Opponents of Haas and Haugen Unite!

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csbyrnes84:
I was not referring to THE Devil, but rather to THAT devil, Haas.
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I have to strongly disagree with you here. As a teacher in my son’s school, he is VERY good. :clapping: Nah, he’s is no devil!
 
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Nichevo:
How about we kidnap them, and lock them in a room where they are forced to listen to “Hi God!” until their ears bleed and they recant their musical heresy?
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How about just kidnapping them and taking them to New Jersey until they recant. That’d show 'em
 
Then you’re part of the problem and not part of the solution. Get behind me Satan.
:yup:
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Catholic90:
I have to strongly disagree with you here. As a teacher in my son’s school, he is VERY good. :clapping: Nah, he’s is no devil!
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tom.wineman:
http://home.att.net/~tom.wineman/eaglewings.bmp

When ever they play Eagle Wings, which doesn’t seem all that related to the liturgy, this image comes to mind of an eagle carrying a dead mullet.
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It would seem a lot more related to the Liturgy if you knew your Psalms.

You might want to look at the bottom of the music you are singing; many of the songs are from the New Testament and the Psalms.
 
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brotherhrolf:
Muppet music is muppet music. Call me a snob, it’s OK. I relish the title. With over 1500 years plus of Catholic music history, why should we be subjected to Kermit and Miss Piggy? Face it. These guys are not Monteverdi, Byrd, Vivaldi, Walton or, gosh can I say it, John Rutter. Will these guys stand the test of time?
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Yes!! Some one else appreciates John Rutter 👍
 
John Rutter writes so much beautiful modern music. It is a joy to sing…“dark and dull night fly hence away, to see the coming of the day which sees September turned to May”…Poetic, singable and definitely NOT MUPPET MUSIC!
 
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otm:
It would seem a lot more related to the Liturgy if you knew your Psalms.

You might want to look at the bottom of the music you are singing; many of the songs are from the New Testament and the Psalms.
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Not the way they sing it. Psalm ? Sounds more like a sob.
 
Sicut Cervus is a Psalm too. Why don’t you try singing that instead of the always diabolical Haas and Haugen?
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otm:
It would seem a lot more related to the Liturgy if you knew your Psalms.

You might want to look at the bottom of the music you are singing; many of the songs are from the New Testament and the Psalms.
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Just to clarify, “On Eagles Wings” was written by Michael Joncas, not by Haugen or Haas. Joncas is a Catholic priest, by the way.

And I believe that csbyrnes84 is a bit out of line here – vituperative is the word. But that is my opinion.

'thann
 
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Catholic90:
Devil’s music??? :rotfl: I see you are bit of an extremist!!

No, last time I attended, there was no RAP at our mass!! I don’t believe H or H even write RAP!! (THAT is devil’s music!)

H and H write singable, fun music that is easily sung. The kids love it and sing it very LOUDLY (quite unlike their reaction to and participation in the funeral dirges on the organ!!)

Haas is putting on a benefit concert at my son’s school in a few weeks. We are thinking of going. I went to one a few years ago, and it was awesome!
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I agree with the comment about the funeral dirges on the organ. What I dislike most is the music that has been written for the singing of the Psalms. It is totally painful. We should have joyful not soulful music.

I am another who likes that music, especially On Eagles Wings. These hymns are based upon the Scripture, and especially Isaiah and the Psalms. It is not devil’s music.

MaggieOH
 
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brotherhrolf:
John Rutter writes so much beautiful modern music. It is a joy to sing…“dark and dull night fly hence away, to see the coming of the day which sees September turned to May”…Poetic, singable and definitely NOT MUPPET MUSIC!
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Why does the chilling winter’s morn
Smile like a field beset with corn
Or smell like a meadow newly shorn
Thus on the sudden come and see
The cause why things thus fragrant be
Tis He is born, whose quick’ning birth
Brings light and luster, public mirth
To heaven and the under-earth…

That’s my absolute favorite Rutter piece - it’s the one that was in the Volvo commercial a few years ago - “What Sweeter Music.” It’s a very old text, beautifully set. That said, there was a period in Rutter’s life as a composer that would have been better if it had not happened - everything seemed to have a kind of “doodle-loo” figure in it that was very annoying, and the rhythms were unnecessarily difficult - I’m thinking of “For the Beauty of the Earth” and the others that were written in that period. They sound like Coca-Cola commercials. Other wonderful Rutter pieces are the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis written in the style of Charles Villiers Stanford. The story is told that Rutter’s own choir wanted more and more Stanford to sing, and he had run out, so he fooled them and wrote his own. His “O Holy Night” setting is also quite lovely.

Rutter is also a fantastic choral conductor. His group has some wonderful recordings - very sensitive renderings of favorite English choral works.

As for Haugen/Haas/Joncas and the like, I’m sick to death of them. I sing for weddings, and while the couple’s asking for these songs is an indication that they actually go to church, I still hate doing them. In fact, I charge extra. I don’t mention the fee until the end of the conversation when the music has been chosen. It’s a $5 surcharge for each bad song.

