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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

Mind, Senses and Recorded Music

Veronica Brandt · September 5, 2015

lots of tapes AST WEEKEND I was away from home and visited another parish for Sunday Mass. Instead of a choir they had recorded music. The lyrics were displayed on several screens along with parts of the Mass.

I know recorded music at Mass is generally discouraged if not forbidden. It got me thinking what the effect of this music has on people.

I stumbled across this example of understanding enhanced by subtitles which got me wondering about how much people understand of what we sing without screens to show them the words. At my regular parish Mass we don’t have screens and rely on people to pick up hymnbooks and turn to the right page, which doesn’t always happen.

Also this example shows how much our experience of music depends on what we already know. This could be used as an argument to stick to obvious, flat music and lyrics, but we have dozens of Catholic educational institutions across the city. We have so much infrastructure dedicated to education, surely we can manage to raise Catholics with that modicum of liturgical literacy to appreciate Catholic music.

You don’t need to be conversant in Latin to get something out of chant and polyphony in Latin. A little familiarity with some hymns and psalms in Latin goes a long way to understanding what the choir is singing.

Here is a study showing visual cues were more important than sound in determining the winners of a music competition. From what I can read in the supplementary material the competition was a more classical sort, so shouldn’t be relying on glitz and glamour for points. Watching the performers was a major part of the experience.

Many people judge Gregorian chant to be “boring” but how many people have heard it sung with love and care and skill? I think this may be part of why even an inexperienced choir singing beautiful music live can be an awesome, uplifting experience, which is sadly lost when you try to record them.

And if watching people sing enhances the experience, how much more when we join in the singing?

And how much is lost when we substitute a CD instead.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Recording Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “The Worm That Dieth Not”
    My pastor asked me to write a column for our parish bulletin with reflections on the sacred liturgy and church music. In my most recent article, I discuss “The Worm That Dieth Not.” At this website, you can access it conveniently; simply scroll down to the one dated 31 August 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    A Nice Hymn In Spanish
    In my humble opinion, this is a really beautiful hymn in Spanish. If I practice diligently, I’ll be able to pronounce all the words properly. If you’re someone who’s interested in obtaining a melody only version (suitable for your congregational ORDER OF WORSHIP) you can steal that from this.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 21st in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir returns on Sunday, 24 August 2025. Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for it, which is the 21st 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. When it comes to the feast of the Assumption (15 August 2025), I have uploaded the music list for that Mass—but not the “bi-lingual” Mass in the evening (Spanish, Latin, and English) which has completely different music.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Solemn “Salve Regina” (Chant)
    How many “S” words can you think of using alliteration? How about Schwann Solemn Salve Score? You can download the SOLEMN SALVE REGINA in Gregorian Chant. The notation follows the official rhythm (EDITIO VATICANA). Canon Jules Van Nuffel, choirmaster of the Cathedral of Saint Rumbold, composed this accompaniment for it (although some feel it isn’t his best work).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Since the English is not meant to be sung—but only to tell people who do not understand Latin what the hymn text means—a simple paraphrase in prose is sufficient. The versions are not always very literal. (Literal translations from Latin hymns would often look odd in English.) I have tried to give in a readable, generally rhythmic form the real meaning of the text.”

— Father Adrian Fortescue (d. 1923)

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