A Psalm of David

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Detail from The Garden of Earthly Delights by Heironymous Bosch
 

We in the Ordinariate are blessed with a wealth of great music - hymns, polyphony, chant - from both the pre-Reformation Catholic patrimony and the sacred music that continued to be developed and celebrated in the venerable Anglican patrimony.

The wealth of the Anglican patrimony, its awe inspiring treasure trove of sacred music, is a treasure ready to be shared throughout the entire Catholic Church.

One wonders why, when so many glorious compositions are available, people retain an almost addictive attachment to compositions that are to great works of art as junk food is to cuisine?

A diet of spiritual junk food has a serious effect on the well being of a person. A diet of spiritual junk food robs the soul of "nutrients", the art through which God - the True, the Good and the Beautiful - offers the worshipper who reaches out to God for life, love, hope, mercy and forgiveness. Sure, God can and does reach people through even the blandest or most mundane experiences. The transformation of heart and mind begins where God wants to meet His sons and daughters. He, however, being our loving Father, desires to lead us His children to a lavish banquet. God does not leave us digging around in trash bins for scraps. He offers us a magnificent feast.

The Church, for centuries, produced great art that allowed worshippers to discover the life, love, hope, mercy and forgiveness of God. It is easy to understand why, in a society hostile to religion, so many are depressed and turn to drugs or false religions in an attempt to try and fill the void left by the loss of great art and the loss of encounter with the Artist Who inspired it.

Is it not strange that composers (and artists and architects and...) become Esau, the eldest son of Abraham, who traded his birthright for a mess of pottage? (Genesis 25:29-34)

Artistic Reasons for Not including Pop Music in the Sacred Liturgy

Artistic Reason #1

Sacred music is art. As one well acquainted with the compositions of David Haas, and who with mixed emotions rehearsed and directed his works at parish Masses and for diocesan youth conferences in the early to mid-1990s, his and others' works are a testament to an era of "Me-myself-and-I" religion, compositions characterized by saccharine texts set to syrupy melodies accompanied by weak harmonization. The excessively horizontal devotionalism exhibited in such works traps the person at/in prayer in that closed circle lamented by so many, much like a versus populum altar has the effect of localizing attention in the hear and now almost to the exclusion of the eternal. They are not suitable for inclusion in Catholic liturgical worship. 

Artistic Reason #2

Liturgical music is specific, nuanced, not generic. Most composers of "folk liturgical music" operate more as sloganeers than masters of theology. The slogans leave one wondering to what or to whom a song is addressed, or trap worshippers in a nauseating one-liner that, coughed up again and again, risks becoming vain repetition.

The best liturgical musicians, i.e., composers of sacred music characterized by a perfect synthesis of music and poetry, are those with a precise understanding of orthodox doctrine, language and musical grammar. They are poets of the highest order, whether they are setting existing texts or risking the creation of a new text. Concerning the latter, recall Saint Thomas Aquinas, master theologian and capable musician, who wrote the text and music of Pange Lingua.

The setting of non-biblical texts for the liturgy requires a sensitivity and skill relatively few possess in this day and age. Great hymns produced in an age of great composers dedicated to providing choirs and congregations with art by which all may dispose themselves to God are almost a thing of the past. Few are capable of or inclined to write both beautiful texts and music that uplift the soul to the truth, goodness and beauty of God. That so many substandard works are included in official hymnbooks, a fact that goes unchallenged by priests and bishops, reveals how little people care about offering God fitting worship, and how little people are interested in improving their minds and refining their hearts.

How much money is spent by parishes on baleful resources produced by companies that are profiting off people's desire to pray and to pray well? Sadly, many of the compositions sold by religious publishing companies aren't worth the paper they are printed upon. Being substandard, the materials effect a substandard response. Companies profit; meanwhile, people struggle to pray well.

Artistic Reason #3

Pop music is not sacred music. Yes, popular tunes have been appropriated by composers and transformed into great works. E.g., the L'homme armé tune adapted by Guillaume Dufay. Parody and paraphrase Masses need not be a thing of the distant past. The point is, the melodies (or harmonizations) require a necessary transformation to elevate them and make them suitable for inclusion in the Liturgy.


Artistic Reason #4

Sacred music stretches the imagination toward God. Arguably, much adult contemporary froth feeds complacency. No doubt, some or even many people feel uplifted by such works. The question remains: toward what or toward whom is one uplifted?

Footnote

Art imitating life?

It may be that certain compositions directly represent or embody an artist's autobiography, his or her way of being and doing. The complaint against the content of much pop music, and not just Mr. Haas' music but that of a generation or more of pop composers, is that like so many others, composers of adult contemporary "liturgical music" are:

  • progressives whose progressive music feeds progressive consumers of progressive ideology.

To be clear, herein this blog, 'progressive' is not intended as a compliment.

A surfacy but somewhat useful perspective titled Good Art, Bad People is offered by Charles McGrath at the NYTimes.

Additional Reading

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