Interesting story about teens and chant

[VociMike]

My wife just attended a talk given by a well-known priest (I won’t mention names, but many people here would know the name), and he told of a musical group (a “band”, he called it) that decided to learn and sing some Gregorian Chant. This group sang at a number of Masses, and the only Mass where they were received especially positively was at a local “teen” Mass.

These kids want their Catholic patrimony. They want something deeper and more real than the treacly pablum we’ve been shoving down their throats for the past 40 years. We owe it to them to give it to them.

 

[NPC]

I think you’re absolutely right, VociMike. There is this idea which is all too prevalent amongst church-music directors and teachers that Gregorian Chant is “beyond” the comprehension of young people. Don’t get me wrong - there is a place for modern music if it is in line with Christian teaching (i.e. that it’s not overly “wishy-washy”) - and some churches which have several Masses on a Sunday can offer parishioners Mass without music, Mass with traditional (Chant and polyphony) music, or Mass with folk groups, etc. However, I always think it’s rather insulting to young people for adults to assume that they cannot grasp chant, or that all liturgical music for children must be reduced to symbols (i.e. songs about caterpillars turning to butterflies etc). I am a cathedral organist and I work several times a week with the boys choir, and I am constantly amazed at how quickly the boys pick up the music. They sing so much chant - introits, Mass settings, hymns - and it always sounds like it comes so naturally to them. I think more of our choir directors should take the plunge and introduce a bit of chant to their choir’s repertoire - there are excellent resources on the internet, which diminish the level of risk even further!!

 

[VociMike]

Thanks for your comments, NPC. I guess somebody forgot to tell the boys in the choir what everybody knows, that (a) they don’t like Gregorian Chant, and that (b) they aren’t capable of singing it.

 

[m134e5]

My wife just attended a talk given by a well-known priest (I won’t mention names, but many people here would know the name), and he told of a musical group (a “band”, he called it) that decided to learn and sing some Gregorian Chant. This group sang at a number of Masses, and the only Mass where they were received especially positively was at a local “teen” Mass.

These kids want their Catholic patrimony. They want something deeper and more real than the treacly pablum we’ve been shoving down their throats for the past 40 years. We owe it to them to give it to them.

It may have been appreciated at first, but would those teenagers have continued to appreciate it if that’s all they heard at Mass each time? Gregorian chant sounds different than most of today’s music. That can be appealing especially in churches that tend to sing the same hymns over and over. It’s been my experience that Gregorian chant starts to all sound the same after awhile- and then it starts getting really old, REALLY quick.

 

[VociMike]

It may have been appreciated at first, but would those teenagers have continued to appreciate it if that’s all they heard at Mass each time?

Well, unless they’re monks (and even then, only certain monks), why would that be all they heard at Mass each time? You’re setting up a straw man.

Gregorian chant sounds different than most of today’s music. That can be appealing especially in churches that tend to sing the same hymns over and over. It’s been my experience that Gregorian chant starts to all sound the same after awhile- and then it starts getting really old, REALLY quick.

What you describe sounds backwards to me. In general music that is new to a listener tends to sound the same at the beginning, and then as one becomes more accustomed to it one hears the differences that one didn’t hear at first. That certainly is true in my case, and I think it holds true in general.

But of course if one has some sacred polyphony at every Mass as well, then the potential problem is solved, right?

 

[Sarabande]

It may have been appreciated at first, but would those teenagers have continued to appreciate it if that’s all they heard at Mass each time?

I don’t think anyone here is advocating an all-chant mass every Sunday. As much as I like chant and appreciate the beauty of its simplicity and complexity as well as the beauty of the spiritual tradition of it, I also love and know that other sacred music is also acceptable at mass and very happy that I live now when I can have the potential of hearing sacred music from all the centuries. Our Latin and English OF masses at my parish have a mix of chant, polyphony, hymns and other sacred motets from the various talented composers throughout the centuries. Unfortunately, most parishes don’t have this.

And sure, there is a chance that teens as well as adults would take chant for granted, like many of us do in terms of other things or people which seem to be a given in our lives. Usually, it’s when something or someone is taken away from us that we realize how important or special those things/people were in our lives. It’s human nature to be like this, that’s why it’s important to teach our kids the traditions AND the reasons for the traditions of the Church.

Gregorian chant sounds different than most of today’s music. That can be appealing especially in churches that tend to sing the same hymns over and over. It’s been my experience that Gregorian chant starts to all sound the same after awhile- and then it starts getting really old, REALLY quick.

Well, if you only sing the same chants over and over, maybe it would get old. There are some really kick-butt chants that are really beautiful and can be done by a choir and even by the congregation after a number of times hearing it at mass, if they have a music director who is knows his/her stuff.

But that’s besides the point. As a musician and someones whose life basically revolves around music, many times I have to over and over and over again practice the same compositions, the same phrases, measures, etc. each and every day. The exercises and the order in which they are done are the same each and every day. Do I tire of them? Once in a blue moon, when I’m not in the mood I might tire of it, but for the most part, I love it. The music is beautiful - even the exercises which can be very tiresome at times are many times very edifying to do it each day.

I mean, just like chant can sound the same, certain genres can sound the same as well. The compositional “formula” for composing during the Classical period of classical music is very alike and there are many works that may sound the same. Rossini’s opera arias very often had a formula with the way cadenzas were made for each aria, but people went wild for it in the early 1800s and they still do today. So many of the rock songs in each decade of music (especially in the 90s) had similar sounds and voices. There might be a few groups or singers out there that had it’s own special individuality, but many of it sounded pretty much the same. Did that keep people from listening to any of that music? This is music that I may listen to or perform almost every day of my life. And I’m sure there are many people like that.

Hearing or chanting some Gregorian chant at mass once a week is nothing compared to the number of times we listen to various kinds of music during the rest of the week. It’s just another bit of “variety” in our lives.

And of course, there is music which will be tiresome and get really old. For instance, singing some of the funeral hymns which families tend to request for every funeral I cantor does get old mainly because the hymns are just not that good. So, I have to get creative in my mind and challenge myself to treat it as a new piece and do my best with it since I’m being paid to cantor and am also there to serve as prayerful comfort with music. But then there are other works that although could grow tiresome, are still beautiful none-the-less. How often do we hear the “Freude Schone Gotterfunken” in so many commercials, movies, even at mass with our hymn “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”? The piece of music is perhaps overdone, and could be tiresome to some, but it still hasn’t lost its beauty. It may not be so “new” to the ears, but people recognize the beauty of the composition.

 

[IconCathMusic]

I am constantly amazed at how quickly the boys pick up the music. They sing so much chant - introits, Mass settings, hymns - and it always sounds like it comes so naturally to them.

That is fantastic. . . wonderful. I don’t doubt this at all. It does come naturally for kids because chant was designed to come naturally. Being in the middle of producing a series of kids chant recordings right now, I can attest to this. These kids are not bored with it. For anyone who doubts, check the link in my signature below.

 

[Sarabande]

That is fantastic. . . wonderful. I don’t doubt this at all. It does come naturally for kids because chant was designed to come naturally. Being in the middle of producing a series of kids chant recordings right now, I can attest to this. These kids are not bored with it. For anyone who doubts, check the link in my signature below.

Exactly… I taught children’s choir for two years and they picked up the simple chants very easily as well and really liked singing them. Many of them came to my wedding and their parents said that they were chanting along with our choir and any others in the pews who remembered or knew the chants. I believe if the kids have an enthusiastic director with chant, they will learn it and pick it up rather easily.

That’s awesome about the kids chant recordings! I have to check it out.