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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Modernity Impact

Aurelio Porfiri · August 4, 2014

N MUSIC I MAY BE CONSIDERED conservative, but I am neither conservative nor am I a traditionalist, I am just rooted to the origin. For me tradition is not going to the past, but going to the origins. This is the great limitation of so many traditionalists: they refuse modernity and they pretend to live still in the past.

After reading the beautiful book about history and memory from Jacques Le Goff, a great French historian, I have come to think that all these classifications – past, present, future, modern, ancient and so on – are mainly constructions of our mind that may help us to make sense of what surrounds us, but sometimes can also mislead us. One of my books about liturgy is called La Presenza, “The Presence.” In the liturgy we are living at the Present of the great absent. We cannot see Him but He is there under the Eucharistic species, in His own word proclaimed during the Mass, in the person of the Priest and also in the midst of us (“When two or three…”).

Liturgical music is the sign of this Presence; it is not an emblem of the present. Usually the harmonic and musical techniques of music performed from “contemporary groups” are far less advanced than many of the compositions of “conservative” musicians. So conservative is more modern than contemporary. But the idea is that some people, many I think, are confused between modernity and mass society. So we are modern or contemporary (even if the two words do not mean the same thing in an historical context), when we adhere to the culture that surrounds us, but that culture, as was identified well by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in his book The Spirit of the Liturgy, is not the outcome of people’s aspirations and social interactions, but a huge marketing operation.

DOES IT MEAN ALL IS BAD in our society? Of course not. We live in a time of unprecedented advancement and opportunities. This has given us something: the internet, a revolution in the way we communicate. And this is the problem with some traditionalists that are not attached to church tradition but to the past. I remember years ago I had an acquaintance with a priest belonging to one of these congregations that celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form. I introduced him to one of my friends who told me, with good reasons, that this priest looked as if he was coming from the XIX century; in the way he curled his hair, the glasses, even the umbrella: everything made him look like a post card from one century ago.

Of course there are also people that are not like this, they just like Extraordinary Form because they think it is a better way for them to participate at the Mass. After what I have said before, of course I can understand them. Having said that, I need to recognize that I cannot blame the works of liturgists and theologians that try to understand the impact of modernity on ourselves, without confining themselves in a comfortable and fake past. The Tridentine Mass is not the past, it is the expression of eternity and so can be the Mass of Paul VI, if correctly celebrated, without selling it every Sunday on earth to the knights of capitalism.


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 Tagged With: Extraordinary Form 1962 Missal, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger Liturgy 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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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 27th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 5 October 2025, which is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the spectacular feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin. Readers will want to check out the ENTRANCE CHANT posted there, which has a haunting melody (in the DEUTERUS MODE) and extremely powerful text.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“A striking detail: at Solesmes, we remember hearing Justine Ward criticize accompaniment sometimes or seeing her cover her ears, especially when the organ accompanied a soloist, which is something she could not accept.”

— Dom Pierre Combe

Recent Posts

  • “Three Reasons To Shun Bad Hymns” • Daniel B. Marshall
  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
  • “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
  • “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)

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