I started reading Music and Morals this week because the author, Basil Cole, OP is part of duo of Dominicans preaching a mission at our parish. I’ll blog more specifically about the book at some point, but one of Fr. Cole’s key points is that the function of liturgical music is to facilitate prayer.
And I was thinking about some folks who think that if you can’t sing along it’s not good liturgical music. I know some music directors that minimize the role of the choir because if the choir sings by itself the congregation can’t participate. I’ve experienced people taking offense that they can’t sing everything on the program – every note and every word of every piece. There’s a gentleman with a loud voice that sings lots of things that are intended for the cantor simply because he knows them (sometimes we have the cantor sing the refrain to the communion hymn prior to the congregation coming in.)
That’s simply a misunderstanding of prayer and the role of liturgical music. Vocal participation on the part of the congregation must happen, but just as prayer is a conversation with God and one must listen to God, there are time where a person should listen to the choir. One-way prayer from a person to God doesn’t facilitate long term spiritual growth.
So – the drumbeat of “participation” as reflected in having the congregation sing everything is actually not what’s intended with liturgical prayer. In the same way we don’t say all the prayers of the priest there’s a role for the choir to lead and act in some ways as the voice of God at certain times.
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At the risk of inciting the wrath of some readers here, I aver in the strongest possible way that full and active participation and assistance at Mass is possible without the laity saying or singing anything.
The lovely Alix and I attended the Old Rite again last Sunday at Old St. Mary’s in D.C. and I didn’t have any problem participating, and we weren’t called to speak until the prayers after the Last Gospel. We weren’t called to sing at all.
As I have said before, it’s quite an experience. I recommend it.
While I’m not sure I agree with Bryan — I have no problem with the Tridentine Rite Mass, in fact I think it’s probably quite beautiful (I’ve never participated in one) — I do agree with the original point of the author. Every note does not have to be sung by all.
In a sense, the ministry of the choir has been totally usurped. The choir can function as an important “ministry” of prayer that helps us not only praise God, but also hear His response to us. Unfortunately, that aspect has been overlooked. It’s just another case of the community being worshipped before God, something that definitely shouldn’t happen.
John,
Could you let us know what you think of the book- and the author? Also, the link to the book at the top of your post doesn’t work. Thanks!
The problem is not choir vs people.
A Latin Mass, a sung “high mass”, etc. is fine for just a choir, since we listen to the choir and then our hearts “sing along” and go up to God in prayer.
The problem is bad music.
Deiss’s hymns are liturgically fine, based on chant, but I am unable to sing or remember them. The “new” type hymns praise ourselves instead of God, and also often can’t be sung, or if they can be sung, do not let us lift our hands and hearts to the Lord.
The problem is that liturgists are writing our hymns instead of musicians.
When I say the office, the first hymn: come let us worship and bow down…I find myself singing the words to a protestant “praise and worship” hymn…so don’t tell me the hymns aren’t out there…
And hymns should fit the culture. I’ve seen prayerful services in Rapid city using country western songs, Apache hymns in Mescalero, “polka mass” with hymns sung to polish folk songs (no polkas by the way) in a slavic area of Pennsylvania, and when I worked in Africa, our hymns used drums and at the end of mass on Easter people would sing and dance…
It’s not the type of music, it’s not even choir vs congregation. It’s good vs bad music.
If we have masses by Bach (a lutheran) and Mozart (a bad Catholic) and Vaughn Williams (an athiest) why not hymns by Elton John?
I’m looking forward to your blogging about this book. I like choral music, but I am not Christian, so all I get out of it is the same sort of enjoyment I get from “regular” classical music, with some Latin and Church Slavonic vocabulary thrown in for good measure…
Just expanded my choral music collection, so this is top of mind for me. (I blogged about my shopping expedition here; suggestions for other pieces are welcome.)