A Short History Liturgical Music

A Short History of Liturgical Music

• dual task of Church: preserve and foster sacred music
• lots of the music come from the Psalms [basic prayer and hymn book]
• clash after the Pentecost when the Jews were forced to meld with the Roman and Greek cultures, and liturgical music became dangerously linked to gnostic cultures. os the Church banned it and Gregorian Chant was developed
• “the Second Vatican Council boldly proclaimed that her treasury of sacred music is of more value than any other of her artistic contributions”
• “affirmation of the value of Gregorian chant and a refinement of the polyphonic style so as to preserve the integrity of the liturgical text and to achieve a greater sobriety of musical style”
• “The authentic renewal of sacred music is not a question of merely copying the past, but even less is it one of ignoring it. Rather, it is one of preserving the past and fostering new forms grown organically from it.”

Tra le Sollecitudini

Tra le Sollecitudini, Pope Pius X

• liturgical music must be: holy, beautiful, and universal
• the roots of liturgical music are found in Gregorian Chant, because it belongs to the church
• the closer a piece of liturgical music is to Gregorian Chant the more appropriate it is
• this also applies to Classic Polyphony
• “The Church has always recognized and favored the progress of the arts, admitting to the service of religion everything good and beautiful discovered by genius in the course of ages — always, however, with due regard to the liturgical laws. Consequently modern music is also admitted to the Church, since it, too, furnishes compositions of such excellence, sobriety and gravity, that they are in no way unworthy of the liturgical functions.

  Still, since modern music has risen mainly to serve profane uses, greater care must be taken with regard to it, in order that the musical compositions of modern style which are admitted in the Church may contain nothing profane, be free from reminiscences of motifs adopted in the theaters, and be not fashioned even in their external forms after the manner of profane pieces.”

• “theatrical style” of modern music is not suitable for the liturgy because it contradicts Gregorian Chant and the liturgy, therefore it does not meet the requirements of liturgical music
• singers are “taking the place of the ecclesiastical choir,” therefore the music should be, for the most part, choral
  • solos, although not banned, ghouls not be greater than the choral portion
• people studying theology should be educated on sacred music so they will not be ignorant of a sublet that is “so necessary”

Myths About Church Music

What Are the Eight Myths About Church Music

• “Music at Mass is not based on what we like, but on what is appropriate for the celebration.”
• “The verb ‘to sing’ is one of the most frequently used words in the Bible.”
•  “Active participation does not mean that everyone has to do the same things at the same time; it implies an interior participation by listening and contemplation as much as engaging in following the Mass and observing ritual gestures.”
  • although congregational singing is good and necessary, having trained singers and choirs sometimes sing without the congregation improves the quality and beauty of the music
• hymns are not necessarily what are supposed to be sung at Mass, although they are acceptable, in the Missal there are antiphons that are each directly connected to that day’s prayers that are meant to be models for the songs or should be sung themselves
• “The point of Latin is not to make the rites impossible to understand; it is to make real the universality of the church.”
• “The point of sacred music […] is not to make us feel good.  Sacred music accompanies the church’s rites to bring us beyond our own emotions and experiences to a transcendent experience of the divine.”
• “All liturgy is essentially a revelation of God to us. If the music at Mass reveals more about what we like and what makes us happy, it is doing us a disservice. If it brings us to true prayer and helps us contemplate the beauty of God’s holiness and love, it can reveal God to us in amazing ways.”

Catholic Music: It’s Time to Stop Making Stuff Up

Catholic Music: It’s Time to Stop Making Stuff Up

• Church musicians are told to try to pick music that will engage the congregation so they will want to sing. They pick music by choosing something ghat seems somewhat related to the liturgy for that week
• this method of finding music does not reflect the true meaning of the liturgy
• musicians have a lot of power over the way the congregation perceives the liturgy, so they feel they have to make it relatable to them, however this method does not successfully get people to engage
• Vatican II stated that Gregorian Chant should be prioritized but most people think it is too solemn and monkish
• Gregorian Chant “elevates and ennobles the word of God in the liturgy itself. The point is not to sing chant but to sing the liturgy itself, meaning the text that is assigned to be sung at the place in the Mass where this particular text is intended to be sung. The notes are important but secondary to the word, which is the word of God.”
• most of the problem is ignorance, musicians don’t have access or knowledge of traditional Church music

Music History

Music History 102

Gregorian Chant

• derived from Jewish and Byzantine Chant
• monophonic – one line, no harmonies
• based on 8 Greek modes
• free tempo
• Pope Gregory I is said to have codified the chants which established uniformity for the Church, which is where Gregorian Chant comes from

Organum

• hollow-sounding
• two melodic lines sung at parallel intervals
• eventually evolved so the lines were no longer parallel
• original chant melody was sung slowly on long held out notes, this was called tenor, while the other lines wee around and embellished the melody line
• Ars Antiqua, “Old Art,” was the early from of polyphony

