Of the following, what type of musical accompaniment do you prefer for the celebration of the Mass?

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Of the following, what type of musical accompaniment do you prefer for the celebration of the Mass?
  • None at all. I prefer a capella.
  • Organ (pipe.)
  • Organ (electronic.)
  • Piano.
  • Guitar.
  • Piano & guitar.
  • Harp and flute.
  • Piano, cello and flute.
  • Piano, harp and flute.
  • Electric guitar, bass and drums.
  • Mandolin and saxophone or trumpet.
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Piano without a doubt; and someday I hope to hear PianistClare from this forum play!~
 
We have some great pipe organs (and players!) here in Detroit. I love playing the slow movements of the Bach Flute Sonatas with organ accompaniment when our Music Director asks for special music.
 
I second that!

Real old genuine pipe organs from the year dot, or pure crystal voices unaccompanied in a

Motet

Of course you need the acoustics so really need the gothic stone cathedral
 
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I wish I could’ve had more than one choice! For me, it depends on the piece. There is music that really requires a full pipe organ played full tilt and other music that lends itself best to a capella, still other music that is best with a piano, harp and flute.
 
A Capella if done right, preferably 4 part harmony. Otherwise pipe organ.
 
The Church prefers the pipe organ, according to its liturgical documents. “The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem…”

BMP
 
isnark said:
The Church prefers the pipe organ, according to its liturgical documents. “The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem…”
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It would depend which church within the Church. Also I’m not sure that “The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem…” really equates to “prefers”?
 
You have to distinguish between accompaniment, and as a stand-alone instrument. As I sing in a Gregorian schola, like the monks of the local abbey we sing a capella which is how Gregorian chant is supposed to be sung.

But as a prelude,offertory and postlude instrument, the pipe organ is hard to beat, but otherwise any well-played instrument with appropriate music is fine. I can’t play it but as an overall favourite instrument, i like the piano.
 
Roseeurekacross said:
Of course you need the acoustics so really need the gothic stone cathedral
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We’ve got those, too! There are some amazingly beautiful churches in Detroit. My home parish, St. Joseph Oratory is only one of them. Sweetest Heart of Mary has Austin pipe organ no. 2, still in working condition and used weekly for mass. Here’s a fantastic drone video of Sweetest Heart (the grey stone church with the single steeple is St. Joseph, the red brick and double steeple and all the interior shots are from Sweetest Heart, the most popular church for weddings in the city).

 
I bet @pianistclare could make the pipe organ sing in the Cathedral.
 
official Vatican documents. Isnark is correct.

VI. Sacred Instrumental Music
  1. Musical instruments can be very useful in sacred celebrations, whether they accompany the singing or whether they are played as solo instruments.
"The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem in the Latin Church, since it is its traditional instrument, the sound of which can add a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lift up men’s minds to God and higher things.

“The use of other instruments may also be admitted in divine worship, given the decision and consent of the competent territorial authority, provided that the instruments are suitable for sacred use, or can be adapted to it, that they are in keeping with the dignity of the temple, and truly contribute to the edification of the faithful.”[43]
  1. In permitting and using musical instruments, the culture and traditions of individual peoples must be taken into account. However, those instruments which are, by common opinion and use, suitable for secular music only, are to be altogether prohibited from every liturgical celebration and from popular devotions.[44]
Any musical instrument permitted in divine worship should be used in such a way that it meets the needs of the liturgical celebration, and is in the interests both of the beauty of worship and the edification of the faithful.

http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_.../vat-ii_instr_19670305_musicam-sacram_en.html
 
I rather like Warren Zevon’s gritty reality songs. They are uniformly up-tempo and have very creative, catchy lyrics.
 
tawny said:
I’d love to hear her play.
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A video could be made in 15 minutes…
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I second that!

Real old genuine pipe organs from the year dot, or pure crystal voices unaccompanied in a

Motet

Of course you need the acoustics so really need the gothic stone cathedral
Click to expand...
The unfortunate part of good organ music is that the organ is often in a place where sound recording is not optimised. For starters, the spread of the pipes makes it difficult to mic up in the right places so as to balance the sound. Then you have the issues of reverb from an empty church or the distractions of people when the pews are full. Remember, an organ is optimized for each church and not for recording equipment.

As @Roseeurekacross hints at, the best acoustics come from gothic stone cathedrals where the sound can reverberate at its own level and be heard in surround, despite being at the back of the church.

Then we run into the issue of analog vs digital. My brother has recorded some organ work at his college, where they had an organ perfectly balanced for recording. His video is excellent and sounds amazing. But compared to the real thing? Not even close. And often those subtle nuances are what people long to hear and feel creates the “voice”.

I’m not saying it can’t be done, only that it is foolish to think taking a few minutes to record a video on an iPhone would do any justice or convey the subtleties that make up the minutia we’re discussing.
 
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