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Views from the Choir Loft

Text matters

Andrew R. Motyka · December 4, 2013

HEN I WAS A TEENAGER and interested in popular music, I was always more interested in the words of songs most of my peers were. It’s not that I had a problem with the genres of pop music, but the words of the most popular songs always bothered me. When I read Mark Shea’s article “I Can’t Imagine a Dumber Song,” it struck a familiar note with me.

Words matter. A couple of weeks ago, I was preparing for an event in the diocese in which an outside group would be leading music. While creating a worship aid, I had to type this text:

You give and take away!
You give and take away!
My heart will choose to say,
“Lord, blessed be your name!”
You give and take away!
You give and take away!
My heart will choose to say,
“Lord, blessed be your name!”

I don’t want to harp too much on the texts of the liturgy. I do want to suggest, however, that our liturgical music would be greatly improved if everyone preparing its music would be forced to type out all of the texts which they had to sing. I got about a line and half into the above before I said, “What the heck is this?”

A good general rule: If it’s too inane to speak, it’s too inane to sing.

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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About Andrew R. Motyka

Andrew Motyka is the Archdiocesan Director of Liturgical Music and Cathedral Music for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.—(Read full biography).

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    Simplified Antiphons • “Candlemas”
    Anyone who desires simplified antiphons (“psalm tone versions”) for 2 February, the Feast of the Purification—which is also known as “Candlemas” or the Feast of the Presentation—may freely download them. The texts of the antiphons are quite beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“In my capacity as the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, I continue to remind all that the celebration toward the East (versus orientem) is authorized by the rubrics of the missal, which specify the moments when the celebrant must turn toward the people. A particular authorization is, therefore, not needed to celebrate Mass facing the Lord.”

— ‘Robert Cardinal Sarah, 23 May 2016’

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