Following Charles’s post on the book Rock a my soul, I thought I’d share some early footage of a liturgical music workshop from the ArchDiocese of Liverpool that took place some time in the mid-1970’s.
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O Keith, what hath I wrought and unleashed?
Bad teeth, big hair, man-lace, Liverpool and an AC/DC mad rush to the Dover cliffs, Kyrie eleison.
Band was tight though.
Whether that was "real" or parody, that clip does a great job of illustrating just why seriously true rock is absolutely incompatible with religious expression, even in a devotional or inspirational context. Notice, I qualify that statement with "true rock." One can imagine other, modified types (esoteric, ie. Emerson, Lake and Palmer come to mind) as crucibles for contemplationd and such. But the crossroads of narcissism and seduction in examples like this, again if even its a Brit Spinal Tap, almost seems like an exclamation point to the question of rock and spirituality: there's nothing, really, to discuss here. Move on, nothing to see here!
Thanks, that was fun.
Let it not be said that we "gentlemen of the back row" lack either a sense of humour, or a diverse taste in musc!
I was 4 when AC/DC made that video, and it was just about the time that things were changing and ArcBp Warlock took over and started to wildly "experiment" with the liturgy, especially in certain Deaneries which became almost liturgical "laboritories". Our Deanery was the first to introduce communion under both kinds, female altar servers, the congregation joining in the words of consecration and the per cum ispo, holding hands during the Pater Noster, and lay-led parishes. Within 10 years the senior seminary at St Joseph's closed, then the junior seminary on the same site in 1985, then the school, vocations all but dried up and mass attendance plummeted. Go figure!
The lead singer's vestige is surely a tribute to Anglicanorum coetibus, and the surplices on the guitarist and drummer are exactly what the young priest at our parish wears to distribute Holy Communion!
Fascinating that while the music has passed away but the vesture endureth forever. The hermeneutic of continuity?
Folks, it's just a video by a much younger AC/DC. The derivation of the title from Genesis surely prompted them to do the "churchy" setting. I don't think anyone involved in this production even imagined a real church service. It's pure theater. Boy do I miss Angus Young. He was one of rock's great voices.
Delighted that I always hated that music from a little girl. SO LOUD! No wonder we've been in the desert for 40 years. That was a significant WRONG TURN. Music too loud to hear the approaching train! I realize it is filmed in a church…etc…but what proof that it is from a liturgical music workshop? Looks like a bad video from those days – filmed in an abandoned or closed church…
Saying that it was a "liturgical workshop" was a joke. Fun-nee. Supposed to make you laugh.
The sad thing is that videos like this assumed that all kids went to church and learned their Bible, that church would always be pretty much a continuity, and that therefore it was intrinsically hilarious and rebellious to show a rock band in church. They surely didn't expect anybody to do this sort of thing for real.
And to think liturgical progressives chided choirs back then for being nothing but performers. At least, the choir was in the balcony and not a distraction in the sanctuary. I guess the progressives were engaging in classic "projection" accusing others for what they were doing themselves!
Anon
We've been giggling with the humour of "in-jokes" (see the chant setting of the much derided Mass of Creation) in the past couple of days here in the cafe, and the video is the promo for AC/DC's "Let there be rock" released in 1977.
I'll let you into a secret (but you have to promise not to tell), it wasn't actually a workshop 😉 But, if you read my comments above, it actually wasn't a million miles from what was really going on in my Deanery in the Diocese of Liverpool in the 80's and 90's when I was a "yoof".
Fear not, normal, intelligent service has resumed in the cafe.
BTW, Micahel, it was "Bon" Scott who was the lead singer in the video who died in 1980, Angus is still rocking hard.
There actually WAS a for-real "Rock n' Roll" Mass composed and sung by a group called The Exceptions" and published" (i.e., the 45 rpm disc recorded and sold) by (who else?) F.E.L. (Friends of the English Liturgy) Publications, Dennis Fitzpatrick's company, in 1965.
The story I heard was that Fitzpatrick went to one of the North Rush Street (Chicago) clubs where this young group played, handed them the text of the Mass (you'll note the USA translation of the Gloria then and the priest's introduction to the Lord's Prayer was very similar to the new translation) and a wad of cash and told them to do something with it. And they did. And you can listen to it (no sharp objects handy, please) online:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-exceptions-collection/id213250913
Apparently, Fitzpatrick's plan was to publish the Mass text set to various genre's: his Setting One and Two were very Gregorian Chant-oriented; a Choral setting; the Folk Mass (he published Ray Repp's "Mass for Young American's" in 1966); and this Rock Mass. His "Demonstration English Liturgy Altar Missal" actually contains a very conservative translation of the Roman Canon set to a very lovely (mode II, I think) chant melody; and his Prefaces and Exsultet are quite nice, as were his chants for the scripture readings.
But the Rock n' Roll Mass . . . oy!