But I am SOOOOO excited about the CMAA Colloquium!
http://www.musicasacra.com/colloquium
Universalis, your very own breviary in pixels...
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Ouch, that hurt...
Even though I'll be receiving "7 Days of Musical Heaven" for the money, and even though I will be, presumably, reimbursed by the parish, I swear, it was physically painful to pay out that much money online....
But I am SOOOOO excited about the CMAA Colloquium!
http://www.musicasacra.com/colloquium
But I am SOOOOO excited about the CMAA Colloquium!
http://www.musicasacra.com/colloquium
"He left us instructions" - St Clement in Boston
When himself and I were on the road, I was not yet knowledgeable enough about the state of the Church in this country, liturgically (and therefore spiritually,) and about the information to be had online, for my choice of church to anything but hit-or-miss.
Sometimes the hits were dead on, (St Charles Borromeo in N Hollywood, that Eastern Rite church north of Miami...) and the misses were occasionally outright freaking hysterical, (the robo-priest in the mountains, the talking-to-the-chair lesson in the Midwest, the vestibule Mass somewhere down south, the priest who gave us a kind of easy-listenin' concert instead of distributing communion, for instance.) (And in the interest of full disclosure, once, a sedevacantist group, before I knew such things existed.)
Even now, I can't always find someplace welcoming and worshipful, usually to suggest to others, family or friends, who are either traveling or live someplace where Mass is either celebrated carelessly or with deliberate abuse.
Anyway, this
http://stclementshrine.org/
is the sort of place I wish I had known about (when we played Boston, we worshipped with the witches, as I recall.)
Lovely little sermon on Ascension (which, yes, resonates all the louder with me just now because our back door has warped...)
http://stclementshrine.org/index.php?id=202
He left us instructions
Before the seminary, I had a little carpentry business: The Peter Grover Co. to be exact. It was small and humble, the kind of business you would call if you needed the roof fixed or a cabinet installed. One day, I was hanging a door for a friend of mine who had a little picture frame shop. The door had a large, thick, heavy window. My problem? I had never actually hung a door before. My father always hung the doors. I held the door, or the screwdriver, put the pins in the hinges and got the coffee. Oh, there was one other thing I did. I always watched my father carefully. Where was I? Oh, yes... Well, I finally hung the door but strangely, it didn't want to close tight. It was the classic case of "hinge-bound." Not knowing what to do, I called my father. He assured me it was an easy fix. He said, "You've seen me do it. Remember how I chisel the wood at a slight angle behind the hinge?" "Yes." He continued, "You may have to make a few adjustments, but you can do it." Between the instructions and my memory, I went to work. It took me a few times but eventually the door closed beautifully. I had actually hung my first door, a small but meaningful victory.
Jesus ascended into to heaven. Don't get me wrong. I would love to have our Lord here with us. He could solve our problems; care for us when we are sick; pray for us as He always did. He could make sacrifices for us, preach, teach, instruct and forgive. That would be great, but He had to go. He wants us to do the work He did. Yes, you may think it's a daunting task, but He left us instructions and we remember how He did it. Now it is up to us to go to work and do the works that He has called us to do.
Fr. Peter
May 4, 2008 Seventh Sunday of Easter
Oh, and they are ordaining a transitional deacon this week.
Sometimes the hits were dead on, (St Charles Borromeo in N Hollywood, that Eastern Rite church north of Miami...) and the misses were occasionally outright freaking hysterical, (the robo-priest in the mountains, the talking-to-the-chair lesson in the Midwest, the vestibule Mass somewhere down south, the priest who gave us a kind of easy-listenin' concert instead of distributing communion, for instance.) (And in the interest of full disclosure, once, a sedevacantist group, before I knew such things existed.)
Even now, I can't always find someplace welcoming and worshipful, usually to suggest to others, family or friends, who are either traveling or live someplace where Mass is either celebrated carelessly or with deliberate abuse.
Anyway, this
http://stclementshrine.org/
is the sort of place I wish I had known about (when we played Boston, we worshipped with the witches, as I recall.)
Lovely little sermon on Ascension (which, yes, resonates all the louder with me just now because our back door has warped...)
http://stclementshrine.org/index.php?id=202
He left us instructions
Before the seminary, I had a little carpentry business: The Peter Grover Co. to be exact. It was small and humble, the kind of business you would call if you needed the roof fixed or a cabinet installed. One day, I was hanging a door for a friend of mine who had a little picture frame shop. The door had a large, thick, heavy window. My problem? I had never actually hung a door before. My father always hung the doors. I held the door, or the screwdriver, put the pins in the hinges and got the coffee. Oh, there was one other thing I did. I always watched my father carefully. Where was I? Oh, yes... Well, I finally hung the door but strangely, it didn't want to close tight. It was the classic case of "hinge-bound." Not knowing what to do, I called my father. He assured me it was an easy fix. He said, "You've seen me do it. Remember how I chisel the wood at a slight angle behind the hinge?" "Yes." He continued, "You may have to make a few adjustments, but you can do it." Between the instructions and my memory, I went to work. It took me a few times but eventually the door closed beautifully. I had actually hung my first door, a small but meaningful victory.
Jesus ascended into to heaven. Don't get me wrong. I would love to have our Lord here with us. He could solve our problems; care for us when we are sick; pray for us as He always did. He could make sacrifices for us, preach, teach, instruct and forgive. That would be great, but He had to go. He wants us to do the work He did. Yes, you may think it's a daunting task, but He left us instructions and we remember how He did it. Now it is up to us to go to work and do the works that He has called us to do.
Fr. Peter
May 4, 2008 Seventh Sunday of Easter
Oh, and they are ordaining a transitional deacon this week.
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
"Having Over Being"
Many date the crisis, (or rather, the current waves of crises, for it has taken many forms,) in the Faith, and in the practice of the Faith from the issuance of Humanae Vitae.
I would date it not from the encyclical itself, but from the dissident reception accorded it, by those most bound to promulgate, by shepherds who failed in their duty, by deceitful hired men masquerading as as shepherds.
As the 40th anniversary of HV approaches, its wisdom becomes ever clearer, as we see the consequences of living evermore as if human beings had no divine model; as if each life's value was assigned externally, by its fellows, (such infallible judges of quality are we...)
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/a1_en.htm
In remarks over the weekend the Holy Father acknowledged the difficulty of spreading the Gospel of Life "in a culture suffering from the prevalence of having over being."
Doesn't that phrase absolutely nail us?
I am part of that problem.
The little Bavarian has a tough row to hoe...
I would date it not from the encyclical itself, but from the dissident reception accorded it, by those most bound to promulgate, by shepherds who failed in their duty, by deceitful hired men masquerading as as shepherds.
As the 40th anniversary of HV approaches, its wisdom becomes ever clearer, as we see the consequences of living evermore as if human beings had no divine model; as if each life's value was assigned externally, by its fellows, (such infallible judges of quality are we...)
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/a1_en.htm
In remarks over the weekend the Holy Father acknowledged the difficulty of spreading the Gospel of Life "in a culture suffering from the prevalence of having over being."
Doesn't that phrase absolutely nail us?
I am part of that problem.
The little Bavarian has a tough row to hoe...
Saturday, 10 May 2008
So it's not just the Catholics...
Himself had to attend a funeral.
Episcopal church.
Instead of a dismissal, the priest? minister? shouted, "Play balllllll!" and the organist launched into "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
Episcopal church.
Instead of a dismissal, the priest? minister? shouted, "Play balllllll!" and the organist launched into "Take Me Out to the Ball Game."
High notes, low notes...
http://musicasacra.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=554&page=1#Item
On the MusicaSacra discussion boards, an email from a non-musician in the pews has instigated a lively conversation.
I feel for the woman, I think many songs are written in absurd ranges for congregational singing, I think many "composers" who manage to get their stuff into mainstream hymnals and disposables are utterly ignorant of what makes a melody singable in terms not just of range, but of the approach to high notes, the size, frequency and direction of jumps (not to mention where they fall within the scale, making it easy or otherwise, for the ear to "pick them out",) bad prosody, unnecessary alterations in repeated phrases...
And the fact is modern pop music is diminishing the average persons ability to "hear" pitch, and to imagine his own voice reproducing that pitch, and the fact that music is almost entirely a consumable commodity rather than something the average person produces makes it less and less likely that he will improve in this respect.
And yes, hymnal used to be written with the expectation that people would sing in four parts, so only true sopranos had to be able to reach the "high notes" in a melody.
And I wonder if anyone has done any studies, the average American is taller, larger, etc. every generation... as the average body part become larger, is it not likely that this has an effect on the average vocal range?
Is there a possibility that our voices are on average becoming lower? more contraltos, fewer sopranos, the already rare tenor becoming rarer?
I would be interested to know if anyone has done such a study.
But finally, despite my sympathy, I have to tell this funny story -- at my parish we sing the Taize Jesus Remember Me at every funeral. Every single one.
It has a range of a minor sixth, that's it. The high note is an a flat.
