I was reading through Catholic news and came across a new album release by The London Oratory Schola, a Catholic boys choir which originated in Rome, but this particular branch is in the UK. The singers range in age from 8 to 18 and are comprised of 20 to 30 members.
The music is breathtaking. Absolutely transcendent.
I don't know why but Catholic churches in many areas seem to have adopted a belief that whether it's music or liturgy or art or whatever other area of worship, it must be simplified to appeal to the broadest audience. When it comes to music, there seems to be a belief that if the worst singer cannot sing the music, then it must be rejected. I'm not sure what you would even call this belief system, but it has obviously taken hold.
There are a couple of developments which have occurred. One is the simplification of music in liturgies. Rather than polyphony or plainchant, we are given folk music with very simple rhythms. The other trend is to replace tried and true music from many generations ago with music from the 70s. As one commentator put it, some people like to say it is more "modern", when in fact, at this point it is 40 or 50 years old. How is that modern?
Plus, it's not a debate about whether people want modern or old-fashioned music. It's a debate between contemporary, fad music vs. timeless music.
How is it that a century or more ago, parishioners could enjoy complex music written by Palestrina, Mozart, and others, while now we are treated to "Eagle's Wings"? It's like going from a doctorate down to kindergarten.
Something else I have noticed is a kind of democratization of the music in church. Often there are some very good singers, but sometimes random people are chosen to sing. They may be able to sing a hymn in the pew, but they have issues doing a good job during Mass as the lead cantor. One of my pet peeves is cantors who do not have precise timing. It's like to them being a second off is not a big deal. It's very distracting.
There is also the concept, as mentioned already, that unless every person can "participate" in the singing of the song, then it's probably too complex and should not be played. This would make sense if it were a music lesson in primary school. But this is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. A favorite saying in my catechism group came from a friend of mine and says "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi", which translates to the law of prayer is the law of belief and means that the way we pray and worship informs our beliefs.
For example, if the music is folksy and sounds like a nursery rhyme, then we are less likely to take our faith seriously. It will seem childish and like just a little bit of fun. When any difficulty comes into our lives, we will not have a serious faith to rely on. In our minds, church is for the good times, a sort of community hall where we get together to sing carols. On the other hand, if the music is deep and complex, and has stood the test of time, it is more likely that our faith will have similar characteristics.
To continue with this analysis, I feel if the music is simple and approachable, that's how we'll see God. Whereas as Christians, we know our faith centers around mysteries which are truths whose depths can never be fully realized. The music ought to convey a sense of wonder and awe, rather than something frivolous and simple. We risk not realizing the depth and richness of the Catholic faith and see it rather as no different than going out with friends to karaoke.
There will be many objections to what I am saying. Some will say we simply don't have the budget to hire professional singers. To this I would say professional singers are not required, but often churches do hire professional singers anyway, but to sing "modern" music. Music is very important and should not be left to amateurs with little musical training. On top of that, I would say there are definitely good simple music as well. Traditional music is much better than 70s guitar music. Plus there is always the option of omitting music for weekday Masses anyway. Finally, I have heard really bad, yet complex music. It's bad because it's just far too modern and is anything but timeless. The same effort should have been put into producing great traditional music.
Other people will object by saying Mass is meant to be welcoming to everyone and is, in fact, for the "masses". I couldn't agree more. But people in general have the wrong idea about participation or assistance at Mass. In fact, I just came across a Catholic Answers forum post where someone was wonder the meaning of the term "assist" when it comes to Mass. People have the idea that to assist at Mass means you are "doing something", such as carrying the gifts, singing, taking up collection, reading, etc. This has nothing to with assisting at Mass. We participate or "assist" at Mass in four ways: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.
However, because of the misinterpretation of "assisting" or "participating" at Mass, people have come to believe that we need as many laypeople being busy during the Holy Sacrifice as possible, which includes their participation in music. This is a false belief and has real negative implications. As I wrote yesterday, believing as many people as possible need to be "doing something" has led to strange things happening, such as Extraordinary Ministers of Communion being used when completely unnecessary.
Part of the problem, I think, comes from a form of pride and a lack of understanding of the Catholic understanding of beauty. Pride comes into play when people are not willing to take their proper place, but feel entitled to take a higher or more important role. It is also a refusal to believe that a person is more talented in a particular area than oneself. St. Paul says we are all part of the Body of Christ as Christians, but that each part has a different role. Humility does not entail denying our gifts, but thanking God for them. People who are excellent singers, musicians, painters, sculptors, etc. should not shy away and hide their talents. Also, those around them should not allow that to happen either.
In the past there was always the ideal of creating things of beauty when it came to music, art, and other areas within the Church. It was not about promoting equality or some misinterpretation of "participation", but it was about beauty. In the Catholic understanding, some things are beautiful and worthy of admiration and other things are not beautiful or even ugly and worthy to be avoided. We do not believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder as such, although there can be variance in taste.
You don't need a magnificent cathedral in order to do things the right way. Many tiny churches are reverent and holy and are much more suited to Catholic worship than other much larger places.
Anyway, having said all of that, please check out Sacred treasures of Christmas by Schola cantorum here.
