WHAT IF WE TRIED TO STOP BEING GOD - WOULD WE BE MORE INSPIRED?

Recently at Mass we sang, “Be Not Afraid.”  In these posts readers have picked up on a disdain for songs in which a congregation is asked to take on the role of God speaking to His people, which is something that this song does as exemplified in the first line, “You shall cross the barren desert but you shall not die of thirst” or as in the first line of the refrain, “Be not afraid, I go before you always.”  

So, as I am singing along it occurs to me to change the words.  What if the song were more about my trust in God than playing God speaking to someone else?  The song then goes like this:

I might cross a barren dessert,

but I will not die of thirst.

I will wander far in safety

though I do not know the way.

I shall speak His words in foreign lands

and all will understand.

I shall see the face of God and live.

Be not afraid,

He goes before me always

I’ll follow Him

and He will give me rest.  (Rough attempt)

Instantly it song switches from being advice such as Mom might have given you:

“As Mom said, ‘Strive to do your best and you will go far,’”

to a song about doing my best:

“I will strive to do my best and go far just as Mom said.”

Or better, it is like changing the words to 1 Corinthians from “Love is patient, love is kind.  Love is . . . “ to “I am patient, I am kind . . .” in a homily.  It makes love less about being some mysterious thing “out there” that we hope to catch like a cold and more like something we are to become.

The song becomes so much more empowering strangely enough.  One might think it would be more empowering if one were in the person of God announcing that you are going to give the protection, but stating that you believe that you have God’s protection to march forward makes it immediate - like professing the faith, “I believe in one God, the Father the Almighty!”

If I could (and it were legal), I would change the words to this song in our books.  I would also suggest to hymn writers (I know, you don’t want my advice) to consider this when choosing texts for future ecclesiastical music.  Place people in awe of a great God rather than in His person and inspire us to deeper faith.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL

Nothing is worse than a meeting when nobody is really in charge.  The proceedings go off topic, conversations last too long, people lose interest, bullies arise who try to save the day, and little beautiful happens.

It is the same with music.  Aug!  Have you ever gone to a Mass where there is no organist or leader and someone starts a song - maybe it is even introduced by the priest, and it gets slower and slower, maybe changes key, someone in the back starts trying to rally the troops, some roll their eyes and wag their heads and close hymnals . . . why even bother trying?

I find it painful.

Paragraph 104 calls for a choir director for the Mass.  If there is no choir director, then the cantor needs to be able to lead the singing.  This person is chairman of the (musical) board.  Like a good  leader of a meeting, they make sure we are on the agenda (so to speak), are proceeding in a way that keeps interest and encourages participation when called for, and does so with craft and decorum.  

It’s not just about singing.  It is about making something beautiful.  Beauty inspires, lifts, directs.  Music for the sake of having music can be torture.  If you are going to do it, do it as well as the community can muster.  Those present deserve beauty whether it is because they are listening or they are asked to participate in which case they are part of creating that which is beautiful when giving glory to God.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HE WHO SINGS

Here is a debatable topic.  Many are divided on it.

Paragraph 103 states that, “among the faithful, the schola cantorum or choir exorcises its own liturgical function.”  It equates the those two terms.  I argue that what they mean by choir and what we mean by a schola are slightly different things.

Here we are getting into opinion land so hold on to your hat.  (Does anyone get the picture reference?)  Everyone agrees that we need a group of people to sing at the Mass.  Most parishes, I would argue, have a parish choir.  By and large, the purpose of the choir is to lead congregational singing.  This idea has been enshrined in much of our newer liturgical architecture.  There is no choir loft or ideal placement of the choir to give an optimal experience of the music they produce.  There has a choir “designated area” pretty close to being at the same level as the rest of the congregation, and with luck they are centrally located so the experience is heard evenly (instead of one side being blasted by the choir and the other being far away.)  In these churches, one can get away with doing a choral piece, but you are fighting poor placement and poor acoustics.  

This is good, serviceable, and worthy as far as it goes.  Most parishes survive just fine with a choir consisting of a group of people who help bolster the singing of the congregation.