When we sang it, (and I promise you, I am too lazy and too sleepy to transpose except under duress...,) unusually, during weekend Masses, Holy Week, Father wanted to know why it was in such a high key, and complained that he found it difficult to sing, (which made a nice change frome his usual, "it's too slow.")
Okay, I admit i did not find it funny at the time....
Friday, 9 May 2008
The post-Easter doldrums....
We are becalmed.
The metaphor is deliberate, this is not depression, i simply find myself and my choir in a spot where whatever I do, we can seem to make no headway.
This happens every year, b****ing and moaning about Holy Week and especially the Vigil, and how there's too much to do, (especially too much liturgical music as opposed to the sweet songs 'we like',) and the services are too long --
But when the pace is less hectic, when we still have major festivals coming up but we can work on more versatile music for Ordinary times for the sheer beauty of it ... they abandon me and my rehearsals like 'tweens playing hooky!
FIVE people last night.
FIVE.
And this year we have the added task of the ordination.
And last night, someone asked why we didn't sing thus-and-such for Pentecost.
Without going into the merits of the piece, (a wink's as good as a nod, to a blind man,) Pentecost is in 3 days, I've never even heard of heard of the piece (there is so much music in those cabinets, I will never look at it all,) it is unquestionably a pianistic accompaniment so I'd have to rework it, there are no originals in the files only almost certainly illegal photocopies, and to top it off --- the questioner was showing up at rehearsal for the first time in three weeks.
(Warning: I figure I'll probably whine in this manner every Friday for the next month and a half.)
Oh, well... the Monteverdi is starting to have a little shape.
The metaphor is deliberate, this is not depression, i simply find myself and my choir in a spot where whatever I do, we can seem to make no headway.
This happens every year, b****ing and moaning about Holy Week and especially the Vigil, and how there's too much to do, (especially too much liturgical music as opposed to the sweet songs 'we like',) and the services are too long --
But when the pace is less hectic, when we still have major festivals coming up but we can work on more versatile music for Ordinary times for the sheer beauty of it ... they abandon me and my rehearsals like 'tweens playing hooky!
FIVE people last night.
FIVE.
And this year we have the added task of the ordination.
And last night, someone asked why we didn't sing thus-and-such for Pentecost.
Without going into the merits of the piece, (a wink's as good as a nod, to a blind man,) Pentecost is in 3 days, I've never even heard of heard of the piece (there is so much music in those cabinets, I will never look at it all,) it is unquestionably a pianistic accompaniment so I'd have to rework it, there are no originals in the files only almost certainly illegal photocopies, and to top it off --- the questioner was showing up at rehearsal for the first time in three weeks.
(Warning: I figure I'll probably whine in this manner every Friday for the next month and a half.)
Oh, well... the Monteverdi is starting to have a little shape.
Fantastic New Vatican Page
H/T to Fr. Z, a Vatican index to documents (VCII, papal, the BIBLE, Code of Canon Law, etc.) in Latin.
http://www.vatican.va/latin/latin_index.html
http://www.vatican.va/latin/latin_index.html
Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces
I was going to say this would be a great interest to those with a particular devotion to Our Lady, but it may be even more important to those of us who have not.
Fr Hunwicke, at Liturgical Notes http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/
is using the beginning of May to discourse on the Blessed Mother, through his own translation of a homily by St. Gregory Palamas.
I won't pretend to understand it all, but I urge you to read it.
I remember there was an enormous hub-bub a few years back, even in the MSM, (because this was before I came to realize there even was non-mainstream media,) that JPII was about to make some declaration exalting Mary in such a way that the protestant rift with the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church would NEVER be mended, and I looked at the whole thing very skeptically, I'm afraid.
I am starting to come 'round, coming to understand it better now, thank to some very simple words by Fr Samuel Weber about the similarity of a boy's love for His Jewish mother and some other boy's love for his Italian mother.
(Someone like him needs to write a Catholic Theology for Dummies, for someone like me.)
(No, wait, Catholic Theology for the Incorrigibly Shallow... that's the ticket. I digress..)
Anyway, go read Fr Hunwicke and St. Gregory on Mary.
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-1.html
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-2.html
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-3.html
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-4.html
(He also has an intriguing snippet of Newman, and how the Arian heresy, in effect, paved the way for a greater understanding of Mary's stature, and thus, role in the economy of salvation --- surely and excellent example of God drawing straight with crooked lines!)
Fr Hunwicke, at Liturgical Notes http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/
is using the beginning of May to discourse on the Blessed Mother, through his own translation of a homily by St. Gregory Palamas.
I won't pretend to understand it all, but I urge you to read it.
I remember there was an enormous hub-bub a few years back, even in the MSM, (because this was before I came to realize there even was non-mainstream media,) that JPII was about to make some declaration exalting Mary in such a way that the protestant rift with the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church would NEVER be mended, and I looked at the whole thing very skeptically, I'm afraid.
I am starting to come 'round, coming to understand it better now, thank to some very simple words by Fr Samuel Weber about the similarity of a boy's love for His Jewish mother and some other boy's love for his Italian mother.
(Someone like him needs to write a Catholic Theology for Dummies, for someone like me.)
(No, wait, Catholic Theology for the Incorrigibly Shallow... that's the ticket. I digress..)
Anyway, go read Fr Hunwicke and St. Gregory on Mary.
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-1.html
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-2.html
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-3.html
http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2008/05/marys-month-of-may-4.html
(He also has an intriguing snippet of Newman, and how the Arian heresy, in effect, paved the way for a greater understanding of Mary's stature, and thus, role in the economy of salvation --- surely and excellent example of God drawing straight with crooked lines!)
A kinder, gentler Pope...
On Zenit, there is an interview with Fr Fessio, titled, In US, Pope Showed His Old Self.
http://www.zenit.org/article-22527?l=english
Some of the MSM coverage, particularly on television, (excepting the always entertaining Lou "Mad Dog" Dobbs,) was gushy and breathless, as if they thought 3 years of the papacy had transformed Papa, that Darth Vader had morphed into Mr Rogers.
Am I the only one, who was reminded of the Mark Twain joke about the stupidity of ones parents, and how much they manage to learn while one is away at college?
"Most people already knew [Benedict XVI] is extremely intelligent and articulate. Many weren't aware of the personal warmth, what in Bavaria they call 'Gemütlichkeit,'" Father Fessio said.
The Jesuit, who is also the founder and editor in chief of Ignatius Press, the Pope's primary English-language publisher, explained that the Holy Father "is transparent, so what you see is who he is.
His many concrete acts of thoughtfulness and generosity are unknown to most people, but would not be a surprise to those who have now had the chance to see and hear him.
"There has been speculation that the Pope sometimes was negatively portrayed by the press simply because of his many years leading the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, coupled with his shyness.
Father Fessio agrees that these have been factors, "[b]ut the largest factor is that the secular media and dissenting Catholics will always project a negative image of anyone who upholds the teaching of the Catholic Church on the controversial, neuralgic issues of our time. "
http://www.zenit.org/article-22527?l=english
Some of the MSM coverage, particularly on television, (excepting the always entertaining Lou "Mad Dog" Dobbs,) was gushy and breathless, as if they thought 3 years of the papacy had transformed Papa, that Darth Vader had morphed into Mr Rogers.
Am I the only one, who was reminded of the Mark Twain joke about the stupidity of ones parents, and how much they manage to learn while one is away at college?
"Most people already knew [Benedict XVI] is extremely intelligent and articulate. Many weren't aware of the personal warmth, what in Bavaria they call 'Gemütlichkeit,'" Father Fessio said.
The Jesuit, who is also the founder and editor in chief of Ignatius Press, the Pope's primary English-language publisher, explained that the Holy Father "is transparent, so what you see is who he is.
His many concrete acts of thoughtfulness and generosity are unknown to most people, but would not be a surprise to those who have now had the chance to see and hear him.
"There has been speculation that the Pope sometimes was negatively portrayed by the press simply because of his many years leading the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, coupled with his shyness.
Father Fessio agrees that these have been factors, "[b]ut the largest factor is that the secular media and dissenting Catholics will always project a negative image of anyone who upholds the teaching of the Catholic Church on the controversial, neuralgic issues of our time. "
More and more, I wonder...
.... why the efforts in support of the laudable aims of an ECUMENICAL council were not expended in the direction where it might have done the most good, where it might have brought nearer those who, though separated, are already closest.
In fact, much of the liturgical tinkering, at least, seems in retrospect deliberately designed to repel the East.
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/e0_en.htm
ASKING THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 9 MAY 2008 (VIS).- This morning the Pope received His Holiness Karekin II Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. He then met with the bishops in the patriarch's delegation who were from many diverse countries.
At noon in the Clementine Hall, the Holy Father presided over the celebration of the Middle Hour (hora media), which was attended by Karekin II, the Armenian bishops, and a group of faithful apostolic Armenians from a number of countries in the East and West.
