Solemnity, Shmolemnity....

No gloria, no creed... actually, not even a kyrie (although the celebrant did lead us in the confiteor.)
)

Looking for music, and can't place your finger on the source of that earworm?

Just in case I am NOT the last musician on earth to learn this, my 2.3 loyal readers might like to know that the invaluable Petrucci Score Library now allow you to search their database by melody.
Isn't that swell?

Franckly Speaking...

Just in case any of my 2.3 regular readers are among those I-of-the-faulty memory spoke to about a "Portuguese carol" and its appearance in L'Organiste anytime this week, here is the SPANISH hymn JT noted on The New Liturgical Movement, a lovely little suggestion fo first communions, (my recollection is that there were scads of comments at the time, including a snide one about people who think everything old is automatically good, and a number of harmonization, suggestions for improving the text, etc. -- in one of its revamipings I suppose comments were lost at NLM.)

And here is the Offertoire from Midnight Mass in which it is used (letter A.)

The first tune, also has a familiar ring. A French noel, I think, and the name Jordi Saval is coming to me, so perhaps it was used in Tous les Matins du Monde?
(A film which if anyone who appreciates the power of music has not seen he MUST.)

Words of Wisdom for Choirmasters

How would they sing if i didn't conduct? Am I adding something? Or taking it away?"

- Wilko Brouwers

The Solution to a Problem? Chant and Children?

Over at Praytell one fellow's response to Msgr. Wadsworth's keynote address at the Colloquium was absolutely priceless.

How can the crisis in liturgical music be abated? Easy!

We need a married clergy whose ranks are chosen on the basis of their ability to sing, ...
Like the Orthodox, this clergy would be free from temporal administration of parish. I would free them from “apostolic” administration, too. ...

This married clergy would have ample time to celebrate not only the Mass but also the Divine Office as well as spend as much time as Protestant ministers do in preparing their homilies. They would also provide a solid biblical catechesis for the parish, and still have ample time for their families.

IMlimitedE, many Orthodox priests need to have "day jobs." And they have "ample time" for nothing. (Does anyone have ample time? Well, anyone less indolent than I?)

And has he never met a PK?

"Because they have come to express religious fuzzy feeling...."

My Spanish, even my liturgical Spanish, is limited, but I think with my meagre resources and google translation, I have pieced together that agree with this fellow.
I sounds as if he assisted at a Mass for Pentecost accompanied by as liturgically inapt musical selections as I did.

(Marian songs, lenten songs, campfire songs..... come, Holy Ghost, indeed.)

Ineffable, perhaps, but also incomprehensible?

The great Msgr Wadsworth, (what exactly is a member of the Papal Household? Does he have to help with the dishes?;o)) delivered a fine address last night here at the Colloquium. No new ground for me, but well thought out, measured, thoughful, and he even gently quashed a suggestion for spiking the ball.

He, as one would expect, lauded the new translation.

On the other hand, we have the continuing threnody, "Oh no, people will have to THINK!!!!! We can't do THAT!!!!!!

According to PrayTell, a dean in Australia, (where the new translation is being implemented,) sent all the preists in his deanery a prayer that had inadvertantly been omitted from the new Missal, accompanied by this email message:

Dear all,

Please find attached the Preface for this coming Sunday – it is not in the interim missals we are working with.

Not that anyone’s going to understand it, mind you.

Regards,

PREFACE OF THE MOST HOLY TRINITY

V. The Lord be with you.

R. And with your spirit.

V. Lift up your hearts.

R. We lift them up to the Lord.

V. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

R. It is right and just.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation,

always and everywhere to give you thanks,

Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal God.

For with your Only Begotten Son and the Holy Spirit

you are one God, one Lord:

not in the unity of a single person,

but in a Trinity of one substance.

For what you have revealed to us of your glory

we believe equally of your Son

and of the Holy Spirit,

so that, in the confessing of the true and eternal Godhead,

you might be adored in what is proper to each Person,

their unity in substance,

and their equality in majesty.

For this is praised by Angels and Archangels,

Cherubim, too, and Seraphim,

who never cease to cry out each day,

as with one voice they acclaim:

Really?

REALLY?

THAT'S what he believes no one will understand?

Such a low opinion of his priests, of the people....

Himself

My husband is the best gift giver anyone ever had the good fortune to be married to.

Champagne cognac and a simply delightful broad-brimmed hat, in which the dozing wearer can rest her head against the back of a car seat, (or pew?)

Tra Le Sollecitudini Redux?