Betsy
 
Most people probably wouldn’t have a problem with Haugen or Haas, if their music wasn’t so overused- they may not care for what they write, but they’d probably just think “I don’t care much for this song” whenever they hear one, and then leave it at that. I’ve looked at Easter Vigil bulletins and Rite of Election bulletins I have collected over the years, and half (often more than half) of the songs they pick are by those three. I doubt many of their critics would have such an aversion to those songs if they weren’t used all the time. It also doesn’t make these composers look good when they have written tons of songs- all for church. To me, it looks like they just want to make money. Also, many of the songs have bad voice leading, bad phrasing, and/or unpoetic or heretical lyrics.

On Eagles’ Wings is one song that actually does have good phrasing and voice leading. It doesn’t bother me at all, and it is not heretical- it is almost a direct quote of Psalm 91, and the chorus is based on a verse in Isaiah. There are lots of good songs that could be used in its place though- it should not be overused.
 
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MarkPerz:
Haugen Haas, don’t they make ice cream ???
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I think so:
Crushing Guitar Crunch
City of Golden Vanilla
On Eagle’s WIngs Chocolate Swirl
Now We Remain Rocky Road
Come to the Feast Neapolitan

I grew up with the liturgical music of the 70’s and listening to it now is SO dated it’s like BellBottoms, Pet Rocks, waiting in lines for gasoline, and Saturday Night Fever! :eek: But YES I do like the Muppets!

Now I’m in the Byzantine Catholic Church and I am glad we don’t sing HaugenHaas or ANYTHING that even comes CLOSE to it!
 
Baltobessy" I couldn’t remember the name of that hymn for anything. The tenors sing the part I relate except that it is December not September. I also like Rutter’s "The Lord Bless You and Keep You’.
 
I’m sorry, I have to defend Haugen/Haas. While I don’t like ALL their music (I actually have never “met” a musicion whose music I love completely), I do tend to like a great deal of their music.

Condemn me to hell if you’d like.

When I was 11/12, I began playing my flute at Mass…which led into cantoring when I was about 14 or 15. Solo. Our church did a lot of Haugen/Haas…my only problme with it was that our priest insisted on singing the Eucharistic prayers…and the man did NOT have any kind of singing voice! I cringed every time he tried and failed so miserably.

And “City of God”? One of my favorite songs. I can still sing the soprano part in my sleep and “hear” it with the full choir, and feel the same joy with which I left the Mass. Sure it’s emotional and doesn’t last spiritually…but the memories do.

I had a very difficut time as a teenager, and through those several years from about 11-18, when I went to college I remember mostly darkness except for my expiences singing/playing for Jesus at Mass…for those brief hours I think I was as close to heaven as I’ve ever been.

Fine if you don’t like the composers…but please understand that their music DOES reach people and it resonates.

Personally, I find much of our so called “sacred” music to be repetetive, monotone, and uninspired. And yet people ask why Catholics don’t sing? Why, because they’re ASLEEP! or BORED TO UNINSPIRATION! One would have to kick them and hit them with hymnals to wake them up and put guns to their heads in order to force them to sing the same note over and over and over and over…

I LOVE the Latin High Mass, I love Gregorian chant…yet I daresay I may very well loathe some of the composers some of you may be willing to die to make immortal.

Music is all about individual taste and sometimes, resonation internally. I’m personally glad that the Catholic Church we all so know and love has room for ALL tastes, which leads us to be in closer communion and reach out to so many different types of people, yet be united in our worship.

We don’t go to Mass for the music…we go to worship our Lord and Savior and to celebrate his sacrifice. Thank God. If we went for the music, no matter what your opinion none of us would ever attend.

There seems to be extremes…if the music is bad, it is very very bad…and if it is good, it is heavenly.

But I guess that experience is really subjective.
 
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brotherhrolf:
John Rutter writes so much beautiful modern music. It is a joy to sing…“dark and dull night fly hence away, to see the coming of the day which sees September turned to May”…Poetic, singable and definitely NOT MUPPET MUSIC!
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Oh, gosh…I love “What Sweeter Music”. Our choir sang that before Midnight Mass a few years ago. Absolutely lovely.

Our chamber choir sang Rutter’s arrangement of “Bring a Torch, Jeannette, Isabella” last Christmas Eve, and our adult choir sang his “Christmas Lullaby” before this year’s Midnight Mass (lucky me, I’m in both choirs). So much fun, and all of it so lovely. He also has a great arrangement of “Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day” for women’s choirs- the women’s choirs in both my high school and university performed this (and again, I was fortunate enough to be in both choirs). My high school mixed choir also performed his “Te Deum” and “Angels’ Carol”, and another university choir I was in performed his “Requiem” on Good Friday.

Have you heard the recordings of his choir, the Cambridge Singers? I have “Christmas with the Cambridge Singers” and “Christmas Night- Carols of the Nativity”. They feature both traditional carols and some of his original compositions, and both albums are beautiful. I tend to favor those over the usual “holiday” drivel that the radio stations play in December.

Topic: Haugen has composed some lovely musical settings of the Psalms. As for the rest of it (and Hass/Joncas/Schutte), I will be happy if I never hear it again. I’ve already requested of our music director that if I die young, he will under no circumstances play “On Eagles’ Wings” at my funeral. I would be happy enough if I never heard it again in life- I certainly don’t want it as my send-off. I’ll take a nice big choral Requiem Mass, thanks. 😉
 
I love Rutter’s music and have sung much of it choirs. It is not congregational, though – most of it is very tricky to sing, at least for the average Joe.

'thann
 
Sorry to be the ignorant one here, but exactly why is some of Haugen and Haas’ music so bad? Please explain!
 
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