Author: Mr. C

This is Charles: I received the following email from Adam Wood and even though what follows expresses his initial reaction to some communication he’d received, we agreed that both the email and his musing were worth sharing. To whit-

Adam: I just read possibly the most humbling comment I’ve ever received. On my post “Gregorian Chant is for Radicals: Part 1”

My daughter and I are part of a choir that is under the aegis of a Benedictine monastery in a third world country. This basically means that you have about 10 amateurs who do their best to keep up with the choir director, who has no choice but to sing with us while strumming on his guitar, as no one knows how to play any other instrument. We also have a very good guitar player who is only 16, but seems to be more content playing Guns n Roses. The rest of the choir is made up of housewives and women who have to work all day. Our participation is more wishful thinking than anything, but our collective goal is to make beautiful music for God. My daughter was recently introduced to Gregorian chant. She began to cry because she said “Mom, we´re never going to sing like that!” I had to agree, but she has her heart set on learning Gregorian chant. We don´t have any places that have Gregorian chant in this country that I know of, so it certainly will be a challenge.

I responded via email- assuring her that Chant is, in fact, much easier than it seems, and asking if it would be helpful to point her in the direction some free online resources. I also asked where she is and what language they use for Mass. I did a search for email address, and I suspect she is in a Spanish-speaking country. Also, I don’t know if she is a missionary or a local. What really struck me was the disconnect between the us (the LitMus haves) and the vast majority of Catholics- the LitMus Havenots. Like- maybe we’re all spending a little too much time debating the finer points of liturgical hermaneutics, or trying to convince goofy suburbanites to give up their Gather Comprehensives- maybe we need to make a more concerted effort to serve these types of communities.

“Don’t you love when you get back to the table and your food is waitng for you?” That’s a line from a Quentin Tarantino blockbuster film that is apropos of my post yesterday. Well, that’s how I feel when I happened upon my email inbox just now-
Mr. Adam Wood just happened to send me this compelling essay. Synchronicity-is it real or just an album by the Police? Anyway, this is a guest post from Adam (his own blog is found HERE ). I hope you enjoy his wisdom as much as I. Disclaimer about the post title-the first portion is a quote from his essay, the second is my usual odd teaser. Adam’s essay-

    A recent conversation thread at the MusicaSacra forum explores the “debate” (for lack of a better word) between two views about what the Mass is: a “celebration” or a “sacrifice.” Alternatively, the two opposing understandings might be called “a shared community meal” and “a sacramental ritual.”
    Now, I’m of the opinion that these are all true and/or accurate descriptions of what is going on in the Eucharistic Liturgy. But let’s explore what the question is really asking, before we get into arguments over the true nature of our public sacramental life.
    The question, as framed by the original commentator and also (it seems) Pope Pius X, runs along something like: IF the Mass is X, THEN what thing (Y) ought we to be doing?
    Since the Mass is a Sacrifice, the music needs to be real serious. Since the Mass is a community celebration, it’s okay to play calypso music and dress in shorts.
    If liturgy is essentially a cultic act of ritual, then we should never change a single detail. If liturgy is essentially a public act of political theatre, then we should add giant puppets.
    While I’m sympathetic to this line of reasoning (especially when the reasoner confirms my own biases and preferences), it rests on a singularly faulty foundation: the idea that we can possibly understand what the Mass is truly about.
    This, to me, seems the great fallacy of 20th-Century liturgical reform (and possibly earlier liturgical reform- although I’m not qualified to speak on anything other than what I have experienced myself). Workshops and planning books have turned “Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi” on it’s head, teaching would-be liturgists that we should mold the liturgy to express our (new and improved) theology. But that’s exactly the opposite of what (I understand) that phrase means. The prayer comes first, the belief second. Among the many graces bestowed on us by the sacrmental act, one of them is a potential lesson in the nature of supernatural things- things which we cannot, and perhaps should not, express in any other way.
    Outside of a firm grounding in the age-old traditions of how the Mass is CELEBRATED by the Church, any conversation about the nature of what is happening at the liturgy is mere speculation. And any attempt to use that speculation as a guide to the planning and execution of the Church’s public prayer is meddling in things best left to more capable (and Venerable) hands.
    Liturgy then, should not be “done” in some particular way (as opposed to another) because we believe some particular set of things (as opposed to another). Liturgy should be “done” according the traditions of our heritage.
    Yes, yes- you can argue that within our tradition is a huge range of possibilities. True. And each parish or individual celebration has the freedom to find their way within that tradition. Even in a liturgically-ideal world (ha!), some will use Latin, and others the vernacular. Some will celebrate the Novus Ordo, and other the older Rite, and still others the Anglican Use, or the Ambrosian Rite, or one of the Eastern Catholic forms. Some would sing polyphonically and other monophonic chant. Some would employ an organ, and others not. Some would have a vested clerical choir of Men and Boys singing from within the Sanctuary, other a Women’s schola in the loft, and still others a single Cantor (with his or her well-worn copy of the Simple English Propers in hand).
    But really- none of them would have giant puppets, would they? And while it’s easy to point out the most obvious and ridiculous “adaptation” that has ever been made to the Roman Rite, I think we can agree that – even within the inherent disagreements that would follow – a basic conception of fidelity to tradition itself would cause a profound, and positive, change in contemporary liturgical praxis.
    Only THEN might we be able to understand what the liturgy actually is, and what it does to and for us.
    And then, when someone asks, “What is the nature of liturgy? Is it a sacrifice, or is it a celebration?” instead of stumbling over seminary-style explanations, we could simply say: Come and see.

