I received an email advert from The Liturgical Press touting a number of new releases. One one these, a short (184 pages) treatise entitled “Rock-a My Soul” was featured, though it won’t be released in book form or online until February 1. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I have purchased an online version which contains an acknowledgement section and the author’s introduction. I perused the introduction, but I won’t reproduce any of that here, as the book is not formally “out.” However, the following was gleaned from existing reviews, from the publisher and a prominent review agency.Why mention this at Chant Cafe? Well, as I chatted with Dr. Mahrt on the way back from NOLA, when one hears anecdotes about what actually goes on musically or otherwise at St. Perpetual Motion, the stark reality of just how far from center our philosophies and practices can stray from one another is breath-taking.
For your consideration:
David Nantais is the director of campus ministry at the University of Detroit Mercy. He lives in Detroit, Michigan, with his wife Carrie and son Liam. Dave, a former seminarian in the Society of Jesus, has played drums in several rock bands for over twenty years and has attended over 150 rock shows since 1986.…the review from “Publisher’s Weekly”
“A tension between the worldly and the spiritual has existed in “rock ‘n’ roll” since its foundations in African-American spirituals, gospel, and blues music. But for Catholic drummer (and PW reviewer) Nantais, the very music often feared by religious folk has served as both balm and outlet to help him understand God. In this short, first-person musing, Nantais argues that “theology can be done through music,” encouraging Christians to see “rock ‘n’ roll”as a “mode of theological expression.” Setting aside contemporary Christian music (which he says is not the only way to marry rock and religion), he argues that mainstream rock has many virtues: community building and transcendent elements, meditative qualities, expression of emotion. Nantais admits to some less edifying aspects of rock (e.g., segregated crowds at rock music venues, ties to consumerism). He also chooses not to address a major sticking point for some–offensive lyrics–and so may not be able to convince every reader of rock’s merits. Despite that, his enthusiasm for mix tapes and chord progressions is infectious. Christians will learn to find God in a rock concert, and lovers of all things drum and guitar will find spiritual validation.”
…the advert review from The Liturgical Press
“Rock music and organized religion have suffered a tense relationship for over sixty years. Rockers accuse religious people of being too rigid and irrelevant. People of faith have labeled rock “the devil’s music” and say that nothing good can come of it. But what if both of these groups are wrong? What if rock music can actually aid one’s religious faith and spiritual life?
Few styles of music engage the human body as much as rock and roll. From toe tapping to air guitar, listening to rock music, like religious ritual, requires attention to the present moment and can help the listener (or believer) reclaim a sense of identity as a creature of God. In addition, several social causes include both rockers and religious advocates. During some of the most tumultuous times the world has experienced, both groups have given succor and hope to millions. No matter what side of the religion/rock debate you are on, perhaps it is time to bury the hatchet (or pick up your axe!) and start rocking your religion!”
I remember thinking back around 1976, after about five years of being a parish choir director that “Whoa, wouldn’t it be righteous to be able to do music that sounds like BOSTON or TOTO at Mass. More than 30 years later, I can reflect that I simply mixed my desire to perform, innovate, inflict my enthusiasm via the megawattage of effects-pedal power and volume, and ultimately my ego upon a captive audience, sincerely believing the whole while that they’d get it or come around because I was ever so sincere!
I won’t comment further, because I believe I ought to read the book when it shows up on my laptop.
But another reality is also worth pondering. How did the editors at The Liturgical Press come to agree this was a serious enterprise to ponder for RC musicians and pastors?
He's coming to our community in April to give a guest lecture at the university and speak at our parish.
I notice that the promotional matter says nothing about its use in liturgy. I would guess that if the author were pressed on this point, he would back away from saying it ought to be used at Mass or Liturgy of the Hours.
From Cardinal Ratzinger's "Spirit of the Liturgy." Compare and contrast:
“Rock,” on the other hand, is the expression of elemental passions, and at rock festivals it
assumes a cultic character, a form of worship, in fact, in opposition to Christian worship. People are, so to speak, released from themselves by the experience of being part of a crowd and by the emotional shock of rhythm, noise, and special lighting effects. However, in the ecstasy of having all their defenses torn down, the participants sink, as it were, beneath the elemental force of the universe.
"The music of the Holy Spirit’s sober inebriation seems to have little chance when self has become a prison, the mind is a shackle, and breaking out from both appears as a true promise of redemption that can be tasted at least for a few moments."