A schola does this also but is expected to do more.  “It’s purpose is to take care of the parts proper to it.”  As we have explored, there are many things that it is possible for the choir to do alone, or in back and forth with the congregation in addition to simply assisting the congregation.    There are the propers of the Mass to be sung (such as the introit) and the tradition of chant to be upheld and fostered.  The schola takes the music to the next level, not merely supporting but by expanding the musical experience to express a greater depth and width of the Church’s Tradition.  It educates.  It becomes a ministry similar to that of a lector, itself proclaiming the Word and giving sung instruction in the Christian life to be heard, digested, and applied.  (Which is why they should be as good as they can be in any particular parish, not merely good enough.)  With this in mind we understand church architecture that places the choir in the building in such a way that they are most easily heard and understood with acoustics suitable for the production of music.

Okay.  Enough of my opinion.

In general, this paragraph says, the norms for the schola apply equally to other musicians with a special emphasis on the organist, once again giving emphasis that the primary instrument of the Catholic Church is the pipe organ.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: PERFECT IN OUR REVERSEDNESS

Thank you for being patient with the lack of posts.  It has not been a boring summer around these parts.

Paragraph 88

So you may have read a reply from last Friday from Fr. P concerning how his parish handles music during Communion which appears to me to closer in keeping with actual Vatican II documents and the Tradition of the Church rather than what has just seemed to happen recently.  After Communion is over there may be time to decompress.  The first option is to sit quietly and reflect on all that has happened (and a lot happened) and to give thanks.  The next option is to sing one of the following:

1) Psalm

2) Canticle

3) Other hymn of praise

And it is recommended that this be done by the whole congregation.

If we were to take first options then it would look like this:

During Communion the choir sings, which, in this humble bloggers opinion make a lot of sense.  As a priest I cannot participate because I am doing and saying too much as are the extraordinary ministers of holy communion.  Ushers are ushering, people are getting up and processing and receiving Communion - and if they want to receive in the hand they should not have a hymnal in their hands or clutched under their armpit.  When everyone is done, if we don't just sit quietly, then that is a time to fumble for hymnals and page numbers and sing.  

What happens in a typical parish is exactly the opposite.  

WHEN DOES SOMETHING CHANGE FROM JUST BEING OLD TO BEING TRADITIONAL?

When somebody says to me that they would like traditional Catholic music at Mass, my first thoughts go to Palistrina, Gregorian Chant, or tunes such as Panis Angelicus, or at least, “Jesus My Lord, My God, My All.”  

Nay nay.

The vast majority of the time they means songs like “On Eagles Wings,” and “Be Not Afraid.”  Songs by and large from the folk era of the 1970s.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  But it reminds me of the late 1970s in this way:  It was then that it seemed people were holding tenaciously on to music from the 1940s and 50s as traditional Catholic music while folk was trying to muscle in and get rid of that tired stuff.

A lot of the music from the 40s and 50s was a bit saccharine.  The 70s stuff was often theological soft.  

Is it just me or do we not seem to have a real movement of liturgical music at the moment save for praise music like that which come out of Steubenville?

Oh, the poor music director - weighing the balance between that which are truly musical treasures from our history, what is an oldy but a goody, what is facing the sunset of use, what is currently on the seen, and the new and innovative that excites some and disgusts others.  God bless you musicians!  Know of my prayers today!

THE LIPS, THE TEETH, THE TIP OF THE TONGUE. ENUNCIATE, PRONOUNCIATE

What if you couldn’t understand the Reader at Mass?  What if today’s readings sounded a bit like this:

“Beloveh,

Realize tha you wah ransah frugh yo fuelile conuc, hannen on by yo ancess(gravely sound.)”

Someone is sitting at the back of the church, the room is echoey, and bodies with clothes on them are eating up the sound.  Already too softly pronounced consonants are now being put on the missing letters list on the back of milk cartons.  I would fully expect that the Reader be counseled to start enunciating and pronunciation more articulately even if it feels and sounds odd to him, because the important thing is that the words are both heard and understood or else stop reading or having Scripture at Mass.  Ministries are not charitable activities we give to people to be nice.  You must have the ability to do them and do them well for the benefit of the people in attendance because if it doesn’t matter, why do it in the first place?  The stakes are just too profound.

So why do we allow it with music?  Music is Scripture, Scripturally based, and deals with important matters of faith.  It is vital that its message is clear and understood (even if it is in Latin!) or why do it?  Then it just becomes very beautiful (hopefully) background noise.  And sometimes beautiful background noise is called for.  But unless you intend that, why not make sure every work you sing is enunciated with distinction?  It may be that a particular phrase moves a heart and soul toward the Lord in a way that the homily didn’t or can’t.  