I have a confession to make. Readers from southern states or devoted fans of the now ancient and defunct seminal rock band, R.E.M., will understand what I mean by declaring I’m losing my religion. No, not my faith or practice in our beloved HRCC, God forbid! “Losing my religion” is colloquial code for when you feel doubt about the worth of something that once was pretty an all-consuming passion. In my case, it’s about the value of internet discourse as a helpful tool for dialogue, enthusiasm and fraternal support among peers serving the Church as musicians. I found myself giving advice to a colleague at our sister forum that to offer sound advice via the “written word” on the web that produces responses other than what one anticipated was immaterial in this age when people DON’T READ ANYTHING. What, you say, no one READS ANYTHING anymore? Well, you show me someone who reads every word and mark on a contract for a mortgage or auto loan, and I’ll show you the odd duck. Realizing someone actually reads these little missives and responds consistent to your dialectic would be like finding Waldo, heck maybe even Amelia Earhart! No, I know for darn sure that I am not a completely thorough reader. Happily I have lots of friends who remind me of that in our respective and various Liturgy Encampments. But, at some point I’m sure that the best intentions bloggers have when hitting submit, knowing that saying something with fervor is going to be like being in the middle of a riotous bunch of bridezillas at the wedding gown blue light special sale, you’ll be relatively unscathed if someone just criticizes your spelling, punctuation or word count. But, in reality, it’s generally nasty business. Blogger Adam Wood (Music for Sunday) nailed it today at Pray Tell after a lovely little post of Alan Hommerding’s satire at NPM called “How do you solve a problem named ‘translation?’” (think “Sound of Music.”) Adam quipped “Cue comments lacking a sense of humor in 3… 2… 1…” So, I’m not tired or weary. I’m just doubtful about the time investment. I’m hoping to hand over my Café calligraphy pen to someone like Adam or my other young and brilliant colleagues I’ve met at colloquia and online. And I wondered, what the heck is there to write about anyway?
God’s a funny person, what with Him being our Creator and all. I had avoided this issue: to post or not to post by doing what I do- procrastination. So, in a thread another new contributor at MSF offered this little gem up in so many words (Hildegard of Bingen thread), “Why not Doctors of the Church who were musicians?” Besides my patron, Gregory the Great, I thought “Yeah, what about Tallis or Palestrina?” Now, if you’ve READ THIS FAR, here comes a little fable before getting to the point.