Todd, that should prove very interesting. Be usre to keep all in the loop and how it all was received.
I bet his editor removed 25 instances of the word "dude" from that. I just don't understand the idea that EVERY type of music is not only acceptable for liturgy, but also equal. Maybe I was born in a different universe . . .
Randy, note what Jeffrey pointed out above: there is no mention of its use in liturgy. Maybe he's actually all for it, but we don't know based on the above.
I am going to ask what a "mode of theological expression" means, though. Sounds concocted to me. Anybody have any idea? Todd, maybe you can ask him for me?
I can't help but think of that joke I'm sure we've all heard (but I'll repeat anyway) about the brother who asked his superior if he could smoke while he prayed and was told, "Absolutely not!" Later, though, the brother saw one of his fellow religious smoking and praying and became indignant that the one had been granted permission when the other hadn't. To which his friend explained, "Ah, yes, but I asked if I could pray while I smoked."
There seems to be a lot of musicians trying to smoke while they pray, and not the other way around. It's one thing to say to oneself, "I want to make rock music. It's what moves me. It's what makes me feel whole," and then, in the act of composing or performing or listening to rock music, allowing yourself to go adrift into religious sentiments and be inspired by your faith in what you're doing.
It's another thing entirely, however, in my opinion, to say to oneself, "I'm going to make music to glorify God," and then proceeding to put your own tastes, ideas, compulsions, and expressions above and before the actual glorification of God. To me it's always seemed like a form of (surely unintentional) self-righteousness.
I think many people could benefit from a bit of compartmentalization, frankly. There's nothing wrong with rock music, but it's a bit crude and distasteful to sully one's faith with it. Let your music be your music and your faith be your faith.
It would be like if English teachers started saying that reading Shakespeare was a "form of worship". Certainly there are passages in Shakespeare that are pretty spiritually uplifting, or challenging, or enlightening, but I'd think it pretty crass if we started singing his sonnets at mass as love poems to God. It's really the same basic principle behind suggesting than any and all music under the sun should be used in worship.
"Anybody have any idea? Todd, maybe you can ask him for me?"
My idea would be along the lines of Jeffrey's: read what the man writes and don't read into it what's not there.
Maybe one or two anonymouses could attend and report back to the anonymous collective. Then you'll all know, right?
(Honestly: have you people ever thought of using a handle?)
With my own tendency to being a populist/anarchist, I tend to discredit the whole notion of heroes and gurus. And where Mr Nantais is concerned, if he's not a church musician, he might be beyond his depth, and if he's a rock musician, he's already discredited in some eyes.
But I'll see what I can do about getting his bit thrown up on the parish's facebook page. Just remember y'all asked me.
As the responsible party that brought attention (no such thing as "bad" publicity) I want to remind everyone that I neither made any negative association about the author or the premise of his book, nor criticized its content as it is yet to be formally "published." And Jeffrey echoed that courtesy and tolerance.
The only aspect that I questioned was the editorial decision to "associate" the book by the folks at The LITURGICAL Press. But I did that fully aware of its commercial intent.
And I also confessed that long ago, in a faraway galaxy, I was too green to understand that I had no right to impose my own zeal, even in theory, upon the Divine Liturgy and upon the faithful. That is a affliction among "pastoral musicians" that transcends styles of music such as rock, or New Age, or Baroque cantatas.
If such music could be a "mode of theological expression", it would have to fulfill a certain requirement- either it is directly caused by God or directed to Him as its object. I think someone would be hard pressed to seriously argue that rock'nroll is directly inspired by God- certainly unlike Chant and sacred polyphony, its words (apart from explicitly Christian Rock) are not taken from Scripture. Also, it seems, as Ratzinger notes, that rock has a lot to do with self and so is not directed to God. Things specifically Christian pull us out of ourselves (generally) and bring us to God or make room within for God. If this music does not take its direct inspiration from Revelation and is not explicitly directed to God as God, then it seem that it cannot be an authentic mode of theological expression- what it is instead is yet another form of imanentism, i.e. the belief, condemned by Pius IX and Vatican I (if I am not mistaken), that religion arises from within man- we as Catholic Christians simply do NOT believe that- Revelation comes from without- a free graced gift of God to us…
On the other hand, God is renowned for working in drastically unexpected ways to inspire grace and belief.