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: EVERYBODY! TOGETHER! "WHEN THE MOON HITS YOU EYE JUSTA LIKE BIG PIZZA PIE . . . "

If you can get everybody singing together, that is something that really unites a group of people.  Play the National Anthem of the United States in the foreign country (say when we win a gold medal at the Olympics) and see how it unites our citizens.  Play “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” at the 7^th inning stretch.  Sing Happy Birthday even in a crowded restaurant.  Sing “Hang On Sloopy” in Ohio.  Put a quarter in the jukebox at the local VFW and play “You Don’t Even Call Me by My Name.”  Do any of these and you will see people united with a common voice and in a common cause.

 

If you understand that, you understand why there is an opening song at Mass.  The opening song is part of the Mass.  It is not like the opening song of a sit-com that, if you miss it, you really haven’t missed anything.  If you miss the opening song, you’ve missed part of the Mass.  Paragraph 47 of the GIRM states that the purpose of the opening song, “is to open the celebration, foster unity . . . and introduce their thoughts to the mystery of the liturgical time or festivity . . .”  Only lastly does it list one of its purposes to be that of accompanying the priest and the ministers to the altar.

 

In all of this, we see that this is really the first opportunity at the Mass for the corporate Body of Christ to worship Him.  So even if you don’t like your voice – God gave it to you – give it to Him back.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: INSERT TAB A INTO SLOT B

GIRM p 47 - 48

 

My sister bought a garden hose.  It came with instructions.  “Why on earth do you need instructions?” she asked.  “Because somebody out there will stick one end in their nose and then sue the company because there were not instructions on how to properly use it,” I replied.

 

So it is with the instructions on how the priest in the ministers are to get into the sanctuary.  There are instructions.  “When the people are gathered,” so the priests shouldn’t start if all of you are out having a smoke, “the priest, deacon, and ministers enter and the entrance chant begins.”

 

Now, notice it says, “Entrance chant.”  Chant is the preferred POST VATICAN II music.  One thing to keep in mind also when reading rubrics in general is that things are listed in an order for a reason.  What is listed first is preferred followed by options.  So we have instructions on WHO should sing the opening chant in the preferred order:

 

1.      Sung alternately by the choir (so a choir is preferred) and the people.

2.      By cantor and the people

3.      By the choir alone.  (Interesting, no?  I think many would be shocked by this.)

 

Then there is a listing of WHAT STYLE of music may be sung:

 

1.      The antiphon from the Missal (perhaps with psalm response) as set to music there (read: chant) OR in another setting.

2.      The same as above but one for the liturgical season rather than that particular day.

3.      A chant from another collection of psalms that have been approved by the bishops.

4.      Another liturgical chant suited to the day, month, season, that has been approved by the bishop. 

 

Not listed is “Or just pick a song you like out of the missalette.”  Although we may certainly pick an appropriate song out of the missalette (it has been approved by our bishops) it certainly is not what Vatican II expressed as being the pinnacle of liturgical expression although it is probably what most Americans experience.  But we like what we like. 

A LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS

I count myself extremely fortunate that I grew up in house with live music; piano playing, button box, singing.  There were a couple of bands in the family.  There was always singing.  At the end of the night down at Slovene Center a group of people hanging in the bar would sing in four part harmony.  We kids were in the school band.  We sang in the church choir and every Sunday we heard live music performed by members of the community – the organ, the choir – sometimes cheesy music, sometimes classical, sometimes tied to our ethnic background, but LIVE and performed by ourselves or people we know.

 

If it were not for your local parish, how often would you hear live music performed?  It doesn’t necessarily have to be great music and often isn’t (although that certainly helps.)  Most of the time we hear music recorded at some date and played at a million venues numerous times a day.  How blessed we are to hear real music every Sunday! 

 

There is a fear that “local music” is disappearing.  Everything is recorded, sent, and played ad nauseam.  Weakening is regional food, local dialects, and quirky regional flavors that make being in a certain town different and interesting.  (Less and less are the words “devil strip” used in Akron.)  Too soon it will be Miley Cyrus, McDonalds, Gap, and “tree lawn” from coast to shining coast.

