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Views from the Choir Loft

Must Art Be Permanent?

Fr. David Friel · November 17, 2013

BOOK RECOMMENDATION came to me several years ago during a hallway conversation with my esteemed professor of philosophy, Dr. Atherton Lowry. I am somewhat shamed to confess that it took me until this summer to follow through on his recommendation. Nevertheless, I happily spent my flight to Salt Lake City for this year’s Sacred Music Colloquium reading Evelyn Waugh’s The Loved One.

Subtitled “An Anglo-American Tragedy,” the book is an uproariously funny satire of the film & funeral industries, among other topics. When I first encountered Dennis Barlow, one of the major characters in the book, I began to question my professor’s recommendation. Barlow, having been fired from his work in Hollywood, had taken a job at “Happier Hunting Ground,” a funeral & burial outfit for pets. The modern American obsession with pets and the absurd things people will do in their name has long been one of my “pet” peeves, so I was unsure if the plot would be tolerable. It quickly became apparent, however, that this was all part of the well-crafted satire.

The story develops into a tale at times humorous, startling, and ridiculous. In the midst of the satire, though, arises an insightful passage about art that seized my attention.

The protagonist, a certain Aimée Thanatogenos, works as a makeup artist for an unconventional funeral director (for humans). She laments that all her art is ephemeral, because it is “burned sometimes within a few hours” in the crematorium; other times, if the body is placed in a mausoleum, her handiwork has often “completely lost tonality” within ten years time. She philosophizes, “Do you think anything can be a great art which is so impermanent?”

That seems to me a fair question, and a question worth asking. Can art that does not last for whatever reason—planned destruction, limitations of the medium, etc.—ever be considered “great” art? Can it, for that matter, be considered “art” at all? Is permanence a necessary attribute of beauty?

The answer Barlow offers is thoughtful: “You should regard [your art] as being like acting or singing or playing an instrument.” Acting transpires, and music can only be made in the moment. Surely, both of these art forms can be recorded, yet there is a fundamental difference between a movie & a stage production, between a digital play list & a live orchestra. This is why the Church wisely does not permit recorded music in liturgical contexts. Consider, also, the Earth and its seasons. Is not all of nature the handiwork of God, and yet it flows on in an unceasing torrent of change?

The Loved One reminded me of the particular privilege it is to be involved in the work of sacred music. Whereas photography and painting and architecture are arts that last, music is in some ways a transient art form. I believe there is actually something beautiful in the very reality of music’s passing nature.

In all its many forms, art is, as Waugh writes, “a work of consolation.” Music may only last for a moment, but its beauty endures.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Beauty, Sacred Music Colloquium 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

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
29 March 2021 • Condemned?

On Palm Sunday, the Passion was read. Immediately after mention is made of the betrayal by Judas, the Holy Eucharist is introduced. Is this not a condemnation of “Christians” who deny the Church teaching on the SANCTISSIMUM? Here is Matthew 26: And Judas that betrayed him, answering, said: “Is it I, Rabbi?” He saith to him: “Thou hast said it.” And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. This is my body.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The following few hints on the selection of voices may be useful: (1) Reject all boys who speak roughly, or sing coarsely; (2) Choose bright, intelligent-looking boys, provided they have a good ear; they will much more readily respond to the choirmaster’s efforts than boys who possess a voice and nothing more; therefore, (3) Reject dull, sulky, or scatter-brained boys, since it is hard to say which of the three has the most demoralizing effect on his more willing companions.”

— Sir Richard Runciman Terry (1912)

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