I'm disinclined to read too much into Cardinal Ratzinger the rock critic.
I can agree with a certain skepticism about immanentism, but let's be clear: plainsong, polyphony, hymnody and other musical forms, inspired as they are by the words of Scriptures, are still human-made forms. They can all be subverted to narcissism. And if we think we may have a handle on some sort of exclusive True Spirituality by genre, it's likely God will disabuse us of that notion at some point.
Rock: probably not as glam as David Bowie, not as fab as the Beatles, and likely not as depraved as some suggest.
Todd, again I'll try to remain stalwartly distanced from critiquing a POV that I have yet to encounter and consider. And there is a "something" present when a Brooklyn Tabernacle, Hillsong, Chris Rice, Stan Fortuna or other CCM anthem is really taken up by a crowd lathered up, or pre-disposed towards singing in the rock genre.
But within the walls of a Roman Catholic sanctuary, tabernacle and nave, chant's a "human-made form" that isn't as burdened with baggage as rock carries, no?
Well, Charles, there were probably some sort of chants used while killing the early Christians. Or at least they used the organ anyway. At least, well, um, they didn't use the electric guitar when burning martyrs at the stake, so obviously it is a holy instrument set aside for the lord.
And so the story goes.
Let's just get over our stylistic differences and talk about REAL experience of music and prayer.
Who here, Todd included, has ever been in a church building and moved to deeper prayer by the presence of a rock group? Whether in the "prelude" before mass or in the abdominal excuses of "mass settings" that are our American "norm" today?
The contrary example: Who of us here, all liturgy snobs included, has ever been in the most horrendously conceived "spaceship" church, with a terrible procession and homily and noticed that adoration during the Eucharistic rite was cut just before nil, and yet have been drawn into deeper prayer by a beautiful chant before mass or during "meditation" or anywhere else in between?
Stylistic differences and (especially) all liturgical rhetoric ASIDE, all music has a specific and deliberate impact on those who hear it.
Anyone disagreeing with the above sentence should immediately remove themselves from any post or position, volunteer or paid, director or subordinate, within the Catholic faith IMMEDIATELY. They should not seek musical employment, within any other Christian faith or even in the secular world, EVER.
Charles, no. It has a different set of burdens.
Amateur rock musicians generally have a good sense of tempo. Even when they play ballads. Having a drummer pounds the other guys into form/submission. It's not the best way to absorb good musicianship, but it's effective.
I've encountered good church musicians who don't know what to do with chant tempo. And it's the number one thing they butcher. It's probably the number one objection to chant I hear, lensed through the adjective "boring."
Yes, that's interesting Todd. I think this must have been one driving motivation for the Solesmes editions to put in measure lines of sorts in the forum of the ictus, trying to organize the rhythm so that it didn't just seems like a long lines of notes without order.
I used to spend a lot of time in a Christian bookshop in the north of England, where there was invariably some dreary, pastel-coloured 'praise music' droning out of a stereo behind the counter. Did I say invariably? This one time, I went in and there was the most tremendous racket going on; and I overheard the following exchange:
Customer: 'Excuse me, but … what is this noise?'
Assistant: 'Oh, this? It's a Christian thrash metal band. They're called Atonement.'
C: 'Did you say … *Christian* … thrash metal?'
A: 'Yeah, that's right.'
C: 'And what exactly is Christian about this … "music"?'
A [checks CD booklet]: 'Well, it says here that their lyrics are very Biblical.'
C: 'But you can't hear the lyrics; it's just a man screaming over some distorted guitar riffs.'
A: 'Hmmm … you've got a point there.'
Todd, that is interesting because in every parish where I have either participated in "contemporary" liturgical music or just been present in the congregation, the drummer is ALWAYS the weak link in terms of tempo. Usually they drag, although sometimes a 16-y.o. fresh out of drum-corps will rush as he displays fancy "fills" between every phrase.
Never had a drummer bring the quality of liturgical music UP. When I'm called to sub for a mass and realize it will just be piano/vocal, I'm quite pleased. When I have to lead a group involving a drummer (or an electric bassist, for that matter), I normally must decline.
YOU CAN'T BE A GOOD JESUIT AND A GOOD LITURGIST SIMULTANEOUSLY
Anon II, that's an interesting observation, but I wasn't speaking of drummers playing liturgical music.
In general, I agree with the premise that good musicians are good and bad musicians bad.