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Views from the Choir Loft

Positive Liturgical Fruits Of Vatican II: Second Part

Jeff Ostrowski · September 17, 2014

851 Paulus VI IMAGE N the first section, I mentioned what I consider to be an important and positive fruit of the postconciliar reforms. Today, I’ll speak of another positive development, but this one’s a bit tricky, because it’s in potentia. 1 In other words, Vatican II called for it, but it hasn’t yet been fully implemented.

Sacrosanctum Concilium, the very first document issued by Vatican II, made a declaration which corresponds to the desire of many 20th-century popes (especially Pius X and Pius XII):

“In the restoration and promotion of the sacred liturgy, this full and active participation by all the people is the aim to be considered before all else…” —Sacrosanctum Concilium, §14b

You’ve doubtless encountered some who wrongly interpret this sentence to mean we should remove Latin, sacred polyphony, choirs, Gregorian chant, and so on. But their statements are false … because the same document specifically mandates such things!

In my view, that sentence means liturgical music should be:

(1) consistent (so people know what to expect every Sunday)

(2) varied (so people don’t get bored and “zone out”)

(3) respectful of the space & congregation (to the extent possible)

(4) not excessively demanding (see below)

With regard to number 4, each party should do its part and nothing more. In other words, the congregation, priest, deacon, cantor, and choir all have different roles to play. It is horrible when the congregation is expected to sing everything, whereas AT MOST they should sing a few hymns, a few acclamations, a few alternatim Mass parts, and the dialogues. 2 On the other hand, I’m normally against “concert Masses” where the choir sings the entire Mass. I know that people will attack me for saying this, but I’m being honest, and I think the above quote from Sacrosanctum Concilium backs me up.

Regarding number 2, please go here and scroll down to the chart called “PDF Mass Outline”:

      * *  A Simple Plan To Improve Music At Mass

There’s no need to repeat everything I’ve said in that link. I would simply stress that the VARIETY—which includes choir-only pieces—keeps people’s attention and therefore helps them participate at Mass. If musicians took seriously the little chart I provided, they would find that congregations are moved more deeply by the choir-only selections … which is a good thing!

IN CONCLUSION, I WOULD LIKE to mention again the “insurmountable problem” we’ve so often alluded to in the past: no liturgy can perfectly fit each person in the congregation. Each of us is on a UNIQUE MUSICAL JOURNEY. For example, I’ve studied music since the age of six, and at a young age began listening to several hours of music each day: Bach, Chopin, Grieg, Liszt, Schubert, Mozart, Palestrina, Victoria, Lassus, Brahms, Ravel, and so forth. As a young teenager, I traded cassette tapes all over the world to obtain special recordings not available in the United States (especially “live” recordings which have never been released).

I mention all this because my UNIQUE MUSICAL JOURNEY will differ from other people’s. I remember being obsessed with numerous pieces which no longer really interest me. An example would be Chopin’s Andante Spianato & Grand Polonaise, which I memorized and played before audiences. On the other hand, certain masterpieces—such as Bach’s Art of the Fugue or his Goldberg Variations—stay with me year after year, decade after decade.

That’s why we must always choose music of quality (“depth”) for Mass, so that no matter where the congregation is on their UNIQUE MUSICAL JOURNEY, the liturgical music will be a source of delight for them. Music of quality need not be complex, by the way. In fact, it can be quite simple.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   This phrase—“in potentia“—is used by St. Thomas Aquinas and other philosophers. This concept helps us remember that unborn children & the mentally handicapped (for example) are every bit as human as anyone else, because of the powers they possess in potentia.

2   Please use a brisk tempo: don’t drag! So many congregations make the dialogue responses into a funeral dirge, which is unbearable.

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 Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Los Angeles.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    “Glory To God” • (For Choir + Congregation)
    I wish to thank everyone for the nice comments I received vis-à-vis my Glory To God setting for Choir & Congregation. A gentleman with a musical doctorate from Indiana University wrote: “Love this setting so much. And I will pray, as you asked, for your return to composition more fully. You are very very good.” A female choir director wrote: “I love your harmonizations, your musicality, and the wonderful interplay you have with dissonance and consonance in your music. So fun to listen to, and great for intellect, heart, and soul!” A young woman from California wrote: “Thank you for releasing your new Glory To God in honor of Saint Noel Chabanel. I'm enjoying reading through the various parts and listening to your recordings.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    William Byrd • “Mass for Five Voices”
    Our volunteer choir is learning the “Sanctus” from William Byrd’s Mass for Five Voices. You can hear a short excerpt (recorded last Sunday) but please ignore the sound of babies crying: Mp3 recording. We still have work to do—but we’re on the right track. Once we have some of the tuning issues fixed, I desire to use it as an example proving volunteers can sing complicated polyphony. — One of our volunteer choirs also sang that SANCTUS on 24 September 2023, and you can listen to how that came out.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Baptism” • A Unique Hymn
    Father Christopher Phillips is the founding Pastor of Our Lady of the Atonement Catholic Church. One of his hymns is unique and (in my humble opinion) quite beautiful. His hymn is basically a prayer to the Holy Trinity but also speaks of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. It would be an ideal Communion hymn on Trinity Sunday or the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. You can hear live recording from last Sunday by clicking here.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“It will not be Rome to tell you what you should do, no: because you have the charism. …you have the Holy Spirit for this. If Rome were to begin to make the decisions it would be a blow to the Holy Spirit, who works in the particular Churches.”

— Pope Francis (27 March 2023)

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