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Views from the Choir Loft

Sacred Music Colloquium XXV — Update III

Andrew Leung · July 1, 2015

CTL Colloquium 5 N THE THIRD DAY, the Colloquium is going pretty well so far. Participants are definitely getting to know each other more and we are all in “Heaven”, the musical heaven on earth. This afternoon, Fr. Jeffrey Keyes celebrated his first Solemn High Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. After an hour of practice, he, the deacon and the subdeacon entered the Sanctuary and offered a beautiful Mass for us. I apologize for not being able to take any picture during the Mass because I was one of the altar servers.

The keynote today was given by Fr. Richard Cipolla from St. Mary’s Church in Norwalk, CT. Unfortunately, I missed almost half of the talk; but it was very fortunate that I got to have a conversation with Mr. Richard Rice, the great composer. Even though I was not there for the whole talk, I would like to share what I heard.

Fr. Cipolla’s talk was entitled: “Liturgical Music: The Medium and the Message”. Fr. Cipolla had some really strong opinions in his talk that not everyone may agree with him, but I think there are truth in his points and they are worth sharing. He clearly defined Gregorian Chant as the liturgical music of the Catholic Church because of its “Pride of Place”, and polyphony as another form of liturgical music because of its organic development from Chant. Both of these forms were mentioned in many documents of the Church. He defined orchestral Masses, hymns and other forms of music as religious music. He even went on and said that the Masses by Mozart and Schubert were “unfaithful” to the spirit of liturgical music.

The emphasis of liturgical music is on the text, but no so much on the music. Gregorian Chant, with the Latin text, is the best way to communicate and express the text. Fr. Cipolla thinks that Gregorian Chant is like an icon. God speaks to us through Chant and we venerate Him through Chant too. The simplicity (rhythmic, dynamic, dramatic) of Chant allows us to contemplate on the text; on the other hand, the complexity of the melody shows the beauty of God’s words. Fr. Cipolla suggested that all readings, no matter they are in Latin or vernacular, should be sung in the traditional Chant Tone. Because when the scripture is sung, it speaks to us on a much higher level and draws our attentions. Liturgical music is not meant to accompany the Liturgy but is an integral and necessary part of the liturgical action and event.

He also talked about the important of the Latin language in the Liturgy. Latin, as a “dead language”, do not develop anymore. The grammar and the vocabulary will stay the same. And because of that reason, it is the perfect language for the Liturgy and Gregorian Chant. We often have to deal with the problem of bad translations, or just translation in general. When the text is translated from Latin to the vernacular, it is being “imperfected” at the same time. Latin in the Liturgy has always been a different and higher-leveled language. Even back in the days when Latin and Greek were the main language, the Latin in the Liturgy was a higher class language, different from the one that people use to communicate. Latin language is the foundation of the Liturgy and Gregorian Chant.

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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Andrew Leung

About Andrew Leung

Andrew Leung currently serves the music director of Vox Antiqua, conductor of the Cecilian Singers, and music director at Our Lady of China Church.—(Read full biography).

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Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
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

Random Quote

“To speak the language of God’s beauty, we must first begin to listen. And to listen, we must have silence in our lives. I pray that God will open our eyes and ears to beauty, and help us use it in the service of the Truth.”

— Bishop James D. Conley (10/4/2013)

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