The words must be theologically correct for one. Music for Mass or Liturgy in a broader sense is termed “Sacred Music”. There must be a Sacredness or Holiness to it. Any common popular song with questionable words would not be appropriate. Certain instruments, at least when used in certain ways, are not appropriate for “Sacred Music”.
The U.S. episcopal conference, which has inserted into the new General Instruction a requirement that all musical settings of the texts for the people’s responses and acclamations in the Order of Mass and for special rites that occur in the course of the liturgical year must be submitted to the bishops’ Secretariat for the Liturgy, for review and approval prior to publication. I believe that they (bishops) are also required to approved music to be used during the Mass under their authority. Is this done? IMHO, no.
I guess I’m with you Deb. I have always thought it was sing joyfully to the Lord. Personally, “Be Not Afraid” and “Here I Am Lord” is far more inspirational to me the “The Lord Bless and Keep You”. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is beautiful, but it is not one that I will find myself singing to myself.:crying: Brotherholf, don’t be disappointed in me. Apparently, I haven’t rid myself of my former Protestant musical taste because both tracks sound equally good to me. I am so sorry.
Maybe this is something that I will understand in time or my taste will develop as I am exposed to more Catholic culture.
This is all still new to me and although I can pretty much define what my beliefs are and why I believe that way , there are some Catholic issues that are still a little foreign to me.
Our Roman Catholic heritage can be explained by four words: Chant and sacred polyphony. These two things, say the Church, are the base upon which all other music may be added. At the onset of the reforms of the 60’s, the Church laid down some pretty specific instructions about the place of Chant in the Mass. Paul VI even assembled a collection of chants that every parish was required to know
You can find the collection, called “Jubilate Deo” here ceciliaschola.org/notes/jubilatedeo.html . What people often misunderstand is that Vatican II and the subsequent liturgical directives were SUPPOSED TO HELP CHANT REASSUME ITS PROPER PLACE IN THE MASS. sigh Someday.One question I guess that needs to be asked which I don’t recollect being asked is “Have you ever heard any traditional Catholic music”? If “On Eagle’s Wings” is considered to be traditional Catholic music, then, no, you haven’t heard any.
Hey, that’s ok. But please remember that just because you don’t care for the music doesn’t mean that it hasn’t help/inspired/encouraged others. And that doesn’t make those who like the music any less faithful or reverent. Those are the songs that I sang when my faith was forming, they are the songs that I identify with.
Statements like this always make me laugh. When was the last time anyone sang a song from the 1st century AD at Mass? or even anything from before 1700? All those old organ favourites that our traditionalist miss so much are only about 200 years old, give or take. I can just imagine people of the day groaning when they heard Faith of Our Fathers (circa 1820) for the first time and decrying the death of sacred music.
[SIGN]AMEN!!![/SIGN]
HAHAHAHAHAHA.
And don’t get me started on Mssrs. Haugen and Haas.Sorry, I hate to tell you this but my choir routinely sings lots of things from the 6th century on. You have the whole body of Gregorian chant from the 6th century forward. We’ve sung Christmas carols in Middle English (13th century). We’ve sung Latin motets from the late Middle Ages (14th and 15th century). And I couldn’t count on my fingers and toes the number of motets in Latin and in English that we’ve sung from the Renaissance long before 1700 so please don’t hand me that.Statements like this always make me laugh. When was the last time anyone sang a song from the 1st century AD at Mass? or even anything from before 1700? All those old organ favourites that our traditionalist miss so much are only about 200 years old, give or take. I can just imagine people of the day groaning when they heard Faith of Our Fathers (circa 1820) for the first time and decrying the death of sacred music.
In all seriousness, music for Mass should indeed be sacred. There are lots of us here I’m sure who still shudder when they think of the stuff that passed for music in the 60’s. Anyone remember “He is for real” based on the song “It’s only make believe”? or how about “The answer my friend is in the hearts of men”? Truly horrible!
But song writers have come a long way since then in making music singable and pretty and still very spiritual. And I don’t believe that an organ is the only instrument on which a person can express themselves spiritually. Granted that organ music (played well, mind) is very impressive and wonderful to hear, but any instrument played well can do the same thing.
Bottom line for me, it’s not the age of the music that makes it good or bad (or appropriate or not), it’s the message that it conveys that’s important.
See? We’re not alone down here in Baton Rouge!HAHAHAHAHAHA.
So true. And if you don’t believe me, read on…
I once had a choir director who not only had a knack for recognizing “muppet music” but also had a gift for singing those songs with muppet and cartoon voices. He was especially good at singing “We Remember” in Elmer Fudd’s voice, which worked very well, as this song is full of “r’s”. There was another he could sing in Kermit the Frog’s voice, but I can’t remember which anymore.
Between that, and my exposure in college to the sacred music written by the likes of Lassus, Palestrina, and William Byrd, I’m afraid most of the music written after 1912 that appears in the Gather and OCP hymnals, which I used to love as a kid, now sounds like “muppet music” to me.
Brotherholf, if I ever get down to south Louisiana, I definitely want to attend your church. That way I would have some basis for comparison.
Hopefully this will become more a “problem” as the church receives more converts. My own parish is largely made of converts, of which I am one. I have the perspective of having been a music director in a Baptist Church for a couple of years and currently serving in my Catholic parish. It amazes me when we sing one of the older gospel hymns how well they are received. I have made it a point to learn a lot of the older Catholic classics and we have started using them at Mass a lot more. I get the same reaction. People love to sing the stuff that they grew up with. Newer and better doesn’t work well, except in small doses.:crying: Brotherholf, don’t be disappointed in me. Apparently, I haven’t rid myself of my former Protestant musical taste because both tracks sound equally good to me. I am so sorry.
Don’t be so quick with your laughing. Gregorian chant and the chant of other rites can be traced back to the first few hundred years of the Church, and these styles were an organic development of the Jewish chanted prayer that existed at the time of Christ.