 

In this snowstorm of blandness there are little fires of hope.  I will grant you that often they are not great fires, barely able to offer warmth and to the extent that we can, we should fan these flames into something great.  But still, they are there.  Perhaps one of the only places where people in such numbers gather on a weekly basis (save for school if your levy passes) to both hear truly live music and are encouraged to participate in it.

CONUNDRUM

When Marin Luther had problems with certain books of the New Testament which appeared to contradict the new theology he was developing, he tried to have those particular books removed from the Lutheran version of the Bible.  Wikipedia explains it this way:

“Luther made an attempt to remove the books of Hebrews, James, Jude and Revelation from the canon (notably, he perceived them to go against certain Protestant doctrines such as sola gratia and sola fide), but this was not generally accepted among his followers. However, these books are ordered last in the German-language Luther Bible to this day.

"If Luther's negative view of these books were based only upon the fact that their canonicity was disputed in early times, 2 Peter might have been included among them, because this epistle was doubted more than any other in ancient times.  However, the prefaces that Luther affixed to these four books makes it evident ‘that his low view of them was more due to his theological reservations than with any historical investigation of the canon’".  Read more here.

Failing to have the Epistle of James removed, he dubbed it the epistle of straw and invited followers to largely ignore it.  This may seem startling to us today, but it still takes place even within the Catholic Church.  Perhaps not with Scripture but we have our own versions of it.

An excellent example would be the documents of Vatican II.  There are certain ideas about Vatican II, which are very popular and almost ingrained into American Catholic society, that don’t quite stand up to all that VII said.  Readers of the documents are invited to skip over the parts that do not agree with this vision and are told they are in violation of VII documents if they, in fact, are trying to do as the actual documents state.

Here is an example that I told you about some time back.  A friend of mine was having dinner in a restaurant and having just come from a VII workshop, happened to have the documents sitting on the table.  A man came by and invited him to come to his church where they were truly putting the documents into action.  When asked which church this was, the man identified a community that had just broke from the diocese and the bishop and was operating as an independent entity. 

Confused, my friend asked how they could consider themselves more closely following VII documents when so much of them were about being in concert with the local bishop and the pope.  “That’s not in there!” replied the man.  Not only is it in there, but it is a major section of one of the constitutions of the Church.  The man had to admit that they disagreed that part of the document.  A document of straw.

Recently we were going to sing the Gloria in Latin for a short time.  My music minister received a certain amount of flack.  The worst came from persons accusing the parish of betraying VII (which in my estimation is one step short of accusing the parish of schism.)  Pointing out that the constitution of the Church not only states that Latin is the official language of the Church and that it is to preserved, but that every person should know their parts of the Mass in Latin and that steps should be taken in order for this to occur, had no sway. 

Now, if someone were to say they simply didn’t like this idea, I could respect that.  If they said that they, in fact, did not agree with VII documents, I would understand.  But if we cannot assume that all of the writing are guided by the Holy Spirit, no matter how contested they may have been at the time, how can we trust any of the writings of VII?  If we cannot trust the New Testament because certain parts of it might mislead us, how can we trust any of the New Testament?  Are we that lost?

I think not.

NO ONE PERSON CAN SOLVE THIS PROBLEM - BUT EVERYONE CAN

Michelin makes tires.  They have made tires for a very long time.  It is difficult for us to think of a time when they needed to come up with an idea to get people to drive more in order that their tires might be used more thereby requiring people to buy more of them.  (Not a problem today.)  One of the brilliant things that they did (and still do today) is to start rating restaurants.  This was not just a nice service that a benevolent company performed for travelers who want to find a good meal wherever they happen to be, it was an attempt to get people to drive to the next town, province, state, country, or what have you in order to make their way to a destination restaurant.  How did they get there?  On Michelin tires.  Today we think nothing of driving to the next town in order to get a good meal.  They may not have been solely responsible for this change in our cultural driving habits, but they did help.  They did something.

 

That is the idea behind the Academy of Culture and Arts at St. Sebastian.  Far too many of our churches order their “art” out of catalogues.  Few are truly trained in writing or performing music for the liturgy.  Trained organists are disappearing from the musical scene.  And the only people really paying for “art,” and thereby providing the only meat on which our artists can chew (both figuratively and literally) is the secular world.  There is becoming a dearth of Christian and in particular Catholic artists.

 

The problem is almost too vast to imagine.  Nobody can solve it.  But all of us can do something to make it better, to start forming a culture, to start planting seeds in order that some day things will be different.  We can’t just be happy to point out the problem.  We must do something.

