Gather Us In hymn

[Loud-living-dogma]

Removed my comment!

 

[Peeps]

The Catholic Church is the “Barque of Peter.” It makes a lot of sense to sing a sea shanty at Calvary as we are on the Barque.

People sing at funerals. People sing at the bedside of dying loved ones. Singing is not irreverent or disrespectful of the dying, and certainly not disrespectful or flippant over the death of Our Lord Jesus.

Jesus Himself sang songs of praise at the Last Supper after He had instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

 

[Loud-living-dogma]

The Catholic Church is the “Barque of Peter.” It makes a lot of sense to sing a sea shanty at Calvary as we are on the Barque.

People sing at funerals. People sing at the bedside of dying loved ones. Singing is not irreverent or disrespectful of the dying, and certainly not disrespectful or flippant over the death of Our Lord Jesus.

Jesus Himself sang songs of praise at the Last Supper after He had instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

I wonder what the psalms would have sounded like at this time.

 

[Peeps]

Hallel Psalms. (113-118).

 

[Loud-living-dogma]

“Hallel (Hebrew: הלל‬, “Praise”) is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113–118 which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving.”

Musical settings​

In the Jewish tradition, there are well established and various melodies for the singing of Hallel. Some of the psalms are sung while others are recited silently or under the breath.

In the classical tradition, psalms from the Hallel have been set to music many times, notably:

• Psalm 113
  • Josquin des Prez
• Psalm 114
  • Mendelsohn
• Psalm 115
  • Johann Sebastian Bach in Cantata BWV 196, Der Herr denket an uns , using verses 12–15
• Psalm 117
  • Antonio Vivaldi
  • Mozart
• Psalm 118
  • Léonin
  • Pérotin"

Hallel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[ChuckB]

I never fails to amaze me what folks get worked up about on CAF.

 

[virgin.most.chaste]

This reminds me of saint francis of assis. i dont know why.

 

[Peeps]

May I ask that you please stop being sarcastic with me? I understand that you don’t see things the same way I do. That’s OK. Neither of us is “the boss” and making the decision to sing or not to sing Gather Us In at Mass.

This song is immensely significant in my conversion to Catholicism. When we started attending Mass and heard this hymn, after Mass, I sat in the pew and copied it out on a napkin in my purse. What that should say to everyone is that I didn’t think I would come back to the Catholic Church and see that hymnal again , but I loved this hymn so much and it spoke to me and I WANTED to come back!

I had just come from a church situation (Protestant) where we were kicked out and it was so horrific that I suffered from graphic nightmares for over a year (and still occasionally have a nightmare or flashback about it). To hear a cheer-filled (not silly or trite) song about being “gathered in” by Christ was so incredibly powerful to me! I needed that, and I think others need it, too. Maybe that’s why the Catholic Church has continued to allow the singing of this hymn in the Mass–and also to remind people that the Church is the Barque of Christ.

 

[Loud-living-dogma]

I have removed my sarcastic comment. That was wrong of me. I sincerely apologize.

 

[virgin.most.chaste]

Thank you, we are suppose to be charitable toward our Protestant brothers.

 

[Loud-living-dogma]

I believe Peeps is now Catholic.
But of course I am quick to argue rather than being charitable.

 

[Peeps]

Thanks so much for you kind words.

I’m working on a book about church music. It’s a shame that the devil uses music to divide Christians and drive people away from churches.

 

[Gertabelle]

“Hallel (Hebrew: הלל‬, “Praise”) is a Jewish prayer, a verbatim recitation from Psalms 113–118 which is recited by observant Jews on Jewish holidays as an act of praise and thanksgiving.”

Musical settings​

In the Jewish tradition, there are well established and various melodies for the singing of Hallel. Some of the psalms are sung while others are recited silently or under the breath.

In the classical tradition, psalms from the Hallel have been set to music many times, notably:

• Psalm 113
  • Josquin des Prez
• Psalm 114
  • Mendelsohn
• Psalm 115
  • Johann Sebastian Bach in Cantata BWV 196, Der Herr denket an uns , using verses 12–15
• Psalm 117
  • Antonio Vivaldi
  • Mozart
• Psalm 118
  • Léonin
  • Pérotin"

Hallel - Wikipedia

I’m sure Our Lord and the Apostles would have sung the Psalms, but I highly doubt they had an orchestra in the upper room, or that they sang in four-part polyphony.

 

[KyPerson]

I don’t like it. As many have said, it is trite and mindless. If music is supposed to lift our minds to God, this hymn fails for me.

 

[Godfollower]

I’m sure Our Lord and the Apostles would have sung the Psalms, but I highly doubt they had an orchestra in the upper room, or that they sang in four-part polyphony.

Wait — They didn’t sing in Gregorian chants?!

 

[Loud-living-dogma]

Gertabelle:

I’m sure Our Lord and the Apostles would have sung the Psalms, but I highly doubt they had an orchestra in the upper room, or that they sang in four-part polyphony.

Wait — They didn’t sing in Gregorian chants?!

I think there is a lot of speculation as to how Gregorian and Hebrew chant may be similar.

"“…The Psalm tones have their roots in ancient Jewish hymnody and psalmody.” So, you know something? If you sing the Psalms at Mass with the Gregorian tones, you are as close as you can get to praying with Jesus and Mary. They sang the Psalms in tones that have come down to us today in Gregorian Chant…’

Jewish Psalms and Gregorian Chant

Here’s an interesting historical note on the Jewish roots of Gregorian Chant: Paragraph 114 adds: “The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care.” Then in parag…

christopherblosser.wordpress.com

 

[Loud-living-dogma]

Writing a book? Nice – on what angle / topic within church music? It’s a hot- button topic around these parts. Read anything good for research?

 

[virgin.most.chaste]

Yea, your right but try not to be uncharitable again.

 

[Sunbreak]

I don’t like the lyrics at all. The seem all about “us” rather than God.

 

[Peeps]

I’ve played piano/organ in church for over 50 years. My book is about the view from the piano bench.

I believe that congregational singing of hymns, songs, and spiritual songs (which would include chant) is a vital part of our heritage as Christians, and that we need to preserve this great tradition. We need to learn to love the music of the Church and bring up our children to love it. We need to recognize that “it’s not all about us,” and that we need to respect the music preferences and traditions of others (as long as these are approved by the Church). We also need to learn to respect with our words and actions all musicians who step up and play/sing/chant/write music for the Church, even if they are not of Grammy-winning quality.

I believe that we are coming to a very bad place with church music, and if we don’t start getting our children into music lessons, especially organ and piano, we will not HAVE this kind of music in our churches in the future, or if we do, it will cost so much (because of the scarcity of church musicians) that most parishes and Christian communities won’t be able to afford to pay.

I think that the devil has had an easy time dividing Christians by using music, and this has to stop.

No real research–that’s easy for people to do themselves nowadays through the internet. I want to share my experiences and stories of life at the piano bench, and use these real-life experiences to illustrate my admonitions.