The Recovering Choir Director

The Australian posted a story today about George Palmer, the New South Wales Supreme Court judge who was awarded the commission to compose the Mass setting for World Youth Day. PDF files of the setting are available at the official WYD site. Mr. Palmer’s setting not only makes use of Latin, but also serves as a preview of the new official English translation of the Mass Ordinary. Mr. Palmer is quoted at length in the story, as is Peter Phillips, director of the Tallis Scholars.

Here’s an interesting excerpt (with comments and emphases added):

Palmer’s mass has upset some sectors of the church and one parish priest, he says, has refused to perform it as long as it includes Latin. (Et dicit ei: Non serviam. Okay, that was a bit strong, but still it was the first thing that came to mind. Perhaps our good parish priest and his flock would do well to read Sacrosanctum Concilium 54 para. 2.) The title, Benedictus Qui Venit, “apparently pleased Rome but caused gnashing of teeth (interesting choice of words) among those who would banish forever all reference to the historical culture of the church and its liturgy”.

“When I went to speak to people, particularly young people, it was very noticeable that they had absolutely no affinity or understanding of the cultural history of the church and the musical history of the church to which this (mass) is referring,” Palmer says. (I’ve always found this amusing: the Memorial Acclamation in the Ordinary Form of the Mass is referred to as an anamnesis. Indeed, the Mass itself is an anamnesis. And yet, here is an example of functional amnesia. One of too many.)

“These are young people who have been brought up post-Vatican II being used to music in church (that) is the heritage of the 1970s folk movement. (A blink in the eye of the life of the Church.) A lot of that music is very fine music and very suitable music. (It must also be said: A lot of that music is neither fine nor suitable.) But this is the only music they’ve ever experienced (in church, one should read - today’s culture is drowning in music of varying worth) and they associate anything other than that (meaning Latin and/or chant within the context of the Sacred Liturgy, probably) with an authoritarian attempt to return to the past, to move it all back to the 1950s.” (But what would happen when these same people realize that active resistance to reviving Latin and chant - like that of the aforementioned parish priest - can be seen as authoritarian attempts to remain in the 1970s?)

Read the whole thing.

As an aside, I was amused by the article preface:

Music for the Pope’s visit next month has upset some Catholics who don’t want to sing in Latin.

which is yet another fine example of Mad-Libs style media coverage of religion and other contentious matters:

(Potentially Controversial Church Topic) has upset Members of an Offended Group who disagree with (Potentially Controversial Church Topic).

Try it - it works both ways!