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Sacred Music Newsletter for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Marquette, Michigan
Citation preview
WhySacredMusic?What comes to mind when you hear the words “Sacred Mu‐
sic”? O en people think of a favorite hymn or liturgical
song. Some may be reminded of Gregorian chant or beau‐
ful choir music. Even more may be drawn to popular
“contemporary” music composed from 1960‐1995. In mu‐
sic, the Church has a wonderful wealth, indeed a treasure
trove of ines mable value, defining it as greater than that of
any other art! What then is the big deal about music in
Church, and why should I care about it?
The key word which needs greater contempla on is
“Sacred”. From the La n, Sacra, we are gi ed with many
words: Holy, Saint, Sacred, sanc fy, etc. In delving a bit
deeper, we find that a large part of the Sacred Liturgy can
be defined with deriva ves of Sacra: Sanctus, Sacerdos,
Sanctuary, Sacristy, sacrifice. In these terms we find that
holiness can be a ributed to a specific me and place, with‐
in the Sacred Liturgy in our Churches. With this greater spa‐
al understanding, we learn that Sacred is that which is wor‐
thy of venera on, being set apart from the non‐sacred. Just
as the Sanctuary, the Priest, Sacred Altar, vestments and
vessels, indeed the Church herself are set apart. The music
employed and proclaimed within the Sacred Liturgy must
also be Holy, and devoted to this one purpose: Sacred
means “set apart” for Worship of the Divine.
What then defines Sacred Music from other forms? It is
worthy in this regard to consider the Holy Priesthood. The
Priest clothes himself differently from the laity, both in cler‐
ics and at Mass, depar ng from the secular. At his Ordina‐
on, he is anointed with Sacred Chrism “to sanc fy the
Chris an people and to offer sacrifice to God.” The Cate‐
chism (CCC 1540) reminds us of the second chapter of Mala‐
chi, defining the priesthood as “Ins tuted to proclaim the
Word of God and to restore communion with God by sacri‐
fices and prayer”.
Sacred Music is similarly clothed apart from the ordinary.
The text, style, rhythm, and numerous other quali es are
A JOYFUL WITNESSA JOYFUL WITNESSA JOYFUL WITNESS Sacred Music Newsletter
AUTUMN 2013
AboutthisNewsletter&IssueA prac cal instruc on to the faithful of the Diocese of Mar‐
que e, this newsle er is intended to educate and inform.
The Church provides a clear teaching on the use of music
within the Sacred Liturgy, yet many of these documents,
direc ves, and resources remain unknown and untouched.
This issue focuses on the use of hymnody. Hymns chiefly
belong to the Divine Office, and un l recent decades have
not regularly been used in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,
with the excep on of varied cultural use.
As an op on at the spoken Mass (commonly called Low
Mass), hymnody grew into use prior to Va can Council II.
Most especially from 1968‐1973, hymns and songs gained
momentum as musical se ngs of the transla ons from
La n to the vernacular languages, in our case English, were
not available. A revised choir book, the new Graduale
Romanum, was issued in
1974. This contains the five
chanted propers of the Mass:
the Introit, psalm, alleluia,
offertory and communion
an phons. Albeit the “spirit”
of the me and the desire for
crea ve innova on, the
chanted propers were viewed
as unpopular, and fell out of
use. To this day, these proper
sung prayers are crossed out,
in favor of unrelated and
o en inappropriate hymns.
What is the solu on? Were we not told for decades that
songs and hymns are the norm? In truth, no. The same leg‐
isla on existed then as now. We chose—perhaps with some
ill advisement—that the last op on become the norm.
Hymns are not the norm, singing the Mass is. The prayers of
the Mass, including the five propers and all the priest’s pray‐
ers at the Altar are not replaceable at whim.
The Graduale Romanum
with English translations
con nued Page 3 con nued Page 4
BookReview: ThreeNewHymnals Along with the 2011 English Transla on of the Missal comes new sung Mass se ngs, a new sung Order of Mass, and other variables have ushered in the need for new resources in the pew. Hardbound hymnals are an excellent op on, as paper missale es must be thrown away and reordered each year. Apart from the issue of constantly disposing of books with Sacred Scripture in them, the average parish would save thousands of dollars a er the ini al investment in a hymnal.
Cost Comparison (courtesy of GIA):
Disposable Missale es ‐ Average Cost for 10 year subscrip on + shipping = $41,950
Hardbound Hymnal ‐ 10 year cost for the same parish = $7500
Savings = $34,450
Three new hymnals are now available that contain both modern and tradi onal styles of music with sound theology.
TheAdoremusHymnalIncludes Sequences, order of Benedic on, as well as new Mass se ngs by leading Sacred music composers, some who are clergy. The revised edi on also features an up‐ dated layout as well as many addi onal hymns. $12‐16 h p://www.igna us.com
TheSt.MichaelHymnalIncludes many hymns with alternate texts to the same tune, About 40 hymns in Spanish, and numerous Mass se ngs ranging from tradi onal to modern. Mass Propers are also set to simple melodies. $14‐17
h p://www.stmichaelhymnal.com
VaticanIIHymnalIncludes a complete set of Readings, Propers, and beau ful Psalm se ngs for Sundays, Holy Days and Solemni es for all three liturgical cycles. Free online resources including accompaniments and prac ce videos for psalmody and much of the hymnal. $14‐17 h p://www.ccwatershed.org/va can
Hardbound Hymnal
Mass Settings
Hymns Order of Mass
ICEL Music embedded
Texts of Propers
Extraordinary Form
Readings & Psalms
Adoremus 13 200+ x x
St. Michael 18 300+ x x x
Vatican II 21 160+ x x x x
employed to give glory to God, as well as sanc fy and edify the faithful. Its purpose is not merely to make one feel happy and com‐
fortable, although emo on is an important element to music—and another ar cle altogether.
