Online survey reveals "favorite" liturgical music

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I still contend that many of respondents to this survey were likely “liturgists” ; their (name removed by moderator)ut should be set aside due to conflicts of interest. However, however this list was derived (& the Adoremus lists as well), they really should take into account the direction from the Vatican on sacred music. This Pastoral Musician list clearly does NOT.

These are not hotlinked, but all can be accessed vua hotlink at:
adoremus.org/Actionsofholysee.html

March 5, 1967 - Musicam Sacram (Instruction on Music) Congregation for Rites

May 4, 1967 - Tres abhinc annos (Instruction II on Constitution on Liturgy) Sacred Congregation for Rites

March 26, 1970 - Roman Missal, General Instruction for the Roman Missal - Pope Paul VI
(Text of 4th edition, March 27, 1975)

September 5, 1970 - Liturgicae instaurationes (Instruction III on Constitution on Liturgy) Congregation for Divine Worship

April 1974 - Letter to the Bishops on the Minimum Repertoire of Plainchant
Congregation for Divine Worship
 
Funny, a good number of those songs on that list were banned either officially or unofficially at the first seminary I was at. So, in some places somewhere there are priests with some sense about liturgical music.
 
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mosher:
Funny, a good number of those songs on that list were banned either officially or unofficially at the first seminary I was at. So, in some places somewhere there are priests with some sense about liturgical music.
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I’ve seen Colin Donovan on EWTN discuss the theological impropriety of Amazing Grace on the Q&A Board, but would you share with us which songs on the list were banned in your first seminary? I am always trying to make good decisions about music for my church choir…
 
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mosher:
Funny, a good number of those songs on that list were banned either officially or unofficially at the first seminary I was at. So, in some places somewhere there are priests with some sense about liturgical music.
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Well, I remember my former pastor (not a musician) complaining that the bishop wouldn’t let them sing “On Eagles Wings” when he was in the seminary. He seemed very pleased that he was now able to hear it frequently.
 
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MusicMan:
I’ve seen Colin Donovan on EWTN discuss the theological impropriety of Amazing Grace on the Q&A Board, but would you share with us which songs on the list were banned in your first seminary? I am always trying to make good decisions about music for my church choir…
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  1. On Eagle’s Wings (242) – tacitly banned
  2. Here I Am, Lord (152) – tacitly banned
  3. Be Not Afraid (146) – tacitly banned
  4. You Are Mine (138) – never heard it anywhere
  5. How Great Thou Art (76) – banned
  6. Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (70) – welcome
  7. Amazing Grace (69) – forbidden
  8. All Are Welcome (58) – never heard it
  9. Prayer of St. Francis (43) – tacitly banned
  10. Ave Maria (42) – welcome
  11. We Are Called (38). – banned
  12. Let There Be Peace on Earth (36) – tacitly banned
  13. I Am the Bread of Life (30) – banned after an incident
  14. The Summons (30) – never head it
  15. Panis Angelicus (29) – welcome
  16. The Servant Song—Gillard (29) – never heard it
  17. Pescador de Hombres (28) – never heard it
  18. Servant Song—McCargill (28) – banned
  19. Shepherd Me, O God (27) – tacitly banned
  20. Ave Verum Corpus (26) – welcome
  21. Lord of the Dance (24) – never heard it
  22. One Bread, One Body (24) – tacitly banned
  23. Tantum Ergo (24) – welcome
  24. Hosea (23) – never heard it
  25. Pange Lingua (23) – welcome
The music director at the seminary while I was there was a student who had a good sense of what was liturgically proper and what was not. They would meet on a regular basis with the Rector to talk about these things. Pretty much we stuck to Adoremus and some selections of Worship II. However, on the first wednesday of every month the liturgy would be in latin and we mostly used the Missa de Angelis for the ordinary including the creed and the hyms fit the time of the year.
 
It appears to be that the bulk of those pieces that were banned have “contemporary style” as the biggest thing they have in common.