After the Patriarch's greeting, the Pope... affirmed that, on this day, "we will pray in a particular way for the unity of the Church. (...) If our hearts and minds are open to the Spirit of communion, God can work miracles again in the Church, restoring the bonds of unity. Striving for Christian unity is an act of obedient trust in the work of the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church to the full realization of the Father's plan, in conformity with the will of Christ".
...
Benedict XVI emphasized that in ecumenical dialogue "important progress has been made in clarifying the doctrinal controversies that have traditionally divided us, particularly over questions of Christology. During the last five years, much has been achieved by the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, of which the Catholicosate of All Armenians is a full member".
In conclusion, the Holy Father added that "we pray that its activity will bring us closer to full and visible communion, and that the day will come when our unity in faith makes possible a common celebration of the Eucharist. (...) Only when sustained by prayer and supported by effective cooperation, can theological dialogue lead to the unity that the Lord wishes for his disciples".
From his mouth to God's ear...
In fact, much of the liturgical tinkering, at least, seems in retrospect deliberately designed to repel the East.
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/e0_en.htm
ASKING THE HOLY SPIRIT FOR UNITY OF THE CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 9 MAY 2008 (VIS).- This morning the Pope received His Holiness Karekin II Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians. He then met with the bishops in the patriarch's delegation who were from many diverse countries.
At noon in the Clementine Hall, the Holy Father presided over the celebration of the Middle Hour (hora media), which was attended by Karekin II, the Armenian bishops, and a group of faithful apostolic Armenians from a number of countries in the East and West.
After the Patriarch's greeting, the Pope... affirmed that, on this day, "we will pray in a particular way for the unity of the Church. (...) If our hearts and minds are open to the Spirit of communion, God can work miracles again in the Church, restoring the bonds of unity. Striving for Christian unity is an act of obedient trust in the work of the Holy Spirit, who leads the Church to the full realization of the Father's plan, in conformity with the will of Christ".
...
Benedict XVI emphasized that in ecumenical dialogue "important progress has been made in clarifying the doctrinal controversies that have traditionally divided us, particularly over questions of Christology. During the last five years, much has been achieved by the Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, of which the Catholicosate of All Armenians is a full member".
In conclusion, the Holy Father added that "we pray that its activity will bring us closer to full and visible communion, and that the day will come when our unity in faith makes possible a common celebration of the Eucharist. (...) Only when sustained by prayer and supported by effective cooperation, can theological dialogue lead to the unity that the Lord wishes for his disciples".
From his mouth to God's ear...
Thursday, 8 May 2008
Sing a Puppet Into Being
A modest proposal, I think Call To Action has discovered a solution to the priest shortage (the tune should be obvious.)
1. Take some flour, and some water,
Mix them well in to a paste,
Then recycle some old news print,
Tear it! let there be no waste.
Dip longs strips into the mixture,
Place them where they need to be
Bring a puppet into being,
Show your creativity.
2.How to use these gentle giants?
What their purpose? What their use?
Are they toys? a science project?
For the stage? Don't be obtuse!
We'll parade them to the altar,
Where they'll stand in proud array!
What priest shortage? we'll just build one
Out of more papier mache!
3. With his cold unblinking visage,
He might fill young ones with dread,
For it is the stuff of nightmares,
That bizarre, gynormous head.
But they'll soon become accustomed,
To his wierd and awkward ways,
Give it time and he'll seem normal,
They'll forget the olden days.
4. I begin to see the promise,
Of this way of building priests.
Mothers never need to give birth,
In the manner of dumb beasts,
Bear a child, just to offer
To the Church a pious son.
They can hire Julie Taymor,
And she'll go and build them one!
5. Much less messy, this will spare Moms
Childhood's ev'ry tear and pain,
Adolescents faults and foibles,
Yound adulthood's doubts and strains.
While we're at it, why stop at priests?
Lets make lectors, servers, too,
Deacons, singers... while we're at it
Why not puppets in each pew?
6. Brave New Church, that has such creatures,
In it! THIS is the new wave,
Soul-less dolls, or maybe robots?
Christ will have no need to save.
Sing a puppet into being,
We'll need people nevermore.
Just remind the final human:
Douse the light and close the door.
1. Take some flour, and some water,
Mix them well in to a paste,
Then recycle some old news print,
Tear it! let there be no waste.
Dip longs strips into the mixture,
Place them where they need to be
Bring a puppet into being,
Show your creativity.
2.How to use these gentle giants?
What their purpose? What their use?
Are they toys? a science project?
For the stage? Don't be obtuse!
We'll parade them to the altar,
Where they'll stand in proud array!
What priest shortage? we'll just build one
Out of more papier mache!
3. With his cold unblinking visage,
He might fill young ones with dread,
For it is the stuff of nightmares,
That bizarre, gynormous head.
But they'll soon become accustomed,
To his wierd and awkward ways,
Give it time and he'll seem normal,
They'll forget the olden days.
4. I begin to see the promise,
Of this way of building priests.
Mothers never need to give birth,
In the manner of dumb beasts,
Bear a child, just to offer
To the Church a pious son.
They can hire Julie Taymor,
And she'll go and build them one!
5. Much less messy, this will spare Moms
Childhood's ev'ry tear and pain,
Adolescents faults and foibles,
Yound adulthood's doubts and strains.
While we're at it, why stop at priests?
Lets make lectors, servers, too,
Deacons, singers... while we're at it
Why not puppets in each pew?
6. Brave New Church, that has such creatures,
In it! THIS is the new wave,
Soul-less dolls, or maybe robots?
Christ will have no need to save.
Sing a puppet into being,
We'll need people nevermore.
Just remind the final human:
Douse the light and close the door.
Wednesday, 7 May 2008
Some thoughts on how liturgical music should engage
A conversation at the CMAA boards, http://musicasacra.com/forum/, prompted by a musician's justified lament that he was being made to solves a problem, not of his making, with a solution that is ... well, frankly, is just more of the problem.
http://musicasacra.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=540&page=1
I was grotesquely long-winded, and rhapsodizing on my theme, in the spirit of compounding a bad situation by providing more of the same, I repeat my post here:
"While playing for a Holy Hour, I was thinking 'Gosh, for all these kids this must be incredibly boring', then it hit me: sometimes it's 'boring' to be Catholic. (I hope you all know what I'm getting at!) If they're raised expecting Catholicism to be fun, they'll just turn away when it stops being fun for them. If they're raised expecting it to be 'boring', they'll hold to the faith if they want it, not just to have fun."
While I did know where you're going with this, I think you're doing a disservice to the conversation, by setting up "fun" and "boring" as the two poles, (although those might be the word choice of the children you were observing.)
People, especially children, usually experience "fun" as residing in externals, places, sounds, activities, people, etc. outside themselves. Yes, their usual preferred situations and activities may not always draw them in, according to their moods, but they will not therefore think of what usually is "fun" whether it's going to Disney World or to the Ring Cycle, as "boring."Boredom is usually experienced as a state of oneself.
We may describe something as boring, but what I think we really register is "I am currently bored, " (in a way we don't usually register, "I am currently having fun.')
Now, to go back to one of my examples, most staunch Wagnerians would be appalled and insulted, not at the notion that others find endless melodies "boring" but at the suggestion they themselves find it "fun."
The very word trivializes the object of their enjoyment.
And I think it trivializes worship, either liturgical or devotional.
The approach has been taken by too many priests, liturgists, catechists and musicians for ... well, for the sake of argument, "two generations."
"Fun" has been treated as a positive value.
It is not.
Liturgy should be, must be, engaging, attractive, interesting, fascinating, compelling, joy-giving -- but never "fun."
It is inappropriate, maybe blasphemous, to seek to either give or receive "fun" at the re-presentation of the ritual murder of the Son of God and His subsequent triumph over death.
And to get back to the topic at hand, yes, David, it IS a catechetical failure, and not just of those visibly engaged in Faith Formation, or of celebrants, but of musicians and parents and PIPs.
Although raising Catholics "expecting it to be 'boring'" is equally damaging, and may have been the great catechetical failure prior to the one we are currently feeling the results of.
Because again, the re-presentation of the ritual murder of the Son of God and His subsequent triumph over death can no more be boring than it can be fun.
Objectively, there can be NOTHING more engaging.
Catholics need to be raised "expecting" what they do to reflect its importance.
Our Faith is IMPORTANT.
Practicing it is IMPORTANT.
Everything about it should reflect its IMPORTANCE.
Our failure has been in convincing others, children and those who do not share our Faith, that we believe what we say we believe.
And why have we failed to convince? Because in many cases it is a LIE.
Isn't it?Many erstwhile Catholics, even in positions of authority, DON’T believe what they say they believe.
There is a way human beings deal with matter and people of import.
Is that the way we deal with the Mass? with God? with God present in the Blessed Sacrament?Our behavior clearly demonstrates our priorities.
[A number of examples of behaviors that demonstrate an adherence to some other source or summit...]
They are catechizing that the Eucharist is NOT the Source and Summit of our Faith, of our very existence.
They are teaching that Christ is NOT Real-ly Present in the Blessed Sacrament.
They are teaching that they'd rather increase while God and His Church decrease.
Are they heretics? are they evil?
