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Views from the Choir Loft

Church Needs “Disposable Art” Created To Last “Not Centuries, But Weeks (Or Hours).”

Jeff Ostrowski · July 18, 2015

498 liturgy Gabe Huck USED TO BELIEVE the craziness which some deemed “liturgical reform” began after Vatican II and reached a low point in the 1990s. Over the years, I’ve learned I was wrong—it began much earlier. Consider this excerpt from Maurice Lavanoux’s Liturgical Arts (2 February 1970), authored by Fr. Robert W. Hovda (1920-1992) and Gabe Huck, two leaders of the “progressive” liturgical movement:

HERE ARE NO RIGID CRITERIA for selecting good music for the liturgy. In recent months many songs have appeared that could well find an appropriate place in the liturgy; these might include “Both Sides Now”; “Abraham, Martin and John”; “Mrs. Robinson”; “Gentle On My Mind” (there is a real need for good love songs in the liturgy); and “Little Green Apples.” In a sense we need “disposable” music just as we need, and to some extent have, “disposable” art objects which are created to last not centuries, but weeks, (or hours). Our secular music is that way; the amount of new material is so great that even many good things pass quickly. While many of the songs from the folk and pop lists (as well as the country-western list or the Broadway list) do not have the depth or quality to last for decades, they still have the power to enrich the liturgy here and now.

Fr. Robert W. Hovda was highly regarded by the Collegeville Press—they called him “the renowned liturgist”—and continued to be cited (and praised) by that group even after certain of his views became known. Gabe Huck, too, was publicly praised by many progressive liturgists.

Here’s a CMAA review from the 1970s:

500 Robert W. Hovda liturgical

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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Jeff Ostrowski

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

Surprising Popularity!

One of our most popular downloads has proven to be the organ accompaniment to “The Monastery Hymnal” (131 pages). This book was compiled, arranged, and edited by Achille P. Bragers, who studied at the Lemmensinstituut (Belgium) about thirty years before that school produced the NOH. Bragers might be considered an example of Belgium “Stile Antico” whereas Flor Peeters and Jules Van Nuffel represented Belgium “Prima Pratica.” You can download the hymnal by Bragers at this link.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • To Capitalize…?

In the Introit for the 6th Sunday after Pentecost, there is a question regarding whether to capitalize the word “christi.” The Vulgata does not, because Psalm 27 is not specifically referring to Our Lord, but rather to God’s “anointed one.” However, Missals tend to capitalize it, such as the official 1962 Missal and also a book from 1777 called Missel de Paris. Something tells me Monsignor Knox would not capitalize it.

—Jeff Ostrowski
15 February 2021 • “Sung vs. Spoken”

We have spoken quite a bit about “sung vs. spoken” antiphons. We have also noted that the texts of the Graduale Romanum sometimes don’t match the Missal texts (in the Extraordinary Form) because the Mass Propers are older than Saint Jerome’s Vulgate, and sometimes came from the ITALA versions of Sacred Scripture. On occasion, the Missal itself doesn’t match the Vulgate—cf. the Introit “Esto Mihi.” The Vulgate has: “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in domum refúgii…” but the Missal and Graduale Romanum use “Esto mihi in Deum protectórem et in locum refúgii…” The 1970s “spoken propers” use the traditional version, as you can see.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“One must pray to God not only with theologically precise formulas, but also in a beautiful and dignified way. The Christian community must make an examination of conscience so that the beauty of music and song will return increasingly to the liturgy.”

— Pope Saint John Paul II (26 February 2003)

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