Were they banned because of the “contemporary style” or because of a theological issue with the text?
 
mosher said:
1. On Eagle’s Wings (242) – tacitly banned
2. Here I Am, Lord (152) – tacitly banned
3. Be Not Afraid (146) – tacitly banned
4. You Are Mine (138) – never heard it anywhere
5. How Great Thou Art (76) – banned
6. Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (70) – welcome
7. Amazing Grace (69) – forbidden
8. All Are Welcome (58) – never heard it
9. Prayer of St. Francis (43) – tacitly banned
10. Ave Maria (42) – welcome
11. We Are Called (38). – banned
12. Let There Be Peace on Earth (36) – tacitly banned
13. I Am the Bread of Life (30) – banned after an incident
14. The Summons (30) – never head it
15. Panis Angelicus (29) – welcome
16. The Servant Song—Gillard (29) – never heard it
17. Pescador de Hombres (28) – never heard it
18. Servant Song—McCargill (28) – banned
19. Shepherd Me, O God (27) – tacitly banned
20. Ave Verum Corpus (26) – welcome
21. Lord of the Dance (24) – never heard it
22. One Bread, One Body (24) – tacitly banned
23. Tantum Ergo (24) – welcome
24. Hosea (23) – never heard it
25. Pange Lingua (23) – welcome

The music director at the seminary while I was there was a student who had a good sense of what was liturgically proper and what was not. They would meet on a regular basis with the Rector to talk about these things. Pretty much we stuck to Adoremus and some selections of Worship II. However, on the first wednesday of every month the liturgy would be in latin and we mostly used the Missa de Angelis for the ordinary including the creed and the hyms fit the time of the year.
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I must be a real music mongrel because I find almost every song on this and the other three lists very uplifting and I personally find they almost invariably give increase to the fervor of my worship of Our Lord. Some of the older Latin items also have a great nostalgic value for me as we sung many of them at daily mass when I was in Catholic school in the forties and early fifties. I still have my old St. Basil hymn book and can sing the first three verses of the Dies Irie from memory. Yes, we attended Mass every morning in those days and could sing our lungs out including the Latin responses.
 
  1. I Am the Bread of Life (30) – banned after an incident
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Out of morbid curiosity, what was the incident? I’m picturing villagers with pitchforks attacking after a particularly rousing verse.
 
  1. On Eagle’s Wings (242) – tacitly banned
  2. Here I Am, Lord (152) – tacitly banned
  3. Be Not Afraid (146) – tacitly banned
  4. You Are Mine (138) – never heard it anywhere
  5. How Great Thou Art (76) – banned
  6. Holy God, We Praise Thy Name (70) – welcome
  7. Amazing Grace (69) – forbidden
  8. All Are Welcome (58) – never heard it
  9. Prayer of St. Francis (43) – tacitly banned
  10. Ave Maria (42) – welcome
  11. We Are Called (38). – banned
  12. Let There Be Peace on Earth (36) – tacitly banned
  13. I Am the Bread of Life (30) – banned after an incident
  14. The Summons (30) – never head it
  15. Panis Angelicus (29) – welcome
  16. The Servant Song—Gillard (29) – never heard it
  17. Pescador de Hombres (28) – never heard it
  18. Servant Song—McCargill (28) – banned
  19. Shepherd Me, O God (27) – tacitly banned
  20. Ave Verum Corpus (26) – welcome
  21. Lord of the Dance (24) – never heard it
  22. One Bread, One Body (24) – tacitly banned
  23. Tantum Ergo (24) – welcome
  24. Hosea (23) – never heard it
  25. Pange Lingua (23) – welcome
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Good Show! 🙂

Funnily, at my parish, the list would tend to be reversed. All that was banned is sung quite often, whilst that which is not is tacitly banned as being “pre-Vatican II”.

All the songs banned were rubbish. I say good riddance. 🙂
 
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rwoehmke:
I must be a real music mongrel because I find almost every song on this and the other three lists very uplifting and I personally find they almost invariably give increase to the fervor of my worship of Our Lord.