No. For the most part, they have not thought it through. Their seeming belief is that of a parrot, and their actual disbelief is that of a dog. (My black lab doesn't believe in the doctrine of the Real Presence either, but I don't think he's really considered it, and its implications...)
So the Songs of Self are a symptom, yes, but in this vicious circle they are also cause, the reinforce and perpetuate the ignorance.
We can't let ourselves off the hook.
I would argue that it is the obligation of the musician, NOT "to permit poorly-composed inappropriate music into the liturgy as a way of covering up the" catechetical failures, but to fight against it tooth and nail, (or by stealth, if need be,) and become part of the solution.
It is our obligation, as musicians, to learn and practice and program and sing and play music that reflects the Eucharist's importance.
http://musicasacra.com/forum/comments.php?DiscussionID=540&page=1
I was grotesquely long-winded, and rhapsodizing on my theme, in the spirit of compounding a bad situation by providing more of the same, I repeat my post here:
"While playing for a Holy Hour, I was thinking 'Gosh, for all these kids this must be incredibly boring', then it hit me: sometimes it's 'boring' to be Catholic. (I hope you all know what I'm getting at!) If they're raised expecting Catholicism to be fun, they'll just turn away when it stops being fun for them. If they're raised expecting it to be 'boring', they'll hold to the faith if they want it, not just to have fun."
While I did know where you're going with this, I think you're doing a disservice to the conversation, by setting up "fun" and "boring" as the two poles, (although those might be the word choice of the children you were observing.)
People, especially children, usually experience "fun" as residing in externals, places, sounds, activities, people, etc. outside themselves. Yes, their usual preferred situations and activities may not always draw them in, according to their moods, but they will not therefore think of what usually is "fun" whether it's going to Disney World or to the Ring Cycle, as "boring."Boredom is usually experienced as a state of oneself.
We may describe something as boring, but what I think we really register is "I am currently bored, " (in a way we don't usually register, "I am currently having fun.')
Now, to go back to one of my examples, most staunch Wagnerians would be appalled and insulted, not at the notion that others find endless melodies "boring" but at the suggestion they themselves find it "fun."
The very word trivializes the object of their enjoyment.
And I think it trivializes worship, either liturgical or devotional.
The approach has been taken by too many priests, liturgists, catechists and musicians for ... well, for the sake of argument, "two generations."
"Fun" has been treated as a positive value.
It is not.
Liturgy should be, must be, engaging, attractive, interesting, fascinating, compelling, joy-giving -- but never "fun."
It is inappropriate, maybe blasphemous, to seek to either give or receive "fun" at the re-presentation of the ritual murder of the Son of God and His subsequent triumph over death.
And to get back to the topic at hand, yes, David, it IS a catechetical failure, and not just of those visibly engaged in Faith Formation, or of celebrants, but of musicians and parents and PIPs.
Although raising Catholics "expecting it to be 'boring'" is equally damaging, and may have been the great catechetical failure prior to the one we are currently feeling the results of.
Because again, the re-presentation of the ritual murder of the Son of God and His subsequent triumph over death can no more be boring than it can be fun.
Objectively, there can be NOTHING more engaging.
Catholics need to be raised "expecting" what they do to reflect its importance.
Our Faith is IMPORTANT.
Practicing it is IMPORTANT.
Everything about it should reflect its IMPORTANCE.
Our failure has been in convincing others, children and those who do not share our Faith, that we believe what we say we believe.
And why have we failed to convince? Because in many cases it is a LIE.
Isn't it?Many erstwhile Catholics, even in positions of authority, DON’T believe what they say they believe.
There is a way human beings deal with matter and people of import.
Is that the way we deal with the Mass? with God? with God present in the Blessed Sacrament?Our behavior clearly demonstrates our priorities.
[A number of examples of behaviors that demonstrate an adherence to some other source or summit...]
They are catechizing that the Eucharist is NOT the Source and Summit of our Faith, of our very existence.
They are teaching that Christ is NOT Real-ly Present in the Blessed Sacrament.
They are teaching that they'd rather increase while God and His Church decrease.
Are they heretics? are they evil?
No. For the most part, they have not thought it through. Their seeming belief is that of a parrot, and their actual disbelief is that of a dog. (My black lab doesn't believe in the doctrine of the Real Presence either, but I don't think he's really considered it, and its implications...)
So the Songs of Self are a symptom, yes, but in this vicious circle they are also cause, the reinforce and perpetuate the ignorance.
We can't let ourselves off the hook.
I would argue that it is the obligation of the musician, NOT "to permit poorly-composed inappropriate music into the liturgy as a way of covering up the" catechetical failures, but to fight against it tooth and nail, (or by stealth, if need be,) and become part of the solution.
It is our obligation, as musicians, to learn and practice and program and sing and play music that reflects the Eucharist's importance.
Tuesday, 6 May 2008
Bishop Serratelli
Okay, I already liked the guy.... and his weekly column about the Pope, as the successor of Peter is a real keeper:
http://www.patersondiocese.org/article.cfm?Web_ID=2546
But why am I even MORE tickled by His Excellency's column (Pope of Hope: Courageous Witness of Faith) describing the travel arrangements for his pilgrimage? (Even if it did put me in mind of Letterman's running gag of beginning a story, "As I was riding to work this morning on the subway....")
How did YOUR bishop get to DC?
How are the pennies you drop in the collection plate being used?
Dang, I wish his name were easier to spell... (popes get to pick new names, huh?)
Those who belong to Jesus the Good Shepherd form one Church, one flock. The Church is not a mere gathering of people who share the same convictions or strive for the same ideals. As those called out of the world, the Church (εκκλησια) comprises those who are bound together as one body (1 Cor 12). In the members of this one body, the Church, the Triune God dwells in each and makes them one.
The Church is the communio of each baptized person with the Father through Christ in the Spirit. It is the communio of all who are fellow-sharers in the divine nature. “The faithful are one because, in the Spirit, they are in communion with the Son and, in him, share in his communion with the Father…” (Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint, 9).
Christ, who formed his Church as a communio, did not leave his followers without the means to remain one. Christ instituted the Twelve to lead his Church. “He constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them" (Lumen Gentium, 19). The Good Shepherd conferred on Peter the task of keeping the Church united as one flock, as one communio of truth and life.
When Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah and Son of the Living God at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church” (Mt 16:18). Peter was to have a foundational role in the life of the Church. At the Last Supper, Jesus already knew that the Evil One would scatter his flock. Because of the role Jesus was giving Peter, he told him, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and once you have recovered, you in your turn must strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:32). Finally, after the Resurrection, Jesus solemnly commissioned Peter with his special role of shepherding the whole Church when he told him three times on the shore of Tiberias, “Feed my lambs” (Jn 21:15-17).
This pastoral office belongs to the Church's very foundation. It continues in every age. Thus, in the mystery of God’s providence for the unity of the Church, the Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful" (Lumen Gentium, 22, 2).
Despite their office, some popes, such as John XII (937-964), the Borgia Alexander VI (1492-1503) and the Medici Clement VII (1523-1534), were no saints. Throughout her history, the Church has had to endure about ten corrupt popes. However, there have been 78 popes canonized and 9 beatified. In recent times, the face of the papacy has shown with the light of great holiness in Pius XII (1939-1958), John XXIII (1958-1963), Paul VI (1963-1978), John Paul I (1978), and John Paul II (1978-2005).
History can record the abuses of power, weakness and sins of individual men who have been the successors of Peter. But our faith as Catholics does not rest in man, but in Jesus the Good Shepherd who never abandons us. Despite the serious crises that have disturbed the Church, the Church has held on to the faith handed on by the Apostles. She has preserved all the elements and gifts that God wished the Church to have as his instrument of salvation for the world. The Lord is faithful to his promise to Peter and guides his Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. No human weakness can destroy what God intends.
How blessed we are these days to welcome among us Pope Benedict XVI. He comes as Successor to Peter, as visible head of the Church and the Vicar of Christ on earth. He comes “to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father” (Pope Benedict XVI in his video message to the United States, April 8, 2008). The words and personal witness of our Holy Father is a sign of the love of God who raises up for us a good shepherd for our times.
http://www.patersondiocese.org/article.cfm?Web_ID=2546
But why am I even MORE tickled by His Excellency's column (Pope of Hope: Courageous Witness of Faith) describing the travel arrangements for his pilgrimage? (Even if it did put me in mind of Letterman's running gag of beginning a story, "As I was riding to work this morning on the subway....")
How did YOUR bishop get to DC?
How are the pennies you drop in the collection plate being used?
Dang, I wish his name were easier to spell... (popes get to pick new names, huh?)
Those who belong to Jesus the Good Shepherd form one Church, one flock. The Church is not a mere gathering of people who share the same convictions or strive for the same ideals. As those called out of the world, the Church (εκκλησια) comprises those who are bound together as one body (1 Cor 12). In the members of this one body, the Church, the Triune God dwells in each and makes them one.
