grandfather;2992250 said:
What does this article have to do with anything? It is about the pope changing out the head of music in Rome. Did you read the article? The headline itself is a complete fabrication.
Actually, my Aggie friend, a better article can be found in Chiesa. There was a very good reason why the Pope appointed a new musical director and it has a lot to do with what we have been discussing. I believe that that point that grandfather was trying to make is the following:
The new director, Pierre Paul, a Canadian and an Oblate of the Virgin Mary, has made a clean break with the practice established during the pontificate of John Paul II – and reaffirmed by the previous director, Pablo Colino – of bringing to sing at the Masses in St. Peter’s the most disparate choirs, drawn from all over the world, very uneven in quality and often inadequate.
Fr. Paul put the gradual and the antiphonal back into the hands of his singers, and taught them to sing Mass and Vespers in pure Gregorian chant. The faithful are also provided with booklets with the Gregorian notation for Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and the translation of the texts in Italian, English, and Spanish. The results are liturgically exemplary celebrations, with increasing participation from a growing number of faithful from many nations.
There were also problems with the former director of music, as the article from Chiesa indicates:
Dobszay László of Hungary, in commenting on the inaugural Mass of Benedict XVI’s pontificate:
"The election of pope Benedict XVI gave hope and joy for all who love true liturgy and liturgical music. Following the inaugural Mass on the tv-screen we were deeply moved by Holy Father’s celebration and sermon.
"As the Mass went ahead, however, we became more and more unhappy with its musical feature. Most of what was sung is a very poor music; Gregorian chant was not more than pretext for a home-composer to display himself. The choir cannot be proud on anything except the old nimbus. The singers wanted to overshout each other, they were frequently out of tune, the sound uneven, the conducting without any artistic power, the organ and organplaying like in a second-rank country parish-church.
“The poor quality of music was the consequence of another fault: the awkward and arbitrary fabrication (by Marini?) of the liturgical texts (proprium), that practically excluded the ‘precious treasury of Church music’ (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium). A formula missae selected from the proper of the Roman Liturgy could have good influence on the music, too. Somebody, however, got again onto the path of vane glory and conceded to the temptation of voluntarism. Our happiness has been spoilt.”
So, Benedict is setting the example by getting his own house in order. You can read the entire text of the article at:
chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/171962?eng=y
This will also give you a bit of understanding on why many of feel the way we do about sacred music and applaud Pope Benedict.
:clapping: :extrahappy:
