This requirement for mediocre music in liturgy is killing the tastes of the faithful and the wills of would-be musicians. It’s nice that you show concern that some types of music (the very types encouraged and exhorted by Holy Mother Church to be given “pride of place” in the sacred liturgy) are Just Too Hard to do properly, and that programming easier music would ease the burden on church musicians. But that’s precisely the wrong attitude. That is like saying that beautiful architecture is Too Hard and Too Expensive for your parish, and so we won’t have to raise as much money to build that church building we’ve been wanting. That is like saying that sacred vessels of gold and silver are Too Fancy and Too Expensive for your humble tastes, and a nice cedar cup and wooden bowl are fine for carrying the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
When we constantly set the bar lower and lower, we end up with a situation like American public schools: mediocrity abounds! There are no losers because nobody wins! Children grow up as indoctrinated vassals of the State, useless for any higher calling or meaningful leadership.
No, this is completely wrong. We bring our finest to the Lord and the Mass is the pinnacle of human existence. If we do not get it right in the sacred liturgy then we might as well not even bother. Save the Liturgy, Save the World.
That is not to say that every Mass needs to be a Mozartian concert. There is a spectrum of music in the treasury of the Church, there are simple chants and easy polyphony that can be implemented by people of lower skill, and directors of music should recognize the unique talents of each ensemble and assign work appropriately. However, every director of music should be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g those talents. They should be PUSHING for excellence. I have been in far too many choirs where we tore through a rehearsal and as long as nobody bombed horribly we were A-OK for that Sunday. Then there are a precious few directors I have had that demanded excellence from us and we strove to deliver. It is like night and day. I will admit that this type of director is rare and expensive, so not every parish will be blessed with one.
Have you ever seen “
Stand and Deliver”? This film is a prime example of what a group of underachieving, at-risk people can do when properly guided and motivated. The same is true of any choir. With the correct pedagogy and direction, even a rag-tag crew of amateurs can sound sublime. And that sublimity is simply never gained singing Haugen and Haas.