The Church is the communio of each baptized person with the Father through Christ in the Spirit. It is the communio of all who are fellow-sharers in the divine nature. “The faithful are one because, in the Spirit, they are in communion with the Son and, in him, share in his communion with the Father…” (Pope John Paul II, Ut Unum Sint, 9).
Christ, who formed his Church as a communio, did not leave his followers without the means to remain one. Christ instituted the Twelve to lead his Church. “He constituted [them] in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them" (Lumen Gentium, 19). The Good Shepherd conferred on Peter the task of keeping the Church united as one flock, as one communio of truth and life.
When Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah and Son of the Living God at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus said to Peter, “You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church” (Mt 16:18). Peter was to have a foundational role in the life of the Church. At the Last Supper, Jesus already knew that the Evil One would scatter his flock. Because of the role Jesus was giving Peter, he told him, “I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and once you have recovered, you in your turn must strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:32). Finally, after the Resurrection, Jesus solemnly commissioned Peter with his special role of shepherding the whole Church when he told him three times on the shore of Tiberias, “Feed my lambs” (Jn 21:15-17).
This pastoral office belongs to the Church's very foundation. It continues in every age. Thus, in the mystery of God’s providence for the unity of the Church, the Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, "is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful" (Lumen Gentium, 22, 2).
Despite their office, some popes, such as John XII (937-964), the Borgia Alexander VI (1492-1503) and the Medici Clement VII (1523-1534), were no saints. Throughout her history, the Church has had to endure about ten corrupt popes. However, there have been 78 popes canonized and 9 beatified. In recent times, the face of the papacy has shown with the light of great holiness in Pius XII (1939-1958), John XXIII (1958-1963), Paul VI (1963-1978), John Paul I (1978), and John Paul II (1978-2005).
History can record the abuses of power, weakness and sins of individual men who have been the successors of Peter. But our faith as Catholics does not rest in man, but in Jesus the Good Shepherd who never abandons us. Despite the serious crises that have disturbed the Church, the Church has held on to the faith handed on by the Apostles. She has preserved all the elements and gifts that God wished the Church to have as his instrument of salvation for the world. The Lord is faithful to his promise to Peter and guides his Church by the power of the Holy Spirit. No human weakness can destroy what God intends.
How blessed we are these days to welcome among us Pope Benedict XVI. He comes as Successor to Peter, as visible head of the Church and the Vicar of Christ on earth. He comes “to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father” (Pope Benedict XVI in his video message to the United States, April 8, 2008). The words and personal witness of our Holy Father is a sign of the love of God who raises up for us a good shepherd for our times.
Can the Pope get Catholics to sing again?
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/features/f0000232.shtml
Okay, how did I miss this?
You real bloggers out there, are you falling down on the job?
I depend on you to do all the work, and actually find this stuff, and then I just re-post, or link, and shoot off my mouth with ill-considered opinions.
Maybe this was written about all over the blogosphere, and I just missed it, it having been published during the run up to the Oh-no-how-can-it-be-Holy-Week-alreadieist Easter in living memory.
Can the Pope get Catholics to sing again?
Rome is encouraging a revival of church music.
Webster Young explains how even those of us with modest abilities can join the musical revolution
14 March 2008
The word "amateur" means, literally, a "lover of" something.
A musical amateur is a "music lover". There need be nothing pejorative in the term "musical amateur"; on the contrary - anyone would agree that enthusiastic musical amateurism is important.
It could be said to sow seeds of future musical development. Non-professional musicians go to concerts, buy recordings, sheet music, and instruments, hire private teachers, and, as parents, expose children to music at a young age.
From the environment amateur musicians create, enlightened musical patrons and future musical geniuses grow.
Singing is important in musical amateurism because it involves almost everyone. Many institutions have choirs - whether churches, schools, the branches of the military, or clubs - and it is nearly a given that everyone sings or has sung at one time or another. In the case of Catholic musical culture - and the music found in church - it would be quite desirable if a healthy amateur musical practice were to grow up among Catholics.
It is not hard to imagine that, if Catholic people generally sang better, played instruments more, and knew more about fine art music, music in church would be held to higher standards and would be all the better for the musical skills of people coming to church.
To give an example of what amateur enthusiasm can accomplish - the family of Felix Mendelssohn were musical amateurs, hosting musical gatherings at their home on many weekends, and it was this musical environment that allowed the development of the young Felix - one of the most amazing child prodigies in music history.In America, the Downtown Glee Club once existed not far from Wall Street in New York. This was a choral group founded in the 1920s by businessmen.
They gave concerts, and at times could marshal over 900 singers, inviting the most prominent conductors of the day to lead them. The equivalent would exist today in London if several hundred City businessmen assembled a choir on their own, invited Simon Rattle to conduct them, and gave a televised concert from the Albert Hall. That would indeed be a most impressive display of the love of fine art music.
Much of church music is today maintained by volunteers and involves the participation of the congregation rather than a choir.
Notwithstanding the good efforts of many people, Catholic music - especially outside of England - is not what it once was.
Pope Benedict XVI (who is a literate musician: he reads music, knows the literature of music from Gregorian Chant to the Classics, and plays Mozart at the piano) has been calling for a restoration of high standards.
His remarks on music make it clear that he believes that the touchstone for judging the appropriateness of sacred music is Gregorian Chant and sacred vocal polyphony. Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has thus recently been making statements about music in the Church and asking for preparations for its reform.
In England there is an excellent practice of choral singing by official choirs.
The flourishing of choral singing in England was largely encouraged by Cardinal Vaughan, the commissioning builder of Westminster Cathedral. The cultural memory of what he did for English music has generally faded, but a recent English doctoral thesis has brought back to light the process whereby Catholic and Anglican choral singing were re-born before the turn of the century - through the efforts of the cardinal. One marvellous fruit of his endeavour is still in evidence today: the famous boys' choir of Westminster Cathedral.
But implementing a major change in Catholic music today will involve both a strong will to make changes and a marshalling of resources to carry them out.
There has been a hope among members of the Roman Curia that a "grass-roots" movement among parishioners will arise - in the same successful way that one helped to re-invigorate in some countries the practice of more frequent confession - and that this will help to bring about the needed changes in music. A growth in enlightened musical amateurism might well provide some support for a grass-roots movement in music.The English composer Gustav Holst once said: "Music should be either done in a church or in someone's home."
Through the turn of the last century it was considered an essential part of the education of a lady of breeding to be able to play the piano and sing.
At parties, it was often a lady of the family who would play and the guests would sing from reading sheet music. Most educated men were able to sing, read music, improvise some vocal harmony, quartet or church-choir style, and at least throw in a bit of harmony at the end of a song.
In our day these practices are mostly gone. Since a healthy musical amateurism often involves singing, I propose to give here some hints on the technique of singing that anyone can use. I have written before encouraging the practice of private singing - singing to one's self for the purpose of inspiration and relief from monotony.
Nothing I say here mitigates that; singing hymns or inspirational songs to one's self remains a wonderful way to combat the stress of modern life - especially where driving is involved. But here we will speak of the practice of singing for others to hear, and I will give the reader a few simple ways to get one's voice to sound good.
Paying attention to three things in singing can help anyone - even if that person never thought of his or herself as a good singer before. The first point involves being aware of one's breathing. A person takes in breath before each phrase of music and expends it during the phrase.
If one can learn to draw in a deeper breath using the stomach first instead of the lungs, filling with air not just from the top of the lungs, but from lower down; this is an important start.
This is done just before starting the first phrase of any music. Then, once the singer has a large breath of air stored and begins to sing, he or she should become aware that expending breath involves a certain pressure - against the diaphragm - as breath is released.
If one can become aware of this, much progress in singing will result almost spontaneously.A second help involves how one listens to one's self singing.
Most people will be surprised at how they can evaluate their own singing - hearing whether or not they are singing well, and correcting what is wrong - all by themselves.
First one must recognise that it is not easy for a person to immediately understand how he sounds when singing, because the sound is reaching his ear not only from outside, but also through the bones and air passageways of the head itself.
To get a clear idea of the sound your voice is producing you may need to get near a wall and, facing it, cup your hands behind your ears to hear the true sound of your voice reflecting back to you.
This is the same effect as singing in the shower - except the shower tends to amplify the voice as well. (The shower is actually a good place to sing.)
A third help will be to think of the words you are singing and pronounce them very clearly. This is called diction in singing, and it is an art in itself. The vowels and consonants of words are really the "primary material" in singing. In fact, it is said that the nature of a language spoken by a people may have a lot to do with whether that nation produces great singers. There may be something in Welsh that makes good singing, something else in Irish that lends itself to the development of the sweet sounding Irish lyric tenor, and something in English that allows boys' voices to excel.
One great hint that helps any singer is to be sure to emphasise the consonants in words. Further, following a few simple traditions of English diction in singing avoids unpleasant sounds: for example, the elimination of Rs that end words or that are found in diphthongs. (Thus you would sing, phonetically, for the word "greater", greatah. You will be understood and the nasal sound of an R avoided.)
