Does this mean that you don’t like “Be not afraid?” or “On eagles’ wings?”
Oh, that’s the music I grew up with, and I will always appreciate those songs. They don’t, however, contribute anything to reverence and solemnity.
Really, nothing to do? How about praying? The mass is not a concert.
Well, that’s part of the problem. If you look at the history, the art music that was frequently performed by choirs and orchestras was often treated more as a concert than a liturgical act, still less an opportunity for genuine prayer. In
The Musical Prelude to Vatican II: Plainsong, Participation, and Pius X, Walter W. Whitehouse describes the situation in this country:
The use of European concerted music in church served in some measure to give a sense of social elevation and pride for immigrants, as well to provide literally a “concert hall” for those who otherwise had no means or opportunity to hear “great music”; it quickly became an established feature of US Catholic worship in the larger urban centers. Archbishop John Glennon of St. Louis would later quip, “On big occasions, the choir was buoyed up and sustained by a great orchestra. Everybody came to the Mass – Turks, Jews, Protestants, and even some Catholics, and all went away from the performance delighted.”
You still see this now, mostly but not entirely in the EF setting, when Masses are promoted by advertising by advertising the musical setting, and occasionally even the choir or soloists, that will be showcased.
I guess it would be nice if listening to frequent, lengthy interludes of art music throughout the Mass proved to be a prayerful rather than an aesthetic experience for most people, but history has not shown that to be generally the case.
