Recorded music at Mass

  • Thread starter Thread starter yinekka
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
there are several lengthy threads on this topic, no, music at Mass is supposed to consist of the voices of the faithful, assisted by appropriate instruments. pre-recorded music has no value and no place in congregational participaton in the liturgy
 
Last week I went to my step-father’s funeral and was taken aback when all the music was canned and no one that I could hear sang.

I thought it would have been better that the Catholics in attendance sing (since they were all familiar hymna) than to play canned music.
 
I own a recording studio that specializes in sacred music. However, even I would never allow recorded music to be used at Mass. The music must come from the hearts and voices of the people, not a CD player.

The same goes for plants. There must never be artificial plants decorating the church for Mass.
 
How would you reconcile the use of digital keyboards in mass then? If they are using sampled sound (which the better ones do for more realistic sounds), then every single note is in a sense pre-recorded. The keyboardist is simply manipulating each sound according to the key he plays and the manner in which he plays it.

Would there also be an issue using electronic amplification such as a microphone/speaker system? The sound produced by the singer is translated into an electronic signal via the microphone and then the sound is reproduced at the other end of the line by the speaker. This is basically a recording which is immediately played.
 
40.png
Prometheum_x:
How would you reconcile the use of digital keyboards in mass then? If they are using sampled sound (which the better ones do for more realistic sounds), then every single note is in a sense pre-recorded. The keyboardist is simply manipulating each sound according to the key he plays and the manner in which he plays it.

Would there also be an issue using electronic amplification such as a microphone/speaker system? The sound produced by the singer is translated into an electronic signal via the microphone and then the sound is reproduced at the other end of the line by the speaker. This is basically a recording which is immediately played.
Click to expand...
You bring up some great points, which I’ve struggled with, particularly the concept of the keyboard, which os sampled, prerecorded signals. I’ve concluded that since the performance is live, it is acceptable.

As for a sound system, there is actually no recording happening there. Recording happens when a “record” is made in some kind of storage medium, usually magnetic, such as a hard drive, or tape. A sound system simply converts sound pressure into electronic signals, and then back to sound pressure again. The electronic signal is no more a recording than an acoustic sound being transfered through air. It works in a very similar fashion.
 
40.png
Prometheum_x:
How would you reconcile the use of digital keyboards in mass then? If they are using sampled sound (which the better ones do for more realistic sounds), then every single note is in a sense pre-recorded. The keyboardist is simply manipulating each sound according to the key he plays and the manner in which he plays it.

Would there also be an issue using electronic amplification such as a microphone/speaker system? The sound produced by the singer is translated into an electronic signal via the microphone and then the sound is reproduced at the other end of the line by the speaker. This is basically a recording which is immediately played.
Click to expand...
Initially, as per the decree of Pius XII, electronic organs were banned. But at the time, these were horrible analog instruments (I’ve had the displeasure of playing a few and I can see why). Since Vatican II there have been a number of advances in technology… so now digital organs ARE permitted only if a parish cannot afford to install a pipe organ, which, according to the GIRM is still the instrument that must have pride of place in our parishes. Quite frankly, though, even if a parish can afford a pipe organ and purchases a digital instrument, I’m not too miffed about it. I’d rather that there be an organ of some kind rather than no organ at all… I think that the best compromise is a pipe/digital combination. While at first that sounds absolutely absurd, it’s been pulled off well on many of today’s larger instruments. But I digress… Rome has spoken, and the digital organ is acceptable only as a temporary substitute for a real pipe organ.
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I’m basking in the warmth and light of your collective wisdom, knowledge and common sense! Now, how does one gently but effectively point these truths out to those in charge at my local parish? Thank you.
 
Recorded ‘canned music’ is like plain rice cakes…substance but without substance and bland and without flavor. :eek:

go with God!
Edwin
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top