Chuck was an organist and choirmaster of a tiny parish in a small town in the eastern desert area of Oregon for over five decades. He’d displayed quite a talent at the piano when he started lessons with a lady who also taught second grade at St. Precocious School at the age of seven. He was playing school Masses on Fridays by the third grade on an old Wurlitzer in the gallery. He started with the two part St. Gregory, added the SATB by the fourth grade, and started messing with the pedals after a growth spurt in the fifth grade. Chuckie was close enough to commute to college where he earned a degree in English, then a teaching credential, and he, too, became a school teacher. But he he would always be found at the Wurlitzer console on Saturday and Holy Day Vigils, and on Sunday and HD Masses. Once in a while, whomever the current pastor was might give Chuck a bonus a couple of weeks after Easter or Christmas. And a couple of times, he was sent to some conventions where it became evident that there was much more music than the Catholic top twelve hymns recording by the great Proulx. But Chuck only seasoned his weekly ordos with an occasional song like “Let There be Peace on Earth” or “How Great Thou Art.” One summer his pastor sent Chuck to a diocesan workshop where everyone was given huge packets of music, and he returned and reported to the parish and the pastor to learn that they were going to use all these new songs because they were switching to a yearly paperback hymnal and that would surely help the people to participate more fully (and louder) when singing at Mass. So, Chuck looked through the hymnal. It was Ordinary Time, and he said to himself, “Okay, let’s just try some of these out. Some of the tunes are actually quite well known anyway.” So for the upcoming weekend he chose four new hymns: ALL ARE WELCOME (Entrance); SING A NEW CHURCH (Presentation); SONG OF THE BODY OF CHRIST (Communion); and “CANTICLE OF THE SUN” (Dismissal). He thought of the last one, “That’s really a bit too peppy for me, but maybe the people will enjoy that.” At the end of the Vigil Mass on Saturday, Chuck turned the power off the console and expected to look over the gallery rail expecting to see just a few stragglers, but it seemed like the whole church was still full. From the hodge podge of faces first came some murmurs. Then louder, Chuck could make out some words. Then the words became shouts: “What in God’s Name was that?” “Chuck, what’s wrong with you?” “Have you lost your mind, Chuck, what was that crap anyway?” “If you play anything like those again, I’ll never come to Mass here again!” “Chuck, now you’ve gone too far, I’m going to the pastor about all this change!” He sat backwards on the bench, stunned and bewildered. It was difficult to take in “what just happened?” All he could come up with was “I just played some different music. How could that make all those folks so angry? What did I do wrong?” Unease and confusion tussled in his head. Then Chuck woke up with a start. Oh, thank God, it was just a dream. His memory emerged from a fog, it was just like other end of Mass, just a few people praying silently, a few chatting, no one noticed Chuck’s changes at all, apparently.

Back to the post. In a world where image is everything and self image is at the top of each soul’s agenda, surely nothing like Chuck’s nightmare would ever happen in reality. Such scenes are imaginary or cloaked in the anonymity of the combox echo chambers. Think again. When I considered the notion of “composer” Doctors of the Church, I thought immediately of the address given by Russian Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev in 2010 to the faculty and students of the Benjamin Rome School of Music at Catholic University in D.C., in which he particularly emphasized the singularity of the union of soul and composer in the example of J.S. Bach. His stunningly eloquent and persuasive essay can be found here. In tracking the address down via Google, as I scrolled down the first page of hundreds of thousands of addresses, this caught my attention: Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) shouted down as ‘heretic’ by members of the Patriarchate of Moscow I followed the link to a site “ORTHODOX ENGLAND,” an independent publication associated with St. John’s Orthodox Church, Colchester, UK. I thought, “This can’t be serious, can’t be real.
” On the evening of Saturday 13 February, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk was greeted by shouts of ‘heretic’, as he came out at the polyeleios at matins. The disturbance took place in the Church of the Icon of the Mother of God of All those who Sorrow, which is on the Ordynka in Moscow. Metropolitan Hilarion serves regularly in this church. The situation has not been helped by the leaking of a discussion document which resulted from ecumenical talks about papal primacy. These talks were held last year in Crete among academics from the Orthodox Church and from the Vatican. The discussion document has been dubbed the ‘Cretan Unia’ by its opponents. The situation thus resembles that in Greece in the 60s and 70s, where Greek ecumenists of that generation were also regularly shouted down during services as heretics. All this serves to show just how broad a spectrum of opinion is represented within the Patriarchate of Moscow. These are far broader than within the Tradition of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia, where views are much more consistent. Presumably, this must result from the fact that there are so many recently baptised in the Patriarchate, who do not always know or understand the Tradition.
Are we talking about the same prelate here? Shouted at by, presumably, the laity of his own church, maybe even by clergy. What could this eminent pastor, scholar, composer and ecumenist have done to warrant such visceral vitriol among his own “flock?”In his Wikipedia bio there was this tidbit to ponder- On 5 October 2008 Bishop Hilarion took part in the “Bible marathon” organized by the Italian state TV channel RAI-Uno. He read Chapter Two from the Book of Genesis, immediately following Pope Benedict XVI, who read Chapter One. Bishop Hilarion was followed by 1246 readers from various countries.

