How about being Catholic? Just. Catholic.

Over at Bad Catholic, Marc Barnes is making the case for being Catholic - not conservative, or liberal or orthodox or faithful, or any other modifier you can come up with + Catholic. I find this a lot in musical circles when we talk about "more conservative music programs" or "more contemporary programs".  How about just being Catholic?

Let me be clear, I agree with Marc on this one, but Oh! the practice is so hard.

I was especially drawn in by this paragraph:

Thus, even though The Sacred Congregation Of Rites instructs that, if secular instruments are to be used in the liturgy, “they are to be played with such seriousness, and religious devotion that every suggestion of raucous secular music is avoided, and the devotion of the faithful is fostered,” and even though the General Instruction for the Roman Missal clearly states that “sacred silence also, as part of the celebration, is to be observed at the designated times” and that “the main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy,” these rules are often ignored. Why? Because instead of being expressed as fundamentally, authoritatively, and timelessly Catholic, these instructions are couched in the language of “traditional” Catholicism, as a rallying cry of a particular faction that can be easily ignored precisely as a faction. Which is, of course, ridiculous. It’s not “traditional” to follow the GIRM. It’s Catholic.

Nicely stated, Marc.  That's just the part that applies to music, but there's much more in the post.  Read the rest here.

Singing Along or Praying in Song - Which Are You Doing?

Recently, I had occasion to talk to a woman from another parish about the music in her parish.  She made a comment that really resonated with me that I'd like to share.  She said that sometimes she feels like she's just singing along instead of praying. This is a comment I also get from choir members as they are learning better vocal production techniques. Between remembering to hold your mouth just-so, and breathe from your diaphragm - not your shoulders, and relaxing your neck, but pulling your shoulders back, there's a lot to remember and the text gets crowded out.

I could make the case that by activating your brain to follow the words and your body to sing them, you are giving worship to God. But part of the prayer of singing a hymn or a psalm is, of course, understanding the words. That's why it is so important to enunciate your words clearly when singing - so that the congregation understands the content. It's also the reason chant developed the way it did.  What's important here is the Word of God.  Music is only the vehicle.  Once the music takes supremacy, and we bend the words to fit the music, instead of the other way around, we've lost the primacy of the Word of God.

But, losing that sense of prayer happens all the time.  When I am in the congregation, if I don't know the hymn, I get caught up in reading the music, or figuring out which syllable goes with which note. When I am directing, I will forget to pray the words sometimes and I get caught up in the mechanics of the sound or distracted by a fidgety person in the congregation. As is so often the case, the best defense is a good offense.

When I am planning the music for a Mass, I always take the time to read the text of the music I will be teaching. I just read it: no music, no rhythm (save the natural rhythm of the language). If it's in a foreign language, I find a translation so that I know what I am singing about. Then, I distill the text into an overall theme that I can easily meditate on while I sing. This does require some time spent in discovering the meaning of the poetry. I spend some time with the text and pray it. It is, after all, a prayer.  In some sense, it's sort of like praying the rosary where you're praying the words of the prayer while meditating on the mysteries. And, once I know the piece well, I am better able to focus on the prayer contained in the actual words.

Even if you don't have a great deal of time to spend on translation and extended meditation, it helps to read through the words of the hymns and try to make sure you understand them before Mass begins.  Arrive a bit early and take some time with them. Hymns are beautiful poems and often have a great deal to teach us about our lives as Christians.  Unpacking this meaning can have a great impact on how you sing a hymn.  If you're sight reading the words and the music for the first time as Father is coming up the aisle, you probably can't pray the song. A little preparation goes a long way toward greater understanding and better prayer.

Another thing that can help ease frustration among the congregation is the choice of hymns.  Obviously, if the piece is a challenge to teach your choir, it's going to be tough for your congregation to sing and they will be frustrated. Think long and hard before introducing it as a part of your congregational hymn choices. When I run into something like this, (and it's really, really worth it,) I will teach it to the choir and have them sing it a few times as a choir piece.  Then it's a little more familiar to the congregation when it's their turn to try their hand at it.

As with all forms of prayer, it is a spiritual battle. There will always be something to distract you, but the battle is won by continuing to fight and by being a little humble about not doing it well. With a little practice and perseverance, and a lot of help from the Holy Spirit, we can overcome the problem of just singing along and begin to pray in song instead.

Bishop Sample's Pastoral Letter "Rejoice in the Lord Always"

Bishop Alexander Sample, Bishop of Marquette and Archbishop-Elect of Portland, released this letter to his diocese this past month.  The letter details not only what makes for good liturgical music but also how to achieve the aims of the Second Vatican Council.  I read the letter in its entirety and I have to say it's worth a read to anyone involved in active Catholic Music Ministry.  Using papal encyclicals, the documents of Vatican II and pastoral letters from the USCCB, Bishop Sample distills the information into and easy-to-follow and easily understood document.

I found that it gave words to things that I had always felt instinctively and just didn't know why or how they were correct.  He also gave me food for though on how the music of the Mass goes hand in hand with the prayers of the Mass.  Spend a little time reading this letter, understanding, of course, that this is aimed at the clergy and musicians of the Diocese of Marquette. I found it inspiring and helpful.

Read the letter here.

Thank you, Holy Father!

For all of your work, for all the years you have given to the Church and for being a man filled with joy.

Fine Tuning - Tempo

Recently, I have had a couple of conversations with people about church music. These people are not musicians themselves but appreciate good music. They are ready and willing to like the music that happens in their parishes yet, each weekend, they come away feeling assaulted by the music, rather than edified by it. In fact, one young woman from a family of musicians, often prefers to attend a mass with no music at all.  I began to ask myself why someone's prayer life might feel dominated and overthrown by the music at mass? This is certainly not our goal as liturgical musicians.

I think there might be a few reasons for this feeling, but today, I'd like to talk about tempo, or the speed at which music is played.

Mass should feel timeless. That's one of the first things my pastor told me when I took my current position.  It should never feel rushed or like it is dragging.  Of course, one has to then wonder, what the heck does THAT mean?  So, I began to explore ways to determine what that pace is.

As a young mother, I discovered that in order to put my small children to sleep, I had to mimic my own heartbeat by patting them on the back or bottom, and rocking back and forth at about the speed of my heartbeat.

We are all hardwired with this sense of heartbeat.  You can see it from a choir loft.  Every time a child begins to fuss, experienced parents and grandparents all over the church will begin to rock back and forth at about 60 beats per minute.  This is about the same rate that a heart at resting pace beats.

I decided to use this as the benchmark for marking tempos for the hymns I use.  I find that 60 is about perfect for Communion hymns, but little too slow for things like the Entrance Hymn and the Closing Hymn.  So 80 beats per minute (the heart rate of a person who is having a conversation) is usually where we end up.  If we do something "uptempo" I never exceed 100 beats per minute (the heart rate of a person who is lightly walking).  Congregations generally can't keep up with a tempo faster than that.

All of this is purely speculative, but I have noticed that if I hit the tempos right, calmness pervades during mass (yes, even with the kids - mostly). I think it's because, as unborn babies, we get used to our mother's heartbeat and this sets the pace for our lives.

In this world of frenetic activity, it can't hurt to slow down just a little bit.