of the characteristics of most chant? So if people don’t sing hymns because they don’t rhyme, then it follows that they certainly won’t sing chant because it doesn’t rhyme either.
As for the songs not adequately catechising people–well, if people don’t understand the poetry in a hymn, then yes, they will come away confused. (I personally think that some people deliberately choose to be obtuse when it comes to the poetry in songs like Gather Us In, but I am probably being uncharitable . After all, there is a lot of poetry that I don’t understand.)
So how will Latin chant make catechesis more likely? Most of us do not know Latin.
I assume we will follow along with the English (or whatever language) translation. Of course, we have to assume that that translation is done correctly. That is one of the dangers of being catechized in a foreign language.
But of course we should be able to trust our Church to make sure that the translations are correct, right?
Oh, wait–many don’t seem to be able to trust the Church now. After all, the Church allows songs like Gather Us In in the Mass.
So why should people trust the Church to give correct translation of Latin texts when the Church has clearly made a huge mistake in allowing a “four hymn” Mass, and allowing hymns like Gather Us In and not enforcing the “Gregorian chant place of prominence” statement in local parishes all over the world? Obviously the Church is not to be trusted, right?
Do you see the danger of accepting some teachings but not others?
I know all about this from 47 years of experience in the evangelical Protestant churches.
Catholic friends, don’t do this. Accept ALL that the Church teaches us.
If you don’t like Gather Us In, that’s OK, since we are all entitled to our opinion which will be shaped by our life circumstances and upbringing. But don’t undermine the Church by stating that hymns like this are “wrong” for the Mass, or that the “4 hymn setting” is “wrong” for the Mass. The Church has said that these things are acceptable–why does anyone challenge that? Defend your Church, don’t undermine her.
Finally, you say that the melodies are too hard. I say that people are smarter than that. If people can’t learn the melodies of hymns that have been sung for almost 40 years, then they will most certainly never, ever be able to learn how to sing
amelodic chant, or read Latin, and certainly they will never be able to simultaneously sing or listen to Latin and read a translation.
The melodies are NOT too hard, neither are they too high. LIttle children learn these melodies and sing them well. As for the range–the hymns in our missalettes and hymnals are written in the alto/bass (lower voice) ranges. If people have learned how to sing correctly, they can sing these hymns.
And even if they can’t sing them for some reason (post nasal drip from allergy season), they can listen raptly and enthusiastically, which is what the Church asks us to do when we come to Mass.
And we can pray the words and ask the Holy Spirit to use the songs, even the songs we don’t like, to teach us what God wants us to know.
I honestly think that all of us need to lose the attitude here and do what our Church tells us to do in all things, not just the things we like.
Yes, that means working towards including Gregorian chant in Mass, although I think that it is not such a simple goal as some of you think it is. For most of us in the U.S., Gregorian chant is something foreign and new, and we need to learn it. But at the moment, there are not enough “teachers” in the U.S. Even though some people believe that we can learn from online sources, that really doesn’t work for most of us, especially older people.
**I think that those people who want Gregorian chant restored to a prominent place in the Mass should come up with a plan to train more teachers and come up with another plan to make sure that these teachers are distributed throughout the U.S. into all the dioceses and are adequately funded to be able to bring their knowledge to parishes and help believers to learn and love Gregorian chant. **
You see, it’s not as easy as you want to think it is. This sounds like something that will take several years, if not more, to implement. You don’t change a musical culture in a few months, especially with no teachers.
And as you know from your past experience after Vatican II, you don’t rush in and make changes overnight, because you will lose a great many people. Even though sometimes it seems like it would be a good thing to lose all the chaff out of the Church, we really don’t want to lose any of Christ’s people, do we?
**So IMO, this thread should change from being a rant against Gather Us In and become a thread discussing strategies for making Gregorian chant the pre-eminent music form in all Masses in the U.S. **
That would be a much more constructive use of time and mental energy. Oh, yes, it’s easier and much more fun to bash the music forms that others love, and come up with clever and witty insults against “Gather Us In.”
But why not put your cleverness and wit to good use and come up with some realistic ways to obey Holy Mother Church and restore Gregorian chant?
) It’s not a hard conclusion to come to because Martin Luther was very prolific in his hymn writing (many of which are simply German translations of Latin texts, but most of them aren’t in Catholic hymnals save, “Ein Feste Burg” (which shouldn’t even be thought of within six miles of a Catholic Church, and one or two other ones). Austria and Bavaria, however remained mostly Catholic and were the biggest contributor to classic favorites like “Grosser Gott”. I’m of German decent, and Germans sing (or in my case, play) in Church like Italians talk with hands.
One only needs to hear Biber’s great “Missa Salisburgensis” to understand. (Just be careful…the 3+ organs, and hoards of timpani, trumpets. and singers could be…less that nice to your eardrums.
)