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Views from the Choir Loft

Priestly Musical Formation in a Low Mass Culture

Fr. David Friel · July 24, 2016

HIS year’s Sacra Liturgia UK proceedings in London were extremely interdisciplinary. Lectures were given that were primarily historical, while others were theological, evangelical, or pastoral. One presentation was focused on art, while an entire afternoon was dedicated to sacred music. I want to share with you some of what was presented about sacred music.

DR. JENNIFER DONELSON, who serves as Director of Sacred Music at St. Joseph’s Seminary (Dunwoodie) in New York, gave a talk entitled, “Origins and Effects of the Missa Lecta: Priestly Musical Formation in a Low Mass Culture.” Later in the day, a panel discussion was held among four experts on sacred music: Dr. Donelson, Dr. William Mahrt, Adam Bartlett, and Fr. Guy Nicholls.

The presentation by Dr. Donelson, in particular, addressed a matter of key significance in our times. The formation of future priests has many important aspects, not the least of which should be their musical training. How does one begin the musical formation of a seminarian, however, when many of the men now undertaking studies for the priesthood grew up in a decidedly “low Mass” culture? By this phrase, Dr. Donelson refers not specifically to the Extraordinary Form, but rather to the Ordinary Form celebrated either without music or at least without the fullest expression of sacred music envisioned by the rites of the Church. This culture, largely the status quo today, is derived in some ways from the pre-conciliar “low Mass” mentality, which valued expediency over ceremony, utility over beauty.

Much of the trouble Dr. Donelson attributes to “liturgical sloth,” a phrase that arose several times throughout the conference (and which Dom Charbel Pazat e Lys even suggested could serve as a good thesis topic). Liturgical sloth is the vice that places greater priority on “getting Mass done” than on offering Mass with due solemnity. Very often, it is expressed in the slashing of the music proper to the Roman Rite and a rushing through the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Donelson wisely observes: “There is a danger in allowing the Roman Rite to become totally unhinged from its musical foundations because of the human proclivity to sloth.”

Other issues with priestly musical training, Dr. Donelson argued, include the common mentality that sees sacred music as a distraction and wistfully longs for the silence of Low Mass, or the 6:30 AM “Mass without music.” There is, indeed, a beauty in the silence one encounters at Low Mass. “If this is one’s only solitude with God,” however, “one runs the risk of turning the Mass into a private devotion.” This, I believe, is an important observation. While silence has an important role in the Roman liturgy, turning to the Mass for our total daily allotment of silence is bound to have unintended negative consequences. The solution, of course, is to increase our diet of silence and stillness not only at Mass, but also throughout our day.

Dr. Donelson described the celebration of Mass as an act of divine worship, but not fundamentally a contemplative act. Said another way, the Mass is prayer, but not all prayer is contemplation. The work of contemplation is necessary for true human flourishing, but its native home is extra-liturgical. Donelson’s advice to a priest who rightly wants the Mass to be a prayerful experience is that he “must cultivate a personal prayer life that enables his celebration of the Mass to be similarly prayerful.”

Sometimes, seminarians may resist their musical formation. Like many other people, some will claim to be “tone deaf,” Donelson acknowledged, when their actual deficiency is that they have never been trained. Others may not perceive singing as a masculine activity. For others, the resistance may arise from the subliminal sense that music is a spectator sport to be observed, rather than a personal activity in which we engage.

All of these forms of resistance can be overcome. The first step in surmounting them is to appreciate more deeply the musical roots of the liturgy. One must come to realize, as Donelson proposed, that “nearly all the parts of the Mass have been sung since antiquity.” The fact that most people in modern society have never experienced a truly solemn liturgy, wherein most parts are sung, should be seen as regrettable. “The solemn Mass must be understood as normative,” Donelson contends. As I have argued before, this predisposition toward the solemn largely inverts the manner in which the principle of “progressive solemnity” is typically understood.

A final observation that was shared about the musical training of seminarians is a very practical one. Donelson suggests that musical training, as a facet of the Program of Priestly Formation, must be considered integral to a seminarian’s formation. Thus, it should not be expected to be completed in one giant block; it must, rather, be an ongoing part of his seminary experience. This training, together with the experience of the liturgy celebrated well within the seminary community, are essential components of a sound liturgical formation.

More and more, we are coming to realize how important the role of truly sacred music is in the work of liturgical renewal. Where better to begin addressing this realization than in the formation of future priests?

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Authentic Liturgical Renewal Reform, Passing on Tradition, Progressive Solemnity, Sacra Liturgia Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel is a priest of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and serves as Director of Liturgy at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary. —(Read full biography).

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President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    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
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

“Angularis fundamentum” is typically sung at the dedication or consecration of a church and on church anniversaries. For constructions too numerous to list in recent generations, it would be more appropriate to sing that Christ had been made a temporary foundation. A dispirited generation built temporary housing for its Lord, and in the next millnenium, the ease of its removal may be looked back upon as its chief virtue.

— Fr. George Rutler (2016)

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