Or "Son of Tra le Sollecitudini"?
Or "Tra le Sollecitudini Rides Again"?
The wonderful Father Mark Kirby has some liturgical experiences to relate, and a proposal to make.

From his lips to the Holy Father's ear.

The Primacy of Gregorian Chant

The Holy Father's Letter to the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (13-5-11) has prompted me to share with the readers of Vultus Christi some of my own impressions of Sacred Music here in Italy. I write, of course, out of my own very limited experience here over the past ten days. The Holy Father writes:

I wish to highlight a fundamental aspect that is particularly dear to me: how the essential continuity of the teaching on sacred music in the Liturgy has been perceived since St. Pius X up til today, despite the natural evolution. In particular, the Pontiffs Paul VI and John Paul II, in the light of the conciliar constitution "Sacrosanctum Concilium," wished to reaffirm the end of sacred music, namely, "the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful" (No. 112), and the fundamental criteria of Tradition, which I limit myself to recall: the sense of prayer, of dignity and of beauty; the full adherence to the texts and to the liturgical gestures; the involvement of the assembly and, finally, the legitimate adaptation to the local culture, preserving at the same time the universality of the language; the primacy of Gregorian chant, as supreme model of sacred music, and the wise appreciation of the other expressive forms which form part of the historical-liturgical patrimony of the Church, especially but not only, polyphony; the importance of the "schola cantorum," in particular in the cathedral churches. They are important criteria, which must be considered carefully also today.

At times, in fact, these elements, which are found in "Sacrosanctum Concilium," such as, in fact, the value of the great ecclesial patrimony of sacred music or the universality that is characteristic of Gregorian chant, were considered expressions of a conception that responded to a past to be overcome and neglected, because it limited the liberty and creativity of the individual and the communities. However, we must always ask ourselves again: Who is the authentic subject of the liturgy? The answer is simple: the Church. Not the individual or the group that celebrates the liturgy, it is first of all the action of God through the Church, which has her history, her rich tradition and her creativity.

The liturgy, and consequently sacred music, "lives from a correct and constant relation between healthy 'traditio' and legitimate 'progressio,'" keeping very present that these two concepts -- that the conciliar Fathers clearly underscore -- integrate mutually because "tradition is a living reality that, because of this, includes in itself the principle of development, of progress" (Address to the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, May 6, 2011).

The Mass at San Giuliano Park

A model of what the Second Vatican Council intended was given at the Mass celebrated by the Holy Father on 8 May 2011 in San Giuliano Park on the occasion on his recent visit to Venice. To my edification and delight a schola cantorum sang the complete Proper of the Mass in Gregorian Chant, while the vast crowd of the faithful alternated the Paschaltide Ordinary (Mass I) Lux et Origo with the choir. The organizers of this celebratIon are to be commended and congratulated.

The Beatification Mass in Faicchio

The Mass of Beatification of the Venerable Servant of God Mother Maria Serafina del Sacro Cuore on 28 May 2011 gave me a firsthand experience of what appears to be the norm in most of Italy. As Dom Samuel Weber, O.S.B. is fond of saying, "I'm just reporting."

The Proper of the Mass was completely ignored. The Introit, Offertory, and Communion were replaced by songs composed in the popular style. While these pieces were not entirely devoid of scriptural and theological content they were not "the Mass" itself. Consequently, the faithful were not singing the Mass; they were, rather, singing at Mass.

This, of course, deprives the faithful of the richness of the liturgy itself and, at the same time, deprives the celebrant of the very texts out of which the Church would have him preach the homily.

Low Mass With Hymns

The celebrant of the Mass of Beatification was His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Amato, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. His Eminence has a fine singing voice. He chose, nonetheless, to speak nearly all those parts of the Mass that, in so solemn and festive occasion, ought to be sung. To my dismay, HIs Eminence recited in a spoken tone of voice even the Preface of the Mass, the most lyrical and solemn element of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, one that, by its very nature cries out to be sung.

The end result was an anomaly: on this most festive occasion there was, in effect, nothing more than a Low Mass with a sung Ordinary (Mass VIII) De Angelis and with hymns. Very disappointing.

Feast of San Marcellino in Piedimonte Matese

On the morning of 2 June 2011, it was again His Eminence, Angelo Cardinal Amato who celebrated a Pontifical Mass in the glorious baroque Church of San Marcellino in Piedimonte Matese.

A deacon, vested in a splendid red dalmatic and surrounded by a magnificent baroque decor read the Gospel in a spoken tone of voice that rendered it banal. The Gospel could have been, and should have been chanted.