Me too. Some of these comments are extremely legalistic. I’m a music minister and orthodox in my practice of the Catholic faith…or try to be…and I use many of these hymns. My goal is to aid in the prayer of the people attending mass and to give glory to God through music - not give a CCD lesson. Someone will complain about every type of music and have a legitimate reason that makes perfect sense. I’ve been at this for 25 years and have heard them all. St Cecilia pray for us!
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pm1853:
Out of morbid curiosity, what was the incident? I’m picturing villagers with pitchforks attacking after a particularly rousing verse.
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Well the seminary that I was at was mostly later vocations so one can imagine me at 22 being the youngest and the oldest being 71. Well, one time the Cantor started out at a really high pitch for this song and when it came to the chorus picture a chapel full of older men who could barely sing anyway standing on their toes trying to reach the notes. Still. today, you can go up to any of the guys there and start singing “and I will raise you up” in an uber-high voice and it will cause rupturous laughter. Seminaries always have silly liturgy stories usually revolving around music.
 
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prayingmama:
Me too. Some of these comments are extremely legalistic. I’m a music minister and orthodox in my practice of the Catholic faith…or try to be…and I use many of these hymns. My goal is to aid in the prayer of the people attending mass and to give glory to God through music - not give a CCD lesson. Someone will complain about every type of music and have a legitimate reason that makes perfect sense. I’ve been at this for 25 years and have heard them all. St Cecilia pray for us!
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And there inlies the problem. The purpose of sacred music is not in the first to help religious fervor. In the primary position are the words used. The hymn or chant should have a strong didactic value. Then in the second place it should increase religious fervor. I think a read of the magesterial documents on sacred music are in order. All that needs to be done is follow the guidence of the Holy See concerning Sacred Music and everything would be fine instead of following the guidence of the USCCB.
 
In whose official hands does the ultimate fate of Roman Catholic liturgical music belong ? It seems like a free for all 😦
 
The Importance of Singing (GIRM)
  1. The Christian faithful who gather together as one to await the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (cf. Col 3:16). Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy (cf. Acts 2:46). Thus Saint Augustine says rightly, "Singing is for one who loves."48 There is also the ancient proverb: “One who sings well prays twice.”
  2. Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass, with due consideration for the culture of the people and abilities of each liturgical assembly.
(emphasis mine) I don’t see any problem with a bunch of common folk singing “Here I Am Lord”. I figure if those words are good enough for 1 Samuel and Psalm 40, we can sing them and learn something about God and grow closer to Him.
 
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prayingmama:
The Importance of Singing (GIRM)
  1. The Christian faithful who gather together as one to await the Lord’s coming are instructed by the Apostle Paul to sing together psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs (cf. Col 3:16). Singing is the sign of the heart’s joy (cf. Acts 2:46). Thus Saint Augustine says rightly, "Singing is for one who loves."48 There is also the ancient proverb: “One who sings well prays twice.”
  2. Great importance should therefore be attached to the use of singing in the celebration of the Mass, with due consideration for the culture of the people and abilities of each liturgical assembly.
(emphasis mine) I don’t see any problem with a bunch of common folk singing “Here I Am Lord”. I figure if those words are good enough for 1 Samuel and Psalm 40, we can sing them and learn something about God and grow closer to Him.
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How do you sing joyfully to joyless, lukewarm, insipid music ?
 
tom.wineman said:
How do you sing joyfully to joyless, lukewarm, insipid music ?
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But therein lies the problem…its always going to be subjective to decide what is lukewarn and insipid…
 
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frommi:
But therein lies the problem…its always going to be subjective to decide what is lukewarn and insipid…
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We could discuss it till the cows come home and never agree. Good thread, though, thanks for calling ‘the favorites’ to our attention.

By the way, I think the reason y’all despise On Eagles Wings is because hardly anyone can sing it beautifully…including my choir…so we never do!
 
I see ‘Lord of the Dance’ made it…
okay, who has the irish dancing guy icon???
 
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frommi:
But therein lies the problem…its always going to be subjective to decide what is lukewarn and insipid…
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We’ve got guidelines for the music to be included in the liturgy; we don’t need to debate the merits of Lord of the Dance vs Eagles Wing.
 
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