The Text
Sacred music is integral to the solemn Liturgy: it is prayer! Chiefly, the text defines this by frequent use of Sacred Scripture. The
Church has insisted upon this steady use of Scriptural an phons and acclama ons, regardless of language. This is an area in need
of greater a en on, as the current prac ce in most parishes to follow publisher’s recommenda ons, rather than the direc ves of
the Church! Why should we prefer secular texts with a self‐centered message over the Holy Bible and Sacred Tradi on? The
Psalms of King David versus text wri en by some guy in California? No contest!
The Roman Missal, Psalm 33, wri en c. 1000 BC
vs. “Awesome God” by Rich Mullins, wri en in 1988
The Style
A er considera on of the text comes style. No one disputes that the majority of people prefer “upbeat” music. However, joy is
only one of the many emo ons! Sacred music is not defined by feelings. As set apart for God, it is sung prayer that can upli our
minds and hearts in the heavenly liturgy, not simply focus on the horizontal present‐day feelings. Your neighbor in the pew might
have just experienced great loss. A funeral is much different than a wedding, just as Pentecost is completely diverse from Ash
Wednesday. Sacred music is integral to the Liturgy it serves.
One ques on I o en pose concerning style of music is that of rhythm. Is the music at
Mass rhythmically‐driven or composed in the style of popular rock or jazz music? If so,
the text is o en non‐Sacred as well. Repe on of I‐IV‐V chord progressions with texts
about ourselves, or even “biblically based” texts are inappropriate for the Sacred Litur‐
gy and impose a popular, non‐sacred style into the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Sacred
music is not beat‐driven entertainment focused in on ourselves, it is prayer.
At the same me, the Church does not exclude modern music from the Sacred Liturgy,
as long as it has holiness as its central reference point. Simply because a piece of music is new—or old—doesn’t make it suitable
for singing within the Sacred temple. In using Sacred text and solemn style, we are well on our way to restoring the Sacred within
our Church music. God should be the center, rather than self. By focusing on ourselves, and our personal style akin to our li le
part of the Catholic world, we are excluding others, as well as ignoring the mind of the Church. Know the mind of the Church on
the subject of Sacred Music!!!
Is the music we sing dignified, imbued with the sense of mystery, beauty, truth, and universality? Is the music set apart for our
Lord? Is it centered upon Christ and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? Is it Sacred? +
“What must be sung is the Mass, its Ordinary and Proper, not ‘something’, no matter how consistent, that is imposed on the Mass. Because the liturgical service is one, it has only one countenance, one motif, one voice, the voice of the Church. To continue to replace the texts of the Mass being celebrated with motets that are reverent and devout, yet out of keeping with the Mass of the day amounts to continuing an unacceptable ambiguity: it is to cheat the people. Liturgical song involves not mere melody, but words, text, thought and the sentiments that the poetry and music contain. Thus texts must be those of the Mass, not others, and sing-ing means singing the Mass not just singing during Mass.” — Consilium Notitiae 5 [1969], p. 406. — Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy BCL Newsletter, [Aug-Sept 1993].
Why Sacred Music from Page 1
Why a newsle er on singing hymns then?
Singing the proper music at Mass is not as easy as going
from A to Z. Several steps are needed, along with proper
catechesis. Since hymns are “where we are at”, it would be
awry to strip the people of them en rely and begin singing
all of the propers in La n Gregorian chant. On the other
hand, to have no goal in mind would also be a mistake.
Since hymns are used regularly in most every English speak‐
ing parish, it would be best to first analyze and purify these
hymns, in both text and style. In selec ng a hardbound
hymnal with solid Catholic Theology and God‐centered texts
and styles, this would be a huge step in the right direc on.
Another ini al step would be the forma on of a small Scho‐
la, or choir school. This can be as few as 2 singers, with 5‐10
being a good goal. The Schola can focus their a en on on
learning simple English propers and beginning Gregorian
chant nota on. The Communion an phon is the best place
to begin, for various reasons. The me is more medita ve
in nature, and the average congrega on will welcome a
peaceful chant if done with excellence and beauty. With
this experience and knowledge, the schola could then learn
a simple Gregorian chant hymn, such as Ubi Caritas or Adoro
te Devote. Repe on is the mother of memory, however
these can get easily overused! Spend me next on learning
a common Communio chant, such as Hoc Corpus, which can
be used me and again un l more can be learned.
A Schola can be a great way to start learning chant in your
parish, no ma er the size or budget. Current or long‐
exis ng choir members will not be tasked with the difficulty
of learning it along with their current repertoire. The
Schola will provide an example for the parish, and
along with improved hymnody and be er use of finan‐
cial resources, we will be faithful to the Church’s direc‐
ves and norms. +
About this Issue from Page 1
StudySacredMusicatCathedral!
St. Gregory the Great Schola Cantorum
Tuesdays @ 4:00pm, beginning October 1
St. Peter Cathedral—Choir Lo
St. Peter Cathedral, in conjunc on with its offering of various
children choirs, adult choirs, and a Cathedral Schola is provid‐
ing a musical opportunity for all Clergy, men, and boys:
A training choir for the singing of the Mass in English and
Gregorian Chant for all interested men and boys across the
Diocese of Marque e. Led by Mr. Nathan Knutson as part of
a Diocesan effort to train Young and Youthful Men.
Clergy highly encouraged to a end when schedule allows.
Join us whether you live near Marque e, or are simply trav‐
eling through! No experience required!
Nathan J. Knutson Director of Sacred Music
Diocese of Marquette | St. Peter Cathedral
1004 Harbor Hills Drive
Marquette, MI 49855
800.562.9745 ext 122