Again, absolutely nothing of the Proper of the Mass was sung. The Ordinary was sung in Italian, using a rather sentimental popular setting of the Gloria with a refrain. The Creed was recited: very disappointing on an occasion when the sung Creed would have been marvelously expressive of the faith of the Church and of her martyrs through the ages.

Again, His Eminence recited in a spoken tone of voice all of the parts belong to the celebrant. This was acutely disappointing, given both his ability to sing, and the solemnity of the occasion. And again, the end result was a Low Mass with a sung Ordinary in Italian and popular hymns.

In the Local Parish

We Southern Italians love to sing, and sing we do! The faithful are deprived, nonetheless, of the authentic chants of the Church. Since my arrival here, not oncehave I heard the Proper of the Mass (even recited) nor anything even remotely related to it.

The Ordinary of the Mass is trivialized by settings in Italian that are sentimental and that have no organic continuity with the musical tradition of the Church. Not once have I heard a priest sing the orations or the Preface of the Mass and this in a culture where to sing is to love, and to love is to sing.

Usquequo Domine

The Motu Proprio of Pope Saint Pius X, Tra le sollecitudini (22 November 1903) has yet to be implemented. In fact, it continues to be transgressed widely and habitually. In conclusion, allow me to say that the situation is, if possible, even worse in the United States. Usquequo Domine?

Remedy? A New "Tra le sollecitudini"?

Would it not be opportune for the Holy Father to issue a Motu Proprio with, if you will pardon the expression, some teeth in it? Such a document might give to the following the force of law:

1. The distinction between a Missa Recitata and a Missa Cantata is to be clarified, restored, and implemented. At every Missa Cantata, the priest celebrant is obliged to sing the salutations and dialogical elements, the orations, the Preface, the Per Ipsum, the Pater Noster, the LIbera nos, the Blessing, and the Dismissal.

2. At every Missa Cantata, the Gospel is to be cantillated according to the traditional tones provided in the Graduale Romanum and in the Missal. It is moreover fitting and praiseworthy that the First Lesson and Epistle also be cantillated according to the tones provided in the same books.

3. The response to the Prayers of the Faithful will be one of those given in the last edition of the Missale Romanum, even when the intentions themselves are cantillated in the vernacular.

4. The Ordinary of the Mass, including the Credo, is to be sung in Latin and in Gregorian Chant as given in the Kyriale of the Graduale Romanum, or in suitable polyphonic settings.

5. The Proper of the Mass, including the Offertorium, is no longer an optional element, nor may it be replaced by any other chant or song. It may be sung in Latin as given in the Graduale Romanum, or in the vernacular, provided that the melodies used for vernacular text are derived from the corresponding Gregorian Chant and preserve its modal character.

6. At the Missa Recitata, the Proper of the Mass must be recited. The Offertorium is to be restored to the Missale Romanum and to all the vernacular editions thereof.

7. The Gradual Chant and the Alleluia are to be included in future editions of theMissale Romanum and the Lectionary, both in Latin and in the vernaculars, and are to be presented henceforth as legitimate and praiseworthy alternatives to the Responsorial Psalm and Alleluia of the current Lectionary.

P.S. Some will, of course, object that not every priest is capable of singing the parts of the Mass that belong to him. A curious objection. I distinctly remember that in the former dispensation, when the stipend for High Mass was significantly more than the stipend for a Low Mass, priests seem to have had no difficulty in singing their parts, even when their vocal abilities were not outstanding.

"... and Canada, and Iraq, and Belgium, and Kenya, and..."

I was not surprised to be asked to sing "God Bless America" as a recessional yesterday, (although I inserted prayers for as many other countries as I could squeeze in, the way I wonder about striving to come up with an appropriate response to "The Lord IS with you," every week.)

This parish uses the work of the hymnographer Berlin as the Offertory song for Pentecost, the Introit for the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe... really, it's a go-to. We sing it at weekday Masses whenever the celebrant has a yen to stretch his tonsils.

But even so, I was nonplussed to be asked to join in My Country 'Tis Of Thee for the entrance hymn.

Really? There is NO mention of the Almighty, NO suggestion of prayer.... nothing that makes this jingoism apt for Mass.

And there is no escape. No other parish in driving distance offers any improvement.

At Midnight Mass last year an Extraordinary Minister at the Cathedral proffered the chalice thusly: The Blood of Christ, and Merry Christmas.
At another parish, obviously pursuing a policy of maximum inclusivity for laypersons with the urge to "minister", we heard a different reader at every morning Mass for two weeks straight, of whom perhaps three were competent. Several interuptted themselves in mid epistle to apologize for not having read over "the hard words" ahead of time, and several seemed unaware that the first reading, psalm and Gospel acclamation are not one long reading.