Reading the Holy Word of God with 1246 other souls is added to a tote board by attacking sheep to a faithful and, it cannot be overstated, literally orthodox prelate of the other lung of sacramental Christendom, so much so that one could imagine a sort of “occupy” mob mentality must have been coordinated on that February day. From what else I’ve read about the metropolitan, he is not someone who cowers in the solicitude of academic hallways or libraries. He has known risk and championed the beauty of orthodoxy and discipline at every step. I would think he’s not much for staying in the confines of his material office. If he can “get” Bach, and be a clarion to call attention to Bach, man of God, he certainly wouldn’t have reservations reading a bible chapter after the Pope of Christian unity, Benedict XVI. Wouldn’t it be wonderful were one a fly on the wall when those two chatted privately about old Johann?
So, oops, I’ve done it again. Another long, obtuse post. Well, that’s, among a very few other things, what I do and have done during my time at the Café. I try to put things into a perspective that I can comprehend, that means no offense and hopefully ministers to someone else as these revelations edifies my continued enthusiasm. So, thank you yet again, Metropolitan Hilarion. Thank you, Lord God of heaven and earth. I may not in the unforeseen future continue sharing stuff that keeps me honest and going. But, rather than to curse the darkness for all that hasn’t come to pass in WHAT I THINK LITURGY SHOULD BE in my little corner of the ant farm, I’m not going to “lose my religion” over the stuff of Chuck’s nightmare, but to emulate and follow the fine example of leadership lived by some orthodox bishop over in Russia who is, if anything, not a “heretic,” but maybe a future Doctor of a united Church, either in this world or the next.

The “competition” and market

Over at the Musica Sacra Forum folks (including m’self) have had themselves quite a time debating the pros/cons of a start up Publishing House envisioned to eventually rival “THE BIG THREE” primarily in terms of market presence and as a clear catalogue alternative to the status quo and/or perceived monopoly ensconsed in the consumer Catholic culture.
Our blogging colleague Jerry Galipeau of World Library Publications has always honestly and enthusiastically kept his readership informed of some of the inner workings of one of those BIG THREE houses at his blogsite, GOTTA SING, GOTTA PRAY

. So, his first post from the first day of the NPM national convention in Pittsburgh was up this afternoon. I’m going to simply quote an excerpt from his post along with two photos he included. Then I have a few questions for us to ponder.

This afternoon’s opening plenum address was quite moving. Fr. Ron Raab, the keynoter, gave a presentation on the call to holiness, marking the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council. He begged us Church musicians never to allow the liturgy to be separated from real life; our own real lives and the lives of those around us. (My emphasis)



The Opening Plenum, NPM 2012

* What do you think Fr. Raab meant by exhorting “us” to “never allow the liturgy to separated from real life…”?

 * How would you go about planning a CMAA presence/booth, or that of an allied/affiliated entity such as Corpus Christi Watershed or a such as startup competitor to the Three Initial Houses in the midst of the shown model of modern resource marketing?

* And, as an adjunct, how do these convention venues comment upon the concepts of “resources….liturgy…..and real life?”
Even if this main convention hall was packed SRO, what sorts of statements about ecclesiology, missio, personal investiture and postures, signs, symbols and sacraments and so forth are implicitly or explicitly being advanced and shared?

Over at CATHOLIC SENSIBILITY, Todd is sytematically sifting through the 2003 chirograph of Blessed John Paul II that celebrates the centenary anniversary of St. Pius X’s motu proprio “Tra le sollecitudine.” In installment nine of Todd’s commentary he offers-

Good musicians don’t grow on trees. John Paul II knew that, as did his predecessors. Vatican II endorsed the musical formation of the clergy…Churches have established many other schools that deserve to be supported and reinforced by an ever better knowledge and performance of good liturgical music. A hundred years ago, or even forty, the setting up of a music school would be assumed to be a resident/bricks-and-mortar thing. I doubt this is possible or truly necessary. Conferences, seminars, and even colloquia serve this role nicely on a few levels for different people. Charles and others: thoughts?

What synchronicity, as I replied:

T)his very subject as it came up in many conversations at SLC, namely if “endowed” (in whatever sense of the word is appropriate) parishes and cathedrals would offer musical/performance learning opportunities for the at-large faithful on a regular basis that are sequential and truly beneficial. Apparently there are not a few of us doing that. We just had our first session this last Tuesday night. When we first publicized the sessions, we would have been happy with an ideal enrollement of eight. Thirty-two people of all ages showed up, most of them unknown to us in formal music ministry!

It was almost overwhelming the level of interest that bubbled up from folks unknown to us for nearly 20 years in the parishes. And we do make concerted efforts throughout the leadership for new membership and our ensembles do receive new members on a regular basis. What struck me, which is captured perfectly in this video clip of the first meeting this last Tuesday (7-10) was the ease with which people crammed into a little meeting space not only confirmed their comprehensional grasp of what solfeggio is and does, but how responsive to actually singing the musical’s song they proved! So, I think Todd and all at SLC that I encountered who mentioned they were involved or were going to initiate such opportunities are really onto something with great potential.