There is, of course, much more that can be said about singing. I have not mentioned the various registers within any voice. With the rising in pitch of the notes that one sings, there goes an equivalent change in the placement of where, in that person's voice, the higher notes are primarily produced. It is a remarkable thing to learn that the parts of the head (air passageways, bones, mouth) have an important role in producing the sound of high notes. But that is for later.
The most important thing is to listen carefully to one's self, let singing be natural (don't force or push the voice), and prepare by breathing.
Then, just sing well for the sake of singing well. It doesn't matter where you do it. You could join a choir, or not. You can sing at Mass or sing at home. Sing good melodies and develop a taste for them.
A healthy musical amateurism is not only a matter of performing music well; it also includes allowing one's mind to be improved.
If the average person learns to perform music a little better, and improves in musical taste as well that constitutes important progress.
Experiencing the joys of good music are a blessing in themselves, and good musical experience may also inspire many people to contribute to the grass-roots movement hoped for by the Vatican.
Webster Young is a published neo-classical composer for opera, orchestra and piano
Okay, how did I miss this?
You real bloggers out there, are you falling down on the job?
I depend on you to do all the work, and actually find this stuff, and then I just re-post, or link, and shoot off my mouth with ill-considered opinions.
Maybe this was written about all over the blogosphere, and I just missed it, it having been published during the run up to the Oh-no-how-can-it-be-Holy-Week-alreadieist Easter in living memory.
Can the Pope get Catholics to sing again?
Rome is encouraging a revival of church music.
Webster Young explains how even those of us with modest abilities can join the musical revolution
14 March 2008
The word "amateur" means, literally, a "lover of" something.
A musical amateur is a "music lover". There need be nothing pejorative in the term "musical amateur"; on the contrary - anyone would agree that enthusiastic musical amateurism is important.
It could be said to sow seeds of future musical development. Non-professional musicians go to concerts, buy recordings, sheet music, and instruments, hire private teachers, and, as parents, expose children to music at a young age.
From the environment amateur musicians create, enlightened musical patrons and future musical geniuses grow.
Singing is important in musical amateurism because it involves almost everyone. Many institutions have choirs - whether churches, schools, the branches of the military, or clubs - and it is nearly a given that everyone sings or has sung at one time or another. In the case of Catholic musical culture - and the music found in church - it would be quite desirable if a healthy amateur musical practice were to grow up among Catholics.
It is not hard to imagine that, if Catholic people generally sang better, played instruments more, and knew more about fine art music, music in church would be held to higher standards and would be all the better for the musical skills of people coming to church.
To give an example of what amateur enthusiasm can accomplish - the family of Felix Mendelssohn were musical amateurs, hosting musical gatherings at their home on many weekends, and it was this musical environment that allowed the development of the young Felix - one of the most amazing child prodigies in music history.In America, the Downtown Glee Club once existed not far from Wall Street in New York. This was a choral group founded in the 1920s by businessmen.
They gave concerts, and at times could marshal over 900 singers, inviting the most prominent conductors of the day to lead them. The equivalent would exist today in London if several hundred City businessmen assembled a choir on their own, invited Simon Rattle to conduct them, and gave a televised concert from the Albert Hall. That would indeed be a most impressive display of the love of fine art music.
Much of church music is today maintained by volunteers and involves the participation of the congregation rather than a choir.
Notwithstanding the good efforts of many people, Catholic music - especially outside of England - is not what it once was.
Pope Benedict XVI (who is a literate musician: he reads music, knows the literature of music from Gregorian Chant to the Classics, and plays Mozart at the piano) has been calling for a restoration of high standards.
His remarks on music make it clear that he believes that the touchstone for judging the appropriateness of sacred music is Gregorian Chant and sacred vocal polyphony. Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has thus recently been making statements about music in the Church and asking for preparations for its reform.
In England there is an excellent practice of choral singing by official choirs.
The flourishing of choral singing in England was largely encouraged by Cardinal Vaughan, the commissioning builder of Westminster Cathedral. The cultural memory of what he did for English music has generally faded, but a recent English doctoral thesis has brought back to light the process whereby Catholic and Anglican choral singing were re-born before the turn of the century - through the efforts of the cardinal. One marvellous fruit of his endeavour is still in evidence today: the famous boys' choir of Westminster Cathedral.
But implementing a major change in Catholic music today will involve both a strong will to make changes and a marshalling of resources to carry them out.
There has been a hope among members of the Roman Curia that a "grass-roots" movement among parishioners will arise - in the same successful way that one helped to re-invigorate in some countries the practice of more frequent confession - and that this will help to bring about the needed changes in music. A growth in enlightened musical amateurism might well provide some support for a grass-roots movement in music.The English composer Gustav Holst once said: "Music should be either done in a church or in someone's home."
Through the turn of the last century it was considered an essential part of the education of a lady of breeding to be able to play the piano and sing.
At parties, it was often a lady of the family who would play and the guests would sing from reading sheet music. Most educated men were able to sing, read music, improvise some vocal harmony, quartet or church-choir style, and at least throw in a bit of harmony at the end of a song.
In our day these practices are mostly gone. Since a healthy musical amateurism often involves singing, I propose to give here some hints on the technique of singing that anyone can use. I have written before encouraging the practice of private singing - singing to one's self for the purpose of inspiration and relief from monotony.
Nothing I say here mitigates that; singing hymns or inspirational songs to one's self remains a wonderful way to combat the stress of modern life - especially where driving is involved. But here we will speak of the practice of singing for others to hear, and I will give the reader a few simple ways to get one's voice to sound good.
Paying attention to three things in singing can help anyone - even if that person never thought of his or herself as a good singer before. The first point involves being aware of one's breathing. A person takes in breath before each phrase of music and expends it during the phrase.
If one can learn to draw in a deeper breath using the stomach first instead of the lungs, filling with air not just from the top of the lungs, but from lower down; this is an important start.
This is done just before starting the first phrase of any music. Then, once the singer has a large breath of air stored and begins to sing, he or she should become aware that expending breath involves a certain pressure - against the diaphragm - as breath is released.
If one can become aware of this, much progress in singing will result almost spontaneously.A second help involves how one listens to one's self singing.
Most people will be surprised at how they can evaluate their own singing - hearing whether or not they are singing well, and correcting what is wrong - all by themselves.
First one must recognise that it is not easy for a person to immediately understand how he sounds when singing, because the sound is reaching his ear not only from outside, but also through the bones and air passageways of the head itself.
To get a clear idea of the sound your voice is producing you may need to get near a wall and, facing it, cup your hands behind your ears to hear the true sound of your voice reflecting back to you.
This is the same effect as singing in the shower - except the shower tends to amplify the voice as well. (The shower is actually a good place to sing.)
A third help will be to think of the words you are singing and pronounce them very clearly. This is called diction in singing, and it is an art in itself. The vowels and consonants of words are really the "primary material" in singing. In fact, it is said that the nature of a language spoken by a people may have a lot to do with whether that nation produces great singers. There may be something in Welsh that makes good singing, something else in Irish that lends itself to the development of the sweet sounding Irish lyric tenor, and something in English that allows boys' voices to excel.
One great hint that helps any singer is to be sure to emphasise the consonants in words. Further, following a few simple traditions of English diction in singing avoids unpleasant sounds: for example, the elimination of Rs that end words or that are found in diphthongs. (Thus you would sing, phonetically, for the word "greater", greatah. You will be understood and the nasal sound of an R avoided.)
There is, of course, much more that can be said about singing. I have not mentioned the various registers within any voice. With the rising in pitch of the notes that one sings, there goes an equivalent change in the placement of where, in that person's voice, the higher notes are primarily produced. It is a remarkable thing to learn that the parts of the head (air passageways, bones, mouth) have an important role in producing the sound of high notes. But that is for later.
The most important thing is to listen carefully to one's self, let singing be natural (don't force or push the voice), and prepare by breathing.
Then, just sing well for the sake of singing well. It doesn't matter where you do it. You could join a choir, or not. You can sing at Mass or sing at home. Sing good melodies and develop a taste for them.
A healthy musical amateurism is not only a matter of performing music well; it also includes allowing one's mind to be improved.
If the average person learns to perform music a little better, and improves in musical taste as well that constitutes important progress.
Experiencing the joys of good music are a blessing in themselves, and good musical experience may also inspire many people to contribute to the grass-roots movement hoped for by the Vatican.
Webster Young is a published neo-classical composer for opera, orchestra and piano
"My people, what have I done to you?"
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/reviews/r0000287.shtml
At last - a truly Catholic Passion
James MacMillan's Passion is magnificent, says Damian Thompson
2 May 2008
When we think of music for Holy Week we think of the Catholic Church, but when we think of settings of the Passion we think of the Protestant J S Bach.
Perhaps it is because the Church commemorates the suffering and death of Jesus with its own intricate liturgy that Catholic composers have rarely felt the need to set the four Gospel accounts to music.
James MacMillan has risen magnificently to the challenge of creating a Catholic Passion. ...Bach's Passions supplement the scriptural narrative with arias drawing on pietistic Lutheranism; MacMillan clears a space for a Stabat Mater and also sets the traditional Good Friday "reproaches", a litany of accusations accompanying the veneration of the Cross...