At one parish, only one verse of the psalm is permitted to be sung on Sundays, as "Father gets impatient if the Mass is too long."

At one, morning Masses at the beginning of Holy Week found the PIP in darkness, as Father wanted the lights left off everywhere but in the sanctuary since the (very beautiful) Easter flowers had arrived early, and Father wanted to get maximum use out of, and maximum admiration for, them.

June 13 cannot come too soon.

"The Challenge of November 27"

Some most interesting commentary in the May newsletter of the Cincinnati Province of the Missionaries of the most Precious Blood, by Fr. Robert Conway, on the coming changes in the English language celebration of the Mass, along the way connecting the dots between liturgical abuse, the culture of dissent and the culture of death.

"How many Catholics have read General Instruction of the Roman Missal? Yet GIRM is the first part of the Roman Missal. It contains regulations for the celebration of Mass. [I have heard and read people insist the GIRM is descriptive not prescriptive.]...

In his 1986 Letter to my Priests, Pope John Paul wrote , "The Liturgy must favor and make shine brightly the SENSE OF THE SACRED. [emphasis supplied] It must be imbued with reverence, adoration and glorification of God."...

By now every Catholic in the United States who attends the Sunday liturgy should be, [yeah, should be... oh well,] aware that on the first Sunday of Advent the newly approved Roman Missal must be used for all English Masses...

How smooth will be the transition [interesting sentence structure] depends on [and here we have the meat of his piece,] the attitude of the priest celebrants. Their track record is not all that great. How did talking in church become the accepted norm, how did Catholics get the idea that dressing up for mass meant only for weddings and funerals, how did the sign of peace become a waving event, and on and on.

Often the celebrant himself maybe seen celebrating Mass without wearing the chasuble, using glass or crockery for the sacred vessels, ... changing or omitting words of the Mass such as skipping the Gloria or Creed or the washing of the hands,...accepting music that in no way has a place at Mass.. having done weekend fundraising at Mass in 107 dioceses in 44 states, I have seen it all and then some. [a little kvetching. As someone who on account of work has found myself in nearly as many states, though not dioceses, of a Sunday and criticized liturgies of which I therefore had first-hand knowledge, certain denizens of blogdom who had previously taken the tack that reports of abysmal liturgy were hearsay/exaggerated/apocryphal changed their tune and essentially said if you didn't like the way other parishes celebrated Mass you should stay home. Okay. End of off-topic winge]
How did such abuses get started? Is it a case of the priest knowing what is best? If so, he is imposing his liturgical will on the people of God. He is guilty of clericalism. Catholics have a right to a mass celebrated according to the Roman rite [even out-of-towners?]

There is a Spanish phrase, poca casa, a little thing. Some will no doubt think,... Why bother. But.. abuses are symptoms of.... the failure oif authority in the Church.
[In 1968] Pope Paul VI issued Humanae Vitae... The dissent in the American Church was made known by the open defiance of a number of priests.... of the Archdiocese of Washington. According to papal biographer George Weigel, the Vatican was fearful of a schism within the American Church. So rather than enforcing discipline in doctrine, the Holy See preferred to do nothing. Cardinal O'Boyle of Washington was left isolated in his attempt to promote orthodoxy.

Years later Cardinal Avery Dulles, S.J. summed up the situation this way: “By reacting different ways to Humanae Vitae, the national and regional conferences of bishops undermined the teaching authority that had been attributed to them since Vatican II. Their diverse opinions could not all be right."

The phrase "faithful dissent" became the guiding principle for many in the hierarchy. To keep peace with his diocese, a bishop could condone such a policy. At the same time, how could he really effect reform in catechesis, in liturgy, in priestly discipline when those involved knew that the bishop did not wish to make waves?

The fallout from this lack of courage to do difficult things is noted regularly in the funerals of pro-choice or pro-abortion Catholic people...

I return to November 27, 2011. Will the hard-working pastors of the American Church take up the challenge of the new Roman Missal? Will they look upon this as the golden moment to once again imbue the Mass "with reverence, adoration and glorification of God?" Or will they choose the beguiling path of faithful dissent?

Full disclosure, I believe I had some measure of responsibility for at least one of those Masses, "in 107 dioceses in 44 states," which formed in Father Conway so jaundiced a view of the general state of the liturgy in these United States. Mea partly to culpa.