The Recovering Choir Director

You can try running it through Babel Fish, but the English translation is quite broken.

Peace, all.

Marie, I’d also recommend By Flowing Waters. The problem of Latin language plainsong is similar to that of Latin at Mass: the close association of non-vernacular with schismatic elements in the immediate post-conciliar Church. My recent experience at Conception Abbey 80% vernacular chant, 10% Latin chant, 10% vernacular hymnody, 0% polyphony. That would be difficult for some to digest, but for a monastery, it works.

SC recommended fostering chant not because they were anticipating a culture war centered on Haight Asbury or the Cavern Club, but because church music was in a shambles (not Shambala) for decades prior to the council. “Deliberate” banishment is a rather harsh label, I think.

Peace, Sam.

Thanks for the post. Polka Masses predate the Council from what I’ve heard, but I think you’re essentially right in asking: Are things getting better or worse, or are we treading water? I would like to think we are getting better, but at a slower rate than desirable. I would point out that there is more liturgical education of church musicians today. More resources for church musicians too (though I will certainly agree we have more dreck as well as more good stuff).

I wouldn’t claim Latin was a stigma in Rome, but it was and still is in North America. Part of it is due to the fact that vernacular worship was such a strong agenda after the council, and people’s experience of it was positive. Then you have a minority decrying Vatican II (and the use of vernacular liturgy) and it seems to me that the traditionalists of the late 60’s and 70’s overplayed their hand, identifying their whole agenda too strongly with the language issue. And by the way, I personally have no problem with worshipping in Latin; my objection is to the continued use of the unreformed 1962 Missal. When I visit monasteries, I always enjoy the liturgical experience of plainsong and some Latin. I also have no problem with having excellent choirs capable of presenting the classics. I have directed such groups myself. But I do think a careful line must be toed on the performance/ministry border.

Peace, Anon.

As with many conjectures in the present day church, without any real scientific approach to polling on the issues of the education of musicians, the awareness of Latin Mass and SSPX, a great deal of this is guesswork. I suspect some axes are legit and others are not.

And sorry, Latin is associated with schismatics. Every major US city has them. Lots of parishioners talk about them. Eventually the problem of language will be settled, but in the meantime, be consoled that due to the efforts of one vilified music vendor, Latin language music from Taize has a foot hold in some places.

And if you read my post carefully, I’m not terribly pleased that plainsong — even in Latin — has gone into such a severe decline; I’m only the bearer of bad news.

Hi all,

Just had to put my two cents in…
Everyone keeps saying how much easier chant and latin is to sing. I totally disagree. It can be quite beautiful when done well but it’s still not “easy” to pick up and learn, especially for the “uneducated” masses. I’m not saying it’s not worth the trouble… my friends and I are trying to learn and share more of it ourselves. But “easy”?

I think the real problem is that most people don’t really understand music at all, let alone liturgical music. The Vatican II documents (I can’t recall which one right now) talked about incorporating traditional music from the region into the liturgy. Here in the U.S. we don’t really have any “traditional” music. Our country’s only two hundred some years old! How deep can our traditions really go? But I think that’s where these folk (traditional music?) and jazz (traditional music?) Masses come from. Also, music in our society is used primarily (almost exclusively) for entertainment purposes. Thus the incomprehensibility about liturgical music (and even sacred music) which really isn’t about entertainment, but something deeper.

As to the comment about schismatics not leaving the Chruch if Latin hadn’t been “banished”… The more reading I do about those who leave the Church, the more I see how the real problems are pride and authority. Those who leave the Church are generally looking for a reason to leave (and blame the Church for it) because of their own pride and so they lash out at the authority of Mother Church. Really, I find the mind set is the same for the so-called “traditional” schismatics as it was and is for the protestant “reformers” as well as the so-called “progressives”, i.e. “I want what I want and the Church is wrong because she won’t give it to me.”