What happens is that you drive 25 miles to attend a reverent NO parish and you have done so since 1983.Well I am not sure how many people do what I do when the music not more traditional. I sit it out and pray quietly to myself.
Today it was Lord of The Dance now don’t get me wrong I like the song, I listen to it and many others on the CDs in my car and at home. But, at Mass I envision everyone getting out of their pews and dancing in the isle and at the altat. It scares me.
We go 40 miles to the nearest TLM when we can. I even quit my job so I did not have to argue for the time to go to Mass.
I have also had qualms about “voting with my feet” as a matter of general principal. However, when I did move parishes the first time, I had to get permission from the local pastor. Which meant an extremely, um, tense interview with the pastor. who took a dim view of my observations about his “gladhanding” during the entrance procession and the "strummin’ and a’grinnin’ music. The fact that the choir director of the time at that parish eventually joined the cathedral parish and choir is ironic indeed.
I loved this quote from Dr. Swain’s article. Instead of musicians trying to strive to be excellent (shades of Bill and Ted
) and to put some thought into what they are doing and, perhaps more importantly why they are doing it, no, it’s let’s pull out Glory and Praise and that’s fine. Yet, given a little research and a little practice traditional Catholic music and chant is readily accessible by most of the a’strummin’ and a’grinnin’ choirs. They are in a rut and they can’t see the forest from the trees.Excellent article!!!
It definitely “spoke” to me as a young professional musician and especially to older colleagues - those professional musicians that have trained for “20 years or more”. The ones who were able to make it in a Catholic parish for years and years are so haggard and beat down. But we are seeing the heaviness starting to lighten.The decision makers think very little of the average Catholic. They think that they can’t sing more than a catchy jingle or know any Latin or even more than elementary level English.
This is a GREAT book.
An older colleague of mine recommended that I read this while I was in college and singing in our Cathedral choir. It was one of the things that helped open my eyes with the state of music liturgy today.You’re telling me. Lord of the Dance was first originally published in England. It was sung at a Novus Ordo Easter Mass I attended about 2 years ago. My goodness. Quoting Dame Maggie Smith playing Mother Superior in Sister Act, it was “boogie-woogie on the piano”.Today it was Lord of The Dance now don’t get me wrong I like the song, I listen to it and many others on the CDs in my car and at home. But, at Mass I envision everyone getting out of their pews and dancing in the isle and at the altat. It scares me.
