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Views from the Choir Loft

Does the Mass Demand a Certain Level of Dignity?

Jeff Ostrowski · June 18, 2016

Recently, a blog called “Byzantine Texas” posted a photograph which some have wrongly claimed is a Byzantine Mass in a pool:

438 Byzantine Mass


Sadly, we have seen Roman Catholic “Pool Masses” captured in photos. Such instances relate to a church music topic.

UPDATE: According to an email I just received, this was from the “Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio.” As I said when I initially posted, I have no doubt the full details will be revealed eventually.

I CAME ACROSS an article attempting to justify folk music at Mass with the following arguments:

“We make Mass accessible to everyone.”

“Our responsibility at the Roman Catholic liturgy is to share Christian joy.”

“We bring to the liturgy music for the folk.” [sic]

I started to ask myself how anyone—myself included—could argue against such motives. After all, isn’t sharing joy a good thing? One could certainly cite official Church documents from Vatican II which mandate that Gregorian chant be given first place in liturgical services (followed closely by classical polyphony). However, let’s be honest: nobody seems to care what Vatican II said.

A more fruitful result might be achieved by a different path:

“For the purposes of this discussion, let’s assume your argument is correct. Let’s assume the purpose of liturgical music is making people feel happy. If that’s true, is there any music you would prohibit? After all, rap music makes some people happy. Polka makes other people happy. Other people feel happy when they listen to acid jazz, while others prefer bluegrass.”

Once you’ve taken them down that road, you can suggest that music for Mass should possess a certain level of DIGNITY. However, exercise caution here. 1

When I took my children to a water park, one child kept being rude. Rather than waiting his turn, he pushed the other children out of his way. I was appalled by his behavior, and wondered what kind of parents raised him. I renewed in my heart a desire to bring up polite children, in spite of what others might do. This is our situation with church music, I believe. Anyone can find examples of priests allowing inappropriate music in church. (Indeed, even some cathedrals allow scandalous music.) However, we must do what’s right—no matter what others do.



NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:

1   Certain people—especially “professional” liturgists—become extremely angry when you start down this path. They especially loathe being asked whether any musical style is inappropriate for Mass. And they can become irate when you demand specific reasons why such-and-such a style of music is inappropriate for Mass. If they were honest, they would admit that any musical style is suitable for Mass in their view.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Liturgy Shaming 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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23 May 2022 • FEEDBACK

From a reader: “I wasn’t looking for it. But, I stumbled across your hand-dandy arrangement of Pachelbel’s Canon. Jeff, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread! I had to play a wedding on Saturday. The bride requested the Canon. There were 11 bridesmaids! The organ loft is a football field away from the communion rail. It’s so difficult to play and keep checking the mirror. Your arrangement is absolutely genius. One can skip and choose which variations to use. The chord names are handy so that when my eyes are off the music, I always know where I am at. A thousand times thank you for sharing this arrangement!”

—Jeff Ostrowski
19 May 2022 • “Trochee Trouble”

I’m still trying to decide how to visually present the “pure” Editio Vaticana scores, using what is (technically) the official rhythm of the Church. You can download my latest attempt, for this coming Sunday. Notice the “trochee trouble” as well as the old issue of neumes before the quilisma.

—Jeff Ostrowski
16 May 2022 • Harmonized Chant?

This year’s upcoming Sacred Music Symposium will demonstrate several ways to sing the CREDO at Mass. This is because—for many parishes—to sing a full-length polyphonic CREDO by Victoria or Palestrina is out of the question. Therefore, we show options that are halfway between plainsong and polyphony. You can hear my choir rehearsing a section that sounds like harmonized plainsong.

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“You should try to eat their food in the way they prepare it, although it may be dirty, half-cooked, and very tasteless. As to the other numerous things which may be unpleasant, they must be endured for the love of God, without saying anything or appearing to notice them.”

— Fr. Paul Le Jeune (1637)

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