And who, precisely, is "you" in that context? It is a measure of the inconvenience of that question that some Catholic parishes omit the reproaches from their Good Friday services, even though they are in the new Missal.
....The high point of Bach's St John Passion are the fugal choruses depicting the hypocritical venom of the Jewish mob. MacMillan's Passion is even more richly choral, since the narrator is a chamber choir singing in closely harmonised chant and the role of Pilate is taken by the large choir. This redistribution of Pilate's words - also a feature of modern Good Friday services - has the effect of blurring the distinction between the guilt of the Jews (clearly indicated by the author of the Gospel), that of the Roman authorities, and of ourselves, the common man and woman. This is a serious theological insight, not an exercise in revisionism. Proper, old-fashioned guilt saturates this work. Christ dies with his reproaches still ringing in the audience's ears. There is no peaceful chorus anticipating the glory of Easter. Instead, the work closes with a long orchestral meditation, in which the restless and nervy strings part only briefly to reveal a beautiful Celtic melody before despair sets in again.
How refreshing, now we won't have to wait until Holy Week 2009 to hear the predictable objections to the Reproaches of people "so vain, the probably think this song is NOT about" them.
No, I'm kidding, that's not a fair description, just wanted to quote the Carly Simon song (or ketchup commerical, depending on your age, I suppose...)
But what is it about, is this some variation on the mote in the eye syndrome, have some people got planks in their EARS, so that they can't hear the liturgy, not accusing the other, but telling us, the Church, the people of God, us right their in the pews, it is our guilt, our sins, for which the Spotless Lamb utters reproaches?
As Jesus is handed over to the soldiers, the chorus sings from the canon, Accipite et manducate ex hoc omnes: hoc est enim corpus quod pro vobis tradetur.
That's just brilliant. I am looking forward to hearing this work.
At last - a truly Catholic Passion
James MacMillan's Passion is magnificent, says Damian Thompson
2 May 2008
When we think of music for Holy Week we think of the Catholic Church, but when we think of settings of the Passion we think of the Protestant J S Bach.
Perhaps it is because the Church commemorates the suffering and death of Jesus with its own intricate liturgy that Catholic composers have rarely felt the need to set the four Gospel accounts to music.
James MacMillan has risen magnificently to the challenge of creating a Catholic Passion. ...Bach's Passions supplement the scriptural narrative with arias drawing on pietistic Lutheranism; MacMillan clears a space for a Stabat Mater and also sets the traditional Good Friday "reproaches", a litany of accusations accompanying the veneration of the Cross...
And who, precisely, is "you" in that context? It is a measure of the inconvenience of that question that some Catholic parishes omit the reproaches from their Good Friday services, even though they are in the new Missal.
....The high point of Bach's St John Passion are the fugal choruses depicting the hypocritical venom of the Jewish mob. MacMillan's Passion is even more richly choral, since the narrator is a chamber choir singing in closely harmonised chant and the role of Pilate is taken by the large choir. This redistribution of Pilate's words - also a feature of modern Good Friday services - has the effect of blurring the distinction between the guilt of the Jews (clearly indicated by the author of the Gospel), that of the Roman authorities, and of ourselves, the common man and woman. This is a serious theological insight, not an exercise in revisionism. Proper, old-fashioned guilt saturates this work. Christ dies with his reproaches still ringing in the audience's ears. There is no peaceful chorus anticipating the glory of Easter. Instead, the work closes with a long orchestral meditation, in which the restless and nervy strings part only briefly to reveal a beautiful Celtic melody before despair sets in again.
How refreshing, now we won't have to wait until Holy Week 2009 to hear the predictable objections to the Reproaches of people "so vain, the probably think this song is NOT about" them.
No, I'm kidding, that's not a fair description, just wanted to quote the Carly Simon song (or ketchup commerical, depending on your age, I suppose...)
But what is it about, is this some variation on the mote in the eye syndrome, have some people got planks in their EARS, so that they can't hear the liturgy, not accusing the other, but telling us, the Church, the people of God, us right their in the pews, it is our guilt, our sins, for which the Spotless Lamb utters reproaches?
As Jesus is handed over to the soldiers, the chorus sings from the canon, Accipite et manducate ex hoc omnes: hoc est enim corpus quod pro vobis tradetur.
That's just brilliant. I am looking forward to hearing this work.
... with crooked lines
I have always loved the aphorism, God can draw straight with crooked lines, (how could I not? I'm a crooked line myself!)
I think I first came across it in a Chesterton story, but I'm not sure. I have tried to track down its origins, and someone told me once that it was a variation on something Luther wrote, but I have not been able confirm that.
I have been thinking about how we ourselves do not always have the ability to discern what is crooked, and what is straight; and that we often lack the faith, when confronted with the truly dire, the incontrovertibly crooked, to remember that the Lord can nevertheless convey us to our destination.
So I apply the aphorism to events in an individual's life, to our incompetence to distinguish between good luck and misfortune.
But I'm wondering if it doesn't have a larger application.
Without being quite a universalist, (I can't know that hell is empty, but I can hope and pray that it is....,) and without embracing indifferentism in the least, I am thinking that while we do right to decry relativism, there is a certain irony in that even if people insist on setting off on crooked paths, even though they do not know the Way, God, Who is Himself the Way manages to bring them home safe and sound at last.
It is not part of His plan that we make things difficult for ourselves, that we wander, that we get lost, when He has gone to the trouble of providing humanity with a roadmap -- His very Self.
But when we, through ignorance, or through pride masquerading itself as adventurousness, set off in the wrong direction.... well, He may use those crooked lines of our inferior human cartography to bring us to where we would have gone had we just trod the straight path He took such pains to provide us.
Does that make sense?
For He is utterly and exclusively The Way: we can travel successfully without knowing the name of the street on which we find ourselves; we might be forced by circumstances onto a noisy, scary, confusing, badly paved detour temporarily, there is always another entrance ramp; we may have slept in the backseat and been unaware of either perils or delights along the trip, yet we end up at the same destination as the parents who planned the trip and drove the car.
I'm thinking of all the sad splintering of the community of believers, all the divisions, schisms... no, He didn't will them, but mightn't He have found a purpose for them? Mightn't He have drawn straight with the crooked lines of dissent?
There are some striking pictures on TNLM http://www.thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/
of medieval rood screens.
http://thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/2008/05/painted-english-rood-screens-o-what-was.html
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
Is it too far-fetched to think that had a king not sulked for being thwarted in his priapic and dynastic ambitions and begun his own "church", had the Anglican communion not scuppered off taking their toys with them, had a more "vibrant" faith community been worshipping there now, had prosperity allowed expenditures for "improvements" in certain aesthetically unfortunate eras -- these glories might have been swapped out for burlap nasties and empty spaces?
And is it too remote, too, idealized to imagine that the catechetical power of such depictions of our forbears in the Faith, as well as their beauty, could draw people to a better understanding of the Body of Christ stretching across time and space, draw them to the Way?
I also think of the disparate 1/2 empty, 1/2 full reactions to the disheartening musical activity that intruded itself on a recent widely-televised Mass.
Yes, it may be used a justification for similar badly chosen, badly rendered music, during other liturgies -- but it may also be the evidence needed, the impetus needed to finally wakes up TPTB to the necessity for real concrete change in liturgical musical praxis in this country.
An old story, Buddhist, I think -- but who's to say?
There once was a poor farmer who owned but a single horse, on which he depended for his family's livelihood.
One day the horse ran away into the mountains. The farmer searched for him in vain.
His neighbors tried to commiserate, "We are sorry for this calamity!"
But the complacent farmer replied, "Bad luck, good luck -- who's to say?"A week later his horse came back, accompanied by a dozen wild horses, which the farmer was able to corral all.
News spread throughout the village, and his neighbors again came and said, "Congratulations on this great good fortune!"
To which the farmer once again shrugged and said, "Good luck, bad luck -- who's to say?"The farmer's only son decided to break the wild horses so they could be put to use.
But as he attempted to do this, he was thrown from one of the horses, and his leg was broken in three places.
When word of this accident spread through the village, again the neighbors came saying, "We are sorry about your misfortune."
The old man shrugged and said, "Bad luck, good luck -- who's to say?"Two weeks later a war broke out, and the army conscripted every able-bodied man in the village.
Because the son was injured, they could not take him, but everyone from the village who was drafted was killed in the battle.
I also read a story recently about a woman who was dying of cancer.
For her agnostic husband, this is pure tragedy.
For her, a great blessing, the answer to her prayers, in fact, as the crises has brought her long estranged children back to them.
Can't i just run on and on and on? How's that for packing the least meaning into the most words possible....?
I think I first came across it in a Chesterton story, but I'm not sure. I have tried to track down its origins, and someone told me once that it was a variation on something Luther wrote, but I have not been able confirm that.
I have been thinking about how we ourselves do not always have the ability to discern what is crooked, and what is straight; and that we often lack the faith, when confronted with the truly dire, the incontrovertibly crooked, to remember that the Lord can nevertheless convey us to our destination.
