What do you think about guitars during mass?

[JReducation]

I have one question about the parish that wants to have a Polka Band play at mass. I’m not Polish, so I know very little, next to nothing about Polka bands. I am really ignorant here. Does a Polka band mean that they play dance music or that they play Polish music? I gues my question is based on the fact that Poland has such a rich Catholic history, I would imagine that they have many beautiful hymns, as do the Germans, Spanish, French, Portugese, Italians and other older Catholic nations. If they’re playing Polish hymns that would be OK. If we’re talking about dance music, that would not be such a good idea.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[zab]

I have one question about the parish that wants to have a Polka Band play at mass. I’m not Polish, so I know very little, next to nothing about Polka bands. I am really ignorant here. Does a Polka band mean that they play dance music or that they play Polish music? I gues my question is based on the fact that Poland has such a rich Catholic history, I would imagine that they have many beautiful hymns, as do the Germans, Spanish, French, Portugese, Italians and other older Catholic nations. If they’re playing Polish hymns that would be OK. If we’re talking about dance music, that would not be such a good idea.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Good question. So I googled it and found this on YouTube
And this onewith more of the Mass

 

[Bluegoat]

Good question. So I googled it and found this on YouTube
And this one with more of the Mass

Oh my!

Well, honestly, I’ve seen much worse, I might take a polka mass over some others I’ve been to.

 

[JReducation]

Good question. So I googled it and found this on YouTube
And this one with more of the Mass

I liked the music. The environment was ok. I wish they had used some of their Slavic hymns. The use of the G & P stuff with the Salvic music did not go well. I guess this is my beef. There are such beautiful treasures in these older Catholic cultures. I heard beautiful Mexican hymns at the Guadalupe Shrine with the Mariachi band. These were actual hymns that have been written in honor of our Lady of Guadalupe by Mexicans. I was hoping to see some of this when I clicked for the Slavic mass that you linked.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[CatholicZ09]

Good question. So I googled it and found this on YouTube
And this one with more of the Mass

We have a Polka Mass once a year on a Saturday Evening during our Festival in the church, and it’s fairly nice. The music may be upbeat, but I’ve never seen people dancing or such.

 

[JReducation]

We have a Polka Mass once a year on a Saturday Evening during our Festival in the church, and it’s fairly nice. The music may be upbeat, but I’ve never seen people dancing or such.

There is nothing wrong with upbeat music. I’m remembering when our Holy Father Pope John Paul II visited us in South America. The inidgenous music was very upbeat and out Holy Father loved it. He was even swaying to it, which made me chuckle.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[ac_claire]

There is nothing wrong with upbeat music. I’m remembering when our Holy Father Pope John Paul II visited us in South America. The inidgenous music was very upbeat and out Holy Father loved it. He was even swaying to it, which made me chuckle.

LOL I hope this isn’t disrespectful…but I always thought that the Holy Father JPII was such a cute old man.

About the music though…Sure, there’s nothing objectively wrong with upbeat music, but is it appropriate for Mass?

 

[JReducation]

LOL I hope this isn’t disrespectful…but I always thought that the Holy Father JPII was such a cute old man.

About the music though…Sure, there’s nothing objectively wrong with upbeat music, but is it appropriate for Mass?

I believe it can be. It depends on what is being sung. I’m thinking of those lovely marian hymns at the Guadalupe shrine sung by Mariachis with such tender devotion to the “Brown Virgin” as they call her. How could that not be pleasing to Glod and to our Lady. Imagine why would Mary appear as a pregnant indigenous girl, if there were something intrinsically wrong with the local culture?

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[JReducation]

By the way, I had a chance to be in John Paul’s company three times and he was an endearing man.

I first met him in the Dominican Republic when he visited our mission there. Then again in Ecuador when he visited us there. Finally, I had an audience with him and attended his Christmas mass in 1999 in Rome. On all three occasions I found him to be a very nice chap.

I’ve also met Benedict, but not as pope. I met him when I was a student in Rome and he was an Archbishop. He was a very quiet man, with the most beautiful blue eyes and the most interesting questions about the simplest things. He is a scholar, but he is also very childlike about many things.

I remember him visiting the students at the North American College. At that time, cell phones were a very rare thing. They were big and clunky, but they seemed small to us. I’m talking about 1990. I remember him being amazed as one of the American seminarians pulled out a cell phone from his pocket. He looked at it like a kid who was looking at a new toy. He had delivered the most complicated lecture on the Logic of Theological History, but was amazed by a cell phone.

Someone who works in the Vatican now told me that he is still shy with computers. I had to chuckle about that one. They say that he still writes long-hand, even though he owns several laptops.

We often forget how human Peter was. I can imagine this fisherman from Galilee in the middle of this great metropolitan city called Rome. He must have been terrified. Faith does not make us less human you know.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[eucharisteo]

I haven’t played a guitar during mass in many many moons. Probably 29 years now. That’s why I say it depends on who’s behind it ans what king of guitar it is and what they play. Who wouldn’t love to hear Christopher Parkening playaing Mozart during Mass?

 

[JReducation]

I haven’t played a guitar during mass in many many moons. Probably 29 years now. That’s why I say it depends on who’s behind it ans what king of guitar it is and what they play. Who wouldn’t love to hear Christopher Parkening playaing Mozart during Mass?

OK, I’m going to show how dumb I am. Who is Christopher Parkening?

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[albertziggy]

OK, I’m going to show how dumb I am. Who is Christopher Parkening?

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Hi Br. JR:

Christopher Parkening is a classical concert guitarist. He is known to perform chamber works based on the compositions of Bach, Handel and the other classical composers (The guitar was not that popular as a concert instrument, so most of what we hear are transcriptions of works originally prepared for other musical instruments). I don’t know if he is Catholic though.

Hope this helps.

In Christ,

albertziggy

 

[TheRiver]

I want my guitars loud and distorted during mass, with at least a 1 minute solo and 30 seconds of wah-wah, wouldn’t have it any other way.:yup:

 

[Sarabande]

I haven’t played a guitar during mass in many many moons. Probably 29 years now. That’s why I say it depends on who’s behind it ans what king of guitar it is and what they play. Who wouldn’t love to hear Christopher Parkening playaing Mozart during Mass?

Parkening’s playing is superb. I think I may have posted this earlier in the thread, but here he is accompanying Kathleen Battle in Bach/Gounod’s “Ave Maria”. Very simple in comparison to other works he masters, but sometimes simple is the simply beautiful and inspiring. Again, of course, the organ or a capella voice is the ideal, but honestly, if I had the choice between someone like him accompanying me with a hymn or other sacred work transcribed well for classical guitar and someone who couldn’t play the organ/piano etc. and make a dog’s breakfast out of the music liturgy, there’s no question who I’d want to create the musical reverence needed for the mass.

youtube.com/watch?v=E0o9ku8yw4U

 

[Guitar]

The pipe organ wasn’t sationed by the Church until Pope Vitalian authorized its use in the 7th century. Pipe organs was being used in churches at least a century before that. Guitars have only been used in Mass for the past 40 years.I’m sure that in time “authoratative documents” will appear on this instument as well.

Could you quote a reference for the 7th century authorisation? Genuine question.

When last I looked into it, the first unambiguous definitely-not-misinterpreted reference to the use of organ in the liturgy was in the 1100s in France. Several earlier documents thought to have referred to organ playing in Mass were shown to be misinterpretations when architectural records of the churches involved proved that even if organs were present in the churches concerned (as were many other items not used in liturgy) they could not practically have been used in liturgy. Will cite my sources if I can find my thesis. I do remember Vitalian coming into it but that story either it being shown to be a misinterpretation or there being a backwardly-projected assumption that an organ given as a gift was intended for church use. I have a strong recollection of organs being proven to be present in churches for some time but with no mention or proof of their use in liturgy and sometimes even proof that such use was not practically possible.

I am sure scholarship has moved on and there have been other discoveries since I wrote my little paper, but I am interested to know about your sources.

 

[eucharisteo]

OK, I’m going to show how dumb I am. Who is Christopher Parkening?