 

The Academy is one of these efforts.  We are going to provide people of all ages in our community the opportunity to learn and be exposed to the arts.  We hope (eventually) to be offering a wide range on instruments, others arts, and languages, to provide a quality concert series to inspire, bring in speakers, and create opportunities to present the arts not only so that decently trained artists might be formed, but even for those who will find themselves not quite as talented as they might hope, will be able to appreciate good art and in appreciating it will, when they are adults, hopefully not settle for ordering their art out of catalogues and will want to train their children in the arts.

 

Several arts organization are coming together in order to make this project work and it will be a slow process of growing and trying.  Eventually it is hoped that a blue print for such an academy, which is a bit more than a school enrichment program, might be offered to other schools that are interested in starting such an endeavor.  As public funds start to dry up for such important ventures in our public schools, we need to ramp up.  Art is far too important to let fester.

 

Starting such a program takes a lot of resources.  If  you (or anyone you can think of) can be of assistance, please let me know!  There is a fund raiser coming up this weekend ($15!) if you are interested.  See more information here.

IS IT A LITTLE WARM AND FUZZY IN HERE OR IS IT JUST ME?

It’s Lent!  And time to start breaking the bindings of our seasonal missalettes to the song section immediately following Christmas.  Always an interesting time of year.  (I am about to rant a little.  If you are not in the mood, stop reading.)

 

Keeping strictly with the Vatican II documents which states that the words to the music that we sing should be in harmony with the faith of the Church, sometimes I scratch my head and wonder, “what the get out is this song saying?”  Yet we blithely carry on singing anything put in front of us like a pig that will eat any slop chucked down in front of him.

 

For example, the song, “Hosea.”  What exactly does this line mean?  “The wilderness will lead you to your heart where I will speak.”  When I spend enough time teasing out a possible interpretation (Jesus went to pray in the wilderness - The wilderness of our Lenten practices – will my bean burrito will lead me to Jesus?) then I suppose it can mean something.  But – really?  Is the best we can do?

 

Then there’s the song, “Ashes,” a perennial favorite.  There seems to be a lot of Pelagianism here, but perhaps I am being too sensitive.  It just sounds a little bit too much like I’m going to do this on my own, that I don’t really need God, He is just a crutch.  In the meantime God, here are some ashes that I offer you (as opposed to bread and wine.)  I know, I know, it is really saying we are offering ourselves (apparently the worst part of ourselves) until we have something better – but once again, really?  This is the shining example of what we as human beings can muster?

 

Then there are all the “I, me, me, I, I, I, me, me, myself, a little bit of us, but mostly ME,” songs.  Then again the whole book is chuck full of these.  For example, “Jerusalem, My Destiny.”  “I have fixed my eyes on your hills . . . MY destiny . . . I cannot turn away . . . this is OUR journey . . . I have found . . . I find a glimpse . . . I leave the past . . . I have met . . . I have found . . . I awoke.  I, I, me, I-monster”  I’m sure Jesus had SOMETHING to do here.

 

Then there is, “Lord, Who Threw Out These Forty Days?”  Well, of course nobody has.  They are still here.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: HE WHO SINGS WELL

The detail that went into the documents is astounding.  A slow as the Church is to act at times it is amazing how much they were actually able to accomplish.  It is said that a giraffe is a horse put together by committee.  It is a credit to the Holy Spirit that such large and numerous committees were able to pull off Vatican II.

 

The next chapter of Sacrosanctum Concilium concerns the liturgical year.  After reaffirming Sunday as the Lord’s Day and lauding the holy seasons, mysteries of Christ, and feast days of saints, it makes recommendations to revise the Church calendar, “to suit the conditions of modern times.”  (107)

 

Far more interesting is the section on Sacred Music.  The same provisions for language is given that were previously given for the Mass.  That is, there is place for the vernacular but there should be some talent to sing in Latin by the congregation, particularly the Mass parts.  Sacred Music is to be preserved and “Choirs must be assiduously developed, especially in cathedral churches.”

