The Recovering Choir Director

Peace, all.

The old canard on revising Vatican II after the fact seems to be running on fumes, at least on this issue. The whole phrase is “full, conscious, and active” participation. “Full” seems to cover a whole lot of bases. Jiggering Sacrosanctum Concilium to fit the passivist Tridentine mindset is such a blatant example of cafeteria Catholicism as to be wondered at. Only an innocent would suggest that outward participation is the only concern. Most progressive liturgists I know are equally concerned about the liturgical spirituality underneath the outward actions. (Most of us concede, however, that the laity in the pews need help, but that is largely beyond our direct control.) Actually, I think the CDWS needs a lesson in cultivating the inner life. All this tinkering with rubrics is sure going to be inspiring for the pew potatoes. Maybe putting them back to sleep is the whole idea.

Peace, Mark.

More of a yawn than a nerve.

I’m a progressive liturgist, and my concern for the spiritual life of my parish exceeds the particulars of this song, that posture, or most any details on that level: these are just means to achieve an end: the worship of God and the sanctification of the faithful. Most of my colleagues would agree. I know that outward participation is not the be-all and end-all of liturgy, but it is an important intermediate goal for which to strive.

“Pew potato”? I call my daughter a pumpkin and my wife a (sweetie) pie. It’s a term of affection.

And yes, the CDWS needs many a lesson before they can begin to address the real challenges of post-conciliar liturgy. The devil may be, as is said, in the details.

Peace Mark.

Play on words. I think the overattachment to details such as whom the priest gives the peace exchange to can be a devilish distraction from where we should be heading, imo. Now, I’ve prefaced my comments before that the details are very important, but they need to be attended to on the parish level, with motivated clergy, liturgists, musicians, and others. They also need to be attended to with a useful goal in mind.

An example: if church music needs kicking up, then dioceses should begin institutes of sacred music to attract young people to organ performance, choir conducting, instrument performance, and composition. What I would like to see from the CDWS is more inspirational stuff — the kinds of policies people across the spectrum can get excited about. More rules? Won’t work.

Peace, Mark.

“Funny, Todd, but the policies in place are inspiring folks like me and our gracious host …”

I’m not really surprised. But I wouldn’t discount your approaches to sacred music and your own devotion to it. There have been other such policy changes that have inspired many others as well: the development of vernacular hymnody, a cohesive approach to ritual music, the emphasis on psalmody, the advent of instrumental ensembles, etc..

” … it’s the local churches, and, say, the National Pastoral Musicians Conference (which we’ve both attended) that aren’t living up to the policies that the CDWS is suggesting.”

Really? NPM has promoted quality in sacred music in this country for over twenty years. They sponsor schools in organ, chant, choir conducting, and (in the past) composition. If local churches are failing, is it because they have cast away a heritage, or is it that they’ve never had one to begin with?

“Polyphony? Chant? Organ? If there were a conference on any of them, I could fill a couple of cars …”

What about AGO?

“So, where is the problem?”

With the notion that good liturgy is like following assembly instructions. Do what the manual says, and you will have it fixed. This is a fallacy. That isn’t to say that good liturgy shouldn’t still be a goal, and that rubrics are vital to good liturgy, but to place hope that all the liturgy needs is a little more tinkering in the red print is very naive.

“It seems to me that Rome is doing fine, but just isn’t pleasing folks on this side of the Pond who don’t like the policies they suggest, and instead give up pablum.”

Indeed. American Catholics, despite recent anger over clerical abuse and cover-up, still go to church in far greater numbers than in Rome and the rest of Europe, with the possible exceptions of Ireland and Poland (and even there, the attendance is very similar). Resorting to pablum is never a good choice, but clearly, American Catholics still come to liturgy in numbers that indicate a general approval of where liturgy is. And parishes that make liturgy a priority, often see higher numbers.

“I’m curious, though: what are you picturing?”

An institute for liturgy and sacred music accessible to musicians of every diocese. Encouragement for children to pursue liturgical music as a ministry. Encouragement for any volunteers to improve their musicianship. Extra attention and support for teens who play the organ, piano, or other instruments. Summer camps for liturgical music in every diocese. Certification programs in liturgical music. Mentors for up-and-coming church musicians. Decent, competitive wages for church employees. More encouragement of composers on the local level, weaning ourselves off the market-driven nature of contemporary music. Good instruments and acoustics in every parish. A lot more work than tinkering with guidelines, but worth it.

Peace, Belinda.

NPM’s offerings in organ, chant, and conducting are hardly fantasy. I attended two of their school for choir directors. Their schools far surpass the efforts of the big conventions, in my thinking. I’ve not attended their institutes on chant or organ, but if you have personal experience, I would be interested to hear of it.

You’re not telling us anything we don’t know when you relate stories of church musicians laboring for scraps of salary. But it was NPM who developed guidelines for hiring and paying that are used in hundreds of parishes today. Those kinds of guidelines don’t come from Rome. Neither do schools for church musicians. Its also no news that good pipe organs fall into disuse and disrepair. You don’t pay good church musicians, or pay for the upkeep of good instruments — you can’t be surprised at the result. Rome doesn’t demand that a pastor be supportive of the arts. These days all they demand is extra attention to the red print. I contend this will have a negligible effect on the sacred arts.

In the big parishes I’ve worked for, I’ve most often set up a volunteer post for music librarian. Good music doesn’t get thrown away (though illegal copies do).

I still contend the track record since the council has been a good one for the US and Canada. Individual parishes backslide with apathetic pastors, but the overall movement to better church music and liturgy remains.