Ars Nova

• Guillaume de Machaunt was the the first composer to bring polyphonic music to the Ordinary of the Mass
• paved the way for choral music during the Renaissance

A Brief History of Catholic Church Music

A Brief History of Catholic Church Music

• “From the beginning of recorded time, it has been man’s instinct to raise his voice in praise and supplication to a higher power.”
• there are six basic rhythmic modes that were used for Gregorian Chant at Mass
• Gregorian Chant reached a peak in the late medieval period
  • some composers began to add a second voice to chant rather than just using single-line chant, this is called counterpoint
  • the demand for harmony led to the creation of instruments that could produce multiple sounds
• the organ became the ideal instrument form music at Mass
  • polyphonic
  • variety of soul and large tonal capacity
• Baroque — the Church employed composers such as Bach, Haydn, and Handel to  compose the Masses, composed beautiful and elaborate Masses that are performed today
• the present style of chant was developed by the Benedictine Abbey of Solemnes, France
  • freer and more flowing movement of the latin words
  • accepted at Vatican II
• the Enlightenment and Modernism led to the degradation of the Traditional Mass
• Pope Benedict XVI wrote Summorum Potificum which restored the “Mass of All Ages”

Music in the Liturgy: Let All God’s People Sing!

Music in the Liturgy: Let All God’s People Sing!

• “Singing is a powerful way of uniting a group of individuals into a single body.”
• music/singing at Mass is more than nice background music, music is part of the prayer at Mass
• singing unites people and gives special expression to prayer, it helps express the joy and strength of our prayer
• General Instruction of the Roman Missal: “every care must be taken that singing

  by the ministers and the people is not absent in celebrations that occur on Sundays and holy days of obligation.”

• Why?
  • music is chosen with respect to that day’s liturgy, so it cooperates with the Mass
  • we sing all of the verses of hymns to unite the congregation into one body and because the verses work together to create one message, so by singing all the verses you complete the prayer
• Pastors should hire trained music ministers who will be able to preserve gregorian chant and sacred polyphony
• Who should sing?
  • Everyone. God simply asks us to use the voices that he gave us to participate in the prayer, so talent does not matter
  • cantors/choirs lead but they should never be a replacement for the congregation

 

Characteristics of Sacred Music and Why it Matters

Twenty-four Questions on Sacred Music

What are the Characteristics of Sacred Music?

Pope Pius said that sacred music is made up of three parts:

1. holiness
   • not ordinary or every day because it is specifically meant to glorify God
   • must exclude anything that is not sacred or that is every day
2. beauty
   • bonitate formarun = “excellence of form”
   • sacred music’s role is to “synthesize diverse ritual elements into a unity, to draw together a succession of liturgical actions into a coherent whole, and to serve a range of sacred expressions.”
   • it must be true art because this will allow it to fulfill its purpose as part of the liturgy
   • ” without beauty, the truth does not persuade, goodness does not compel”
3. universality
   • accessible to all cultures

Why should we Care?

• “celebrating the liturgy involves the whole person”
• by having the proper sacred music, Christian truth and mysteries of our faith can be conveyed

The Importance of Music and Singing

The New Liturgy of the Revised Roman Missal Liturgical Minutes No. 10 The Importance of Music and Singing

This was a simple and short article about why music and singing are important at Mass that contained several good points.

• music “has the ability to cultivate, strengthen and deepen the spiritual experience of those gathered fro worship”
• liturgical music serves; it imparts spiritual truth
• it promotes congregational unity
• liturgical music also gives the sacred rights greater solemnity
• “singing is an expression of joy”
  • if singing is an expression of joy then there is no better place to sing than at Mass, where we celebrate the most joyful event in man’s history
• St. Paul said: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.., singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”
• St. Augustine said: “it is natural for a lover to sing”

What has Happened to Sacred Catholic Music? -Catholic Stand

What has Happened to Sacred Catholic Music?

“…we shall lose a large portion of that wonderful and incomparable, artistic and spiritual reality, Gregorian chant. We indeed have reason for sadness and perhaps even for bewilderment.” (Pope Paul VI, 1969)

Some of Kathy Reinheimer’s thoughts:

• “We ended up Protestanizing our liturgy which was probably the crown jewel of the world. (The thought was) If we use some of this music it will make them (Protestants) more comfortable. What has happened is the exact opposite. It has driven solid Catholics away.”
• One reason Vatican II decided to transition was because, although the music was still beautiful, the exception of it by parish choirs was often not.
• Why did people stop singing at Mass?
  • they don’t understand how important it is to the liturgy
  • although clergymen and some people were trained and taught latin and Gregorian Chant, the average parishioner was not
  • people stopped going to High Mass. Back when the High Mass was what everyone went to the people were accustomed to singing at Mass because it was always expected of them as another part of the liturgy
• Bishops have a large affect on their diocese’s music at Mass depending on what they promote and support