So I apply the aphorism to events in an individual's life, to our incompetence to distinguish between good luck and misfortune.
But I'm wondering if it doesn't have a larger application.
Without being quite a universalist, (I can't know that hell is empty, but I can hope and pray that it is....,) and without embracing indifferentism in the least, I am thinking that while we do right to decry relativism, there is a certain irony in that even if people insist on setting off on crooked paths, even though they do not know the Way, God, Who is Himself the Way manages to bring them home safe and sound at last.
It is not part of His plan that we make things difficult for ourselves, that we wander, that we get lost, when He has gone to the trouble of providing humanity with a roadmap -- His very Self.
But when we, through ignorance, or through pride masquerading itself as adventurousness, set off in the wrong direction.... well, He may use those crooked lines of our inferior human cartography to bring us to where we would have gone had we just trod the straight path He took such pains to provide us.
Does that make sense?
For He is utterly and exclusively The Way: we can travel successfully without knowing the name of the street on which we find ourselves; we might be forced by circumstances onto a noisy, scary, confusing, badly paved detour temporarily, there is always another entrance ramp; we may have slept in the backseat and been unaware of either perils or delights along the trip, yet we end up at the same destination as the parents who planned the trip and drove the car.
I'm thinking of all the sad splintering of the community of believers, all the divisions, schisms... no, He didn't will them, but mightn't He have found a purpose for them? Mightn't He have drawn straight with the crooked lines of dissent?
There are some striking pictures on TNLM http://www.thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/
of medieval rood screens.
http://thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/2008/05/painted-english-rood-screens-o-what-was.html
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
Is it too far-fetched to think that had a king not sulked for being thwarted in his priapic and dynastic ambitions and begun his own "church", had the Anglican communion not scuppered off taking their toys with them, had a more "vibrant" faith community been worshipping there now, had prosperity allowed expenditures for "improvements" in certain aesthetically unfortunate eras -- these glories might have been swapped out for burlap nasties and empty spaces?
And is it too remote, too, idealized to imagine that the catechetical power of such depictions of our forbears in the Faith, as well as their beauty, could draw people to a better understanding of the Body of Christ stretching across time and space, draw them to the Way?
I also think of the disparate 1/2 empty, 1/2 full reactions to the disheartening musical activity that intruded itself on a recent widely-televised Mass.
Yes, it may be used a justification for similar badly chosen, badly rendered music, during other liturgies -- but it may also be the evidence needed, the impetus needed to finally wakes up TPTB to the necessity for real concrete change in liturgical musical praxis in this country.
An old story, Buddhist, I think -- but who's to say?
There once was a poor farmer who owned but a single horse, on which he depended for his family's livelihood.
One day the horse ran away into the mountains. The farmer searched for him in vain.
His neighbors tried to commiserate, "We are sorry for this calamity!"
But the complacent farmer replied, "Bad luck, good luck -- who's to say?"A week later his horse came back, accompanied by a dozen wild horses, which the farmer was able to corral all.
News spread throughout the village, and his neighbors again came and said, "Congratulations on this great good fortune!"
To which the farmer once again shrugged and said, "Good luck, bad luck -- who's to say?"The farmer's only son decided to break the wild horses so they could be put to use.
But as he attempted to do this, he was thrown from one of the horses, and his leg was broken in three places.
When word of this accident spread through the village, again the neighbors came saying, "We are sorry about your misfortune."
The old man shrugged and said, "Bad luck, good luck -- who's to say?"Two weeks later a war broke out, and the army conscripted every able-bodied man in the village.
Because the son was injured, they could not take him, but everyone from the village who was drafted was killed in the battle.
I also read a story recently about a woman who was dying of cancer.
For her agnostic husband, this is pure tragedy.
For her, a great blessing, the answer to her prayers, in fact, as the crises has brought her long estranged children back to them.
Can't i just run on and on and on? How's that for packing the least meaning into the most words possible....?
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Catholic bishops told to withhold parish information from Mormons
An interesting item from Utah, about the practice of the Latter Day Saints to "baptise" even those of other faiths, posthumously.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1737323,00.html
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Posted: 12:25 PM- The Roman Catholic Church recently directed dioceses worldwide not to give parish information to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The move is "an effort to block posthumous rebaptisms," according to an article reported Friday by Catholic News Service. CNS cites an April 5 letter from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy that directs all Catholic bishops "to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained" in parish registers. A main tenet of LDS Church doctrine is to baptize posthumously, by proxy, all who have died without an LDS baptism, to enable them the opportunity to accept the faith in an afterlife. Baptisms for the dead are performed in LDS temples worldwide. The church collects birth, death, christening, marriage and other related information of deceased people, from archives and registers of churches and denominations, when access is permitted. The Vatican letter calls LDS baptisms for the dead a "detrimental practice" and directs each Catholic diocesan bishop "not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," CNS reported. LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said today that he hasn't seen the Vatican letter.
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1737323,00.html
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Posted: 12:25 PM- The Roman Catholic Church recently directed dioceses worldwide not to give parish information to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The move is "an effort to block posthumous rebaptisms," according to an article reported Friday by Catholic News Service. CNS cites an April 5 letter from the Vatican Congregation for Clergy that directs all Catholic bishops "to keep the Latter-day Saints from microfilming and digitizing information contained" in parish registers. A main tenet of LDS Church doctrine is to baptize posthumously, by proxy, all who have died without an LDS baptism, to enable them the opportunity to accept the faith in an afterlife. Baptisms for the dead are performed in LDS temples worldwide. The church collects birth, death, christening, marriage and other related information of deceased people, from archives and registers of churches and denominations, when access is permitted. The Vatican letter calls LDS baptisms for the dead a "detrimental practice" and directs each Catholic diocesan bishop "not to cooperate with the erroneous practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints," CNS reported. LDS Church spokesman Scott Trotter said today that he hasn't seen the Vatican letter.
Just when I despair...
... the congregation lifts the roof on every last hymn, piece of the Ordinary, and antiphon; and my choir all but brings me to tears with a perfectly lovely Jesu Rex Admirabilis (or Admirablilis, as my typo on their copies has it.)
Just gorgeous.
Gorgeous.
Just gorgeous.
Gorgeous.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
The English Catholic martyrs could have saved themselves the trouble and been open-minded
I do not know why but this makes me unutterably sad.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3851758.ece
[Someone named Peter whom I do not know] the Queen’s eldest grandson, will not have to give up his place in the succession to the throne when he marries next month after his fiancée [someone named Autumn whom I do not know] renounced her Roman Catholic faith. ...
[The mother-in-law-to-be] said that she did not think that there would be a problem with her daughter being a “foreigner”.
“I think attitudes to things like that have changed,” she said. “Autumn is a very serious and intelligent young woman. She may be young, but she knows the world. And he’s a great guy. Isn’t that what counts?”
No, being "foreign" matters not a whit, the British are very open-minded...
The only consolation -- but again, why am I in need of solace? why does this make me so forlorn? -- the only solace is, as a commentator on the Times site nails, "Does it matter which church one stays at at home from?"
I guess it's the clear evidence that for many people some rituals, those of the state wedding, of the formal renunciation, of all the trappings of a monarchy -- all these are seen as valuable, as worth preserving, as pointing to a reality outside of and greater than themselves -- but that the rituals that point to the greatest reality of all are so blithely, discarded, tossed into the trashcan.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3851758.ece
[Someone named Peter whom I do not know] the Queen’s eldest grandson, will not have to give up his place in the succession to the throne when he marries next month after his fiancée [someone named Autumn whom I do not know] renounced her Roman Catholic faith. ...
[The mother-in-law-to-be] said that she did not think that there would be a problem with her daughter being a “foreigner”.
“I think attitudes to things like that have changed,” she said. “Autumn is a very serious and intelligent young woman. She may be young, but she knows the world. And he’s a great guy. Isn’t that what counts?”
No, being "foreign" matters not a whit, the British are very open-minded...
The only consolation -- but again, why am I in need of solace? why does this make me so forlorn? -- the only solace is, as a commentator on the Times site nails, "Does it matter which church one stays at at home from?"
I guess it's the clear evidence that for many people some rituals, those of the state wedding, of the formal renunciation, of all the trappings of a monarchy -- all these are seen as valuable, as worth preserving, as pointing to a reality outside of and greater than themselves -- but that the rituals that point to the greatest reality of all are so blithely, discarded, tossed into the trashcan.
Friday, 2 May 2008
I have a pet cat, apparently
Not my profile, I took the quiz for Himself:
What Kind of pet are you?
| You Would Be a Pet Cat |
 And as for other people, you can take them or leave them. You often don't care. You live your life by your own rules. And you have deep motivations that no one truly understands. Why you would make a great pet: You're not needy or greedy... unlike other four legged friends. Why you would make a bad pet: You're not exactly running down to greet people at the door What you would love about being a cat: Agility and freedom What you would hate about being a cat: Being treated like a dog by clueless humans |
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