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

First, google him. Parkening is one of the worlds most renounced classical guitarist. I’m not an expert by any means. But while I was in the military in the 80’s I discovered him. He was a young man back then capable of making the guitar sing with the most beautiful sound I’ve ever heard. He studied under “some dead guy”, as my son used to say. The name is on the tip of my tongue…gotta google it. Amazing though. I bought a CD from both.

BTW: In my upper level college core curriculum, required for graduation, I took an “Art/Music” course that taught us that in the early time of Chritianity the Organ would be played really loud and could be heard for miles around while they slaughtered the Christians for intertainment. We were taught that the early Christians did not play the organ simply because it was so offensive and frightening to be reminded of it. It was a landmark for it to enter worship. We [our previous faith] do not use instruments in worship or at least the congregations of the church of Christ during worship. They reject instrumental music. So next time you hear the organ think about the thousands of Christians that died for the faith in the arenas. Gruesome.

 

[Layman]

Had a five-second look at the Polka mass videos linked to earlier. I think they’re awful. Upbeat accordian music at the foot of the Cross of Calvary?

One was sung in a kind of off-key, female ‘falsetto’(?) that, to my ears, could not have sounded worse if done by an alternative comedian.

It’s a contradiction: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, an ancient and mysterous sacred rite but here comes the cheesy, cheery sentimental music with woolly and/or Protestant content and to top it off the musicians and singers are in your eyeline, playing instruments and musical styles associated with the campfire or public house.

I often think the Devil must be having a good laugh at what mortal men are getting up to in the temples of the Lord, these days.

 

[ac_claire]

**It’s a contradiction: The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, an ancient and mysterous sacred rite **but here comes the cheesy, cheery sentimental music with woolly and/or Protestant content and to top it off the musicians and singers are in your eyeline, playing instruments and musical styles associated with the campfire or public house.

That’s the crux of the issue, I think. The Mass is timeless, eternal. Therefore the music should really, by definition, be classic. (Not necessarily actual “classical” music, but classic music.) Sacred music.

To paraphrase an idea of Fulton Sheen’s…anything that is “modern” or “contemporary” today is going to be dated and passe tomorrow. So popular, contemporary music and instruments don’t really fit a timeless and eternal liturgical celebration. This kind of thing has never sat well with me at Mass, but I couldn’t put my finger on why, beyond some of the songs offending my personal tastes.

Now I know why, and it goes much deeper than personal taste.

I avoid the 11 a.m. “Family Mass” at my parish for this very reason. Musically speaking, it’s more like a retro guitar and tamborine folk concert than an actual Mass. Bleaker still, the folk band bypasses classic Catholic hymns in favor of their own original music. It’s very sad.

 

[Jimsdun]

That’s the crux of the issue, I think. The Mass is timeless, eternal. Therefore the music should really, by definition, be classic. (Not necessarily actual “classical” music, but classic music.) Sacred music.

To paraphrase an idea of Fulton Sheen’s…anything that is “modern” or “contemporary” today is going to be dated and passe tomorrow. So popular, contemporary music and instruments don’t really fit a timeless and eternal liturgical celebration. This kind of thing has never sat well with me at Mass, but I couldn’t put my finger on why, beyond some of the songs offending my personal tastes.

Now I know why, and it goes much deeper than personal taste.

I avoid the 11 a.m. “Family Mass” at my parish for this very reason. Musically speaking, it’s more like a retro guitar and tamborine folk concert than an actual Mass. Bleaker still, the folk band bypasses classic Catholic hymns in favor of their own original music. It’s very sad.

That is one of the reasons why I travel 12 miles to mass in Phoenix. The parishes in Mesa and Tempe, trying to appear “hip” and “cool” actually don’t get it. They are trying to appeal to secular element, and it comes off as mere entertainment, in the secular sense.

 

[pnewton]

That’s the crux of the issue, I think. The Mass is timeless, eternal.

Eternity encompasses* all* time as in “all time belongs to Him.” Even Gregorian chant has a date that it started. Next time you have a hymnal, look at the composition date of your favorite hymn. You will not find any that have none and are timeless, much less that date back to the first century AD. The First Century, the Fifth Century, the Twentieth Century and the Twenty-first Century are all part of, and only a part of, eternity.