 

“The Church recognizes Gregorian Chant as being specially suited to the Roman liturgy.  Therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.” (116)  “Bishops and other pastors of souls must take great care to ensure that whenever the sacred action is to be accompanied by chant, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs . . .” (114)  This is something we try to do at least in small measure during Lent at St. Sebastian.  All that being said, it does allow and even encourage other suitable, sacred music, especially polyphony, into the Church “so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action as laid down in Article 30.”  (116)

 

“The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem in the Latin Church, for it is the traditional musical instrument, the sound of which can add a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up men’s mind to God and higher things.”  (120)  Other instruments are allowed to be used if they are approved by the bishops and, “only under the condition that the instruments are suitable, or can be made suitable for sacred use; that they accord with the dignity of the temple and that they truly contribute to the edification of the faithful.”  (120)

 

Composers are then encouraged to keep composing for both large and small choirs and that the words of the music must always be kept in strict line with Catholic doctrine.  It is on this last point, particularly with Eucharistic hymns, that I would like to rip out much of what passes as Catholic Sacred Music in contemporary “Catholic” hymnals.  (Personal note.)

MONDAY DIARY: MUSIC IN HEAVEN

Greetings friends,

There is not going to be a Monday Diary per se as there is a family funeral today.  My Uncle Fankie Spetich (of the Frankie Spetich Orchestra fame) passed away this past week and so time is limited today.

 

It was difficult to be Slovenian and for Frankie not to be part of your celebration.  He and his orchestra (also featuring my Uncle John also late of our company) played for countless weddings, club dinner dances, and community events while I was growing up.  His reach extended far beyond the city limits of Barberton but it was there that I was most familiar with his work.  As a child it seemed almost every week we had to be down at the lodge for a some event at which the orchestra would be playing.  I remember the haze (from the many smokers), the chicken dinners, and the gentleman throwing dancing dust on the wooden floors (one would probably be sued today if someone slipped and fell) when the dancing music was about to begin.

 

In later years he started playing at church for polka Masses for such events as the Slovene Open and Night in Slovenia Dinner Dances.  To top it all off (for me) he finally played for my ordination reception.  What a night.

 

Here is a recording of his music. 

IN OTHER NEWS:

Dave Brubeck (a favorite of mine) also died this past week.  He is a jazz genius who didn't really know God in his early years.  At one point he was commissioned to compose a Mass.  Studying the Mass as he would have to do in order to compose the piece he fell in love with God His Church and became Catholic.  Rest in peace!

 

 

MONDAY DIARY: HELP STOMP OUT SOULESS ZOMBIES

Sunday morning at Mass somebody handed me a program from The Cleveland Orchestra saying that they had gone to Severence the night before and thought the program stunning. As it turned out, because of a friend from my last assignment who is a singer with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus I had tickets to the rehearsal the Wednesday before. They have the briefest of programs for the rehearsals however and so it was nice to have the true program with some further insights into the music.

One of the pieces was the, “Glagolitic Mass” (Slavic Mass) by Leos Janacek. According to the program notes, “Glagolitic is the flowery alphabet invented by two 9th-century missionaries, Saints Cyril and Methodius, who set out to evangelize the Slavs. The Cyrillic alphabet later replaced Glagolitic. (Despite its name, the Cyrillic alphabet was the invention of one of Cyril’s followers.) Thus, the title Glagolitic Mass refers not to a language but to the earliest alphabet designed to transcribe Old Church Slavanic.” So, for example, the Lamb of God or Agnus Dei is rendered Agnece Bozij in the language that for a time in the East played a parallel role that Latin did in the West.

The rehearsals are quite a different thing to attend than a regular concert. To begin it is open seating so if you are late you could end up sitting in a seat that quite frankly is probably the best seat I could afford at a regular concert that I had to pay for and thus not great. The orchestra and choir are shorn of their tuxes and black dresses and perform in jeans and sweaters mostly. (It was fun picking out who looked like our idea of an off duty musician and who out of context like a character that walked into the wrong set of a movie shoot.) There is no clapping. But the best part by far is that you get to hear Franz Welser-Most’s notes to the orchestra after they finish a piece. Sometimes in going back over a piece he would interrupt the music and say something along the lines of, “It’s about the color!” which of course meant little to me and my sister who was able to join me, but made a wonderful difference when the piece was then repeated showing why they are professional musicians and I listen at free rehearsals.

The most interesting part was when they were fine tuning the Agnus Dei. “You must know the theology of what we are singing,” he charged, “You know this because we have done this before. Know it and sing it with expresivo or it means nothing!” This is part of the radiance of this musical ensemble’s performances.

