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Views from the Choir Loft

Serious about Sacred Music

Fr. David Friel · September 15, 2013

AVE YOU EVER TRIED to figure out if a person is serious about sacred music? When attempting to discern what type of musician the visiting organist or cantor is, I find myself often using that word, “serious,” or even sometimes the phrase, “the work of sacred music.” Those ways of speaking seem to mean something to me. I would consider someone who reads Sacred Music, for instance, to be serious. The octogenarian organist who doesn’t use the pedals—not so much. It’s the difference between a music director interested in the Propers and a music director content to maintain the four-hymn sandwich.

Perhaps I use this type of terminology to discriminate those who are invested in the reform of liturgical music from those who are simply going along with the status quo. “Serious” and “not so serious” seem to be labels I use to categorize the liturgical musicians I know.

There is probably a degree of legitimacy to this type of language. Yet, at the same time, God is not always so staid or categorical. Indeed, there are times when God, Himself, appears not to be all that “serious.” Take this passage from the Book of Proverbs:

Thus says the wisdom of God . . . then was I beside Him as His craftsman, and I was His delight day by day, playing before Him all the while, playing on the surface of His earth; and I found delight in the human race.

Here we see the Lord portrayed as playful. I like that image. We can recognize His playfulness in creation, in Sacred Scripture, and in our prayerful banter.

It makes me wonder if the Lord might challenge my seriousness about the liturgy at times. I’m not suggesting that He wants us all to be unserious about the work of liturgy or of sacred music, but might our seriousness not be well-tempered by healthy appreciation of the playfulness of God?

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

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Quick Thoughts

Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Amid all these old liturgical books, I find that I am happy and at ease; I feel at home.

— Dom André Mocquereau (1884)

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