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Views from the Choir Loft

I Am Not A Contemporary

Aurelio Porfiri · July 15, 2014

HERE ARE SOME MOMENTS in which we feel compelled to be satisfied. This does not happen frequently, but in that rare blissful moment we try to enjoy it. So I want to tell you why I find myself in that “upper home of bliss” (Father Faber).

The life of a liturgical musician is very difficult, we find ourselves struggling to find the right place for us, one where we can affirm our own rights, which we have come to believe are also the rights of the liturgy. But there is a point we reach when we are tired, where we decide to go elsewhere, hoping that in other places we’ll at least be respected. So I looked at job offers, and that is why, (as you will see) I now find myself in the “upper home of bliss” (always Faber).

In many American parishes there are priests that look for someone able to conduct the “contemporary” choirs. It seems these choirs flourish in many parishes and colleges. “Good,” I say to myself, “contemporary means that choirs involved in the liturgical reform are singing good liturgical music of our time.” — “Indeed,” I reason, “there are composers that have the tools and knowledge to make good liturgical music in vernacular languages, music that must be considered contemporary.” In my heart however, I have some doubts about that. I think: “maybe they use contemporary in the sense of Stockausen, Berio, Ligeti?” Or maybe they will force me to conduct a Mass of John Cage (did he write a Mass?), with a communion song called 3’45” where we just open the score and stay in silence (considering the quality of most of the communion songs you can hear today in churches, that is already an advantage).

BEFORE APPROACHING THE MULTITUDE of priests and pastoral councils that are wholeheartedly offering these wonderful opportunities to people like me, I turn my eyes to YouTube trying to find comfort for my devastating doubts about what being “contemporary” means. I need to tell you: I feel I am contemporary, as I feel I am alive (at least most of the time). So, looking in hope to my beloved YouTube, I search for contemporary choirs in churches and a multitude of videos pour down from tiny strands of the web! Feeling blessed and more and more curious, I click on one, hoping not to get any casual music or abstract sonorities but good liturgical music from good contemporary composers that follow the requirements for good liturgical music confirmed in many documents and pastoral letters.

But… wait… “What is this?” I asked, as some kind of 70s music began with roaming guitars and invading percussion, and someone singing a contorted melody with a microphone implanted directly in his throat! “No,” I say, (double checking the video description) “despite its good quality, this is some old video.” But I am wrong, the video was uploaded one month before. So… this is contemporary Catholic music for many American priests. In this case then, I am not a contemporary musician, because my music for the church still obeys rules. Rules, that make the same music sound completely different from this. But accepting the framework these priests establish, it is not contemporary.

OKAY, okay! I will walk as a wanderer trying to figure out who I am! But before submerging myself in the darkness of time, I have a question for all these priests and pastoral councils that are so supportive of contemporary groups: how come all the Popes thunder against consumerism in our society and you are accepting one of its pillars, commercial music, right in the heart of our liturgies?


BOTTEGA • Aurelio Porfiri is where you can discover
many of Mæstro Porfiri’s compositions in PDF format.

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 Aurelio Porfiri

Renowned as composer, conductor, theorist, author, pedagogue, and organist, Aurelio Porfiri has served the Church on multiple continents at the highest levels. Born and raised in Italy, he currently serves as Director of Choral Activities and Composer in Residence for Santa Rosa de Lima School (Macao, China).

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    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
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“To treat harmony and rhythm in this matter was a difficult matter. Facing numerous problems both large and small—that arose constantly—we understood that a flawless harmonization of Gregorian chant cannot be created by improvisation, no matter the competence and ability of the organist or harmonist.”

— ‘Mons. Jules Van Nuffel, NOH Preface’

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