There is another well known classical music organization that does some wonderful things. They perform every piece that they do with technical brilliance. But there seems to be a disconnect between the meaning of the texts and the hearts of the performers. This past year I purchased a CD of their performance of Handle’s Messiah. One night in advent I put it on as I ate dinner thinking it would be nice to listen to. Half way through my meal I through my fork down, stood up, pointed my finger (I can be a little dramatic – that happens when you live alone) and yelled at the infernal machine pumping out the music, “You might as well be singing about the Staypuffed Marshmallow Man’s mortal combat challenge with Frosty the Snowman!” It was like a beautiful Zombie, wonderful to behold but lacking a soul. So I switched to, “A Cool Jazz Christmas,” for at least they believed in what they were singing which always helps the digestion.

But Most’s comments have stuck with me. How true the statement is that we must know the theology of what we are saying and to proclaim it with meaning or else we are missing out on so much. We can be speaking such gorgeous words but with little soul. But when we unite both, how truly beautiful and powerful they become.

GLORIA ET LAUD

When I was first in the seminary the music book de jour was the “Glory and Praise” hymnal; the yellow one with the sunset and dove on the cover. (Until I hid them.) Fr. H. and I were so appalled at the content of those books we sat down one day and tried our best to come up with a song to make fun of them and point out how insipid some of that music was. Here at least are the words to that song.

Here we are together in this space,
Standing together, hand in hand, face to face.
Let’s join together now,
Put division on a dusty shelf.
Let’s pray together
Cuz’ you’re my other self.

The only problem was that some people liked it and wanted to use it. So we tried harder.

Where is Jesus now?
Look both high and low.
Just where is Jesus now and where did He go?
Do you know what you’re lookn’ for
Do you know where Jesus is, is, is?
He’s in you and me,
That’s where Jesus really is. (Kazoo interlude. Repeat)

Some folks thought it would be a good song for kids. No matter how inane we tried to be it simply sounded like a modern hymn being produced at the time.

That being said I realize some of the music that I like from ages past is equally as sappy in other ways, perhaps a bit over sentimental (though still better theologically.) I find it sad that these old tunes are no longer being used and so have some sympathy for those who actually do like the current heave of music. They should not have to go through the banning of tunes as others have. So let there be a compromise! Let us find new uses for these modern ditties so some in this generation will not feel as alienated as prior ones have.

It would be too easy to make fun of this music, as did a friend of mine. He uses the songs in crass ways in order to show his disdain of them. One example would be “Blest Are They” which he re-wrote for his answering machine.

Blest are they who call this number,
I am not in my room.
Please leave your name and your telephone number
I will get back to you.
Rejoice and be glad
Wait for the beep, your message will keep,
Rejoice and be glad
I will get back to you.

I want to take this project a little more seriously. For example, so much of our hymnody has predictable and simpleton melodies that do not seem to live up to the dignity we are trying to foster in the liturgy. Take, for example (sorry if you like the tune) “Sing to the Mountains.”

Maybe we could take this song and give it a different use. It would be a great prelude to mass, much more useful, and add to the dignity of the celebration if we just changed the words some. Change the title to, “Ring Tones Annoys Us.”

Ring tones annoys us
‘Specially yours.
Turn off pagers, phones, and toys.
This is no place for that mess
It’s time to pray the mass.

On a more serious note, we have an overabundance of “I” songs. Theses songs incessantly put the singer (I, me, I, me) into the role of God. How many of these can we have before we become confused about who God is and who the creature is? Perhaps some of these can be reworked also. “On Eagle’s Wings” could be “On Legal Things” and used at a Red Mass. A Red Mass is generally said once a year for judges, prosecutors, attorneys, law school professors and students, and government officials. The Mass requests guidance from the Holy Spirit for all who seek justice, and offers the opportunity to reflect on what Catholics believe is the God-given power and responsibility of all in the legal profession. Much could be done to diswade Catholics from illegal acts by singing, “And they will bring you up on legal things, jail you in the county jail, make you to pay a hefty fine and scold you with a list of demands."

Finally, there are way too many songs that refer to the Eucharist as Jesus the fun time snack. Let us rework at least some of them to be more useful to us. For example, with talks on chastity to youth, “One Bread, One Body” could easily be reworked into, “One Bed, One Body.” What an effective and clear message that our youth needs to hear.

Those are my ideas, perhaps you have more. Let us work together to save this body of music.