Contemporary Catholic liturgical music

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Contemporary Catholic liturgical music encompasses a number of styles of music for Catholic liturgy that grew after the reforms of Vatican II. The dominant style in the United States began as a folk-based musical genre, generally acoustic and often slow in tempo but has evolved into a broad range of styles reflective of age, culture and language. There is a marked difference between this style and those that were common in Catholic churches until the early 1970's, and some Catholics have strong feelings about whether or not this is an improvement.

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[edit] History

Contemporary Catholic liturgical music grew out of post-Vatican II reforms, which allowed for the usage of vernacular language in the Roman Catholic Mass. Further reforms to the General Instruction to the Roman Missal allowed for new settings of chants from the Novus Ordo and new songs to be used in addition to the traditional psalms of the Graduale.

The reforms sparked a wide movement in the Roman Catholic church of the U.S.A. wherein an entire body of older protestant hymnody and newly composed Contemporary Catholic Liturgical Music was introduced to the people through new hymnals such as [http:/www.wlpmusic.com World Library Publication's] People's Mass Book and We Celebrate and NALR's three volumes of Glory and Praise (although it should be note that the latter did not include hymnody).

The newly composed Contemporary Liturgical Music of the 70s was folk-based in genre and included songwriters such as Ray Repp and Joe Wise and later members of groups such as the St. Louis Jesuits, and the Dameans.

By the 1990's, and into the early 21st century, the spread of this music had been substantial. In many areas of the United States, and regions throughout the English-speaking world, most or all of the music played during Sunday Mass is taken from this body of work. As a result, more traditional forms of Catholic music (such as Gregorian chant) have become rare in many churches, and completely abandoned in some. Today most Catholic Songbooks include mostly Contemporary Catholic Liturgical Music, some hymnody, and a very small collection of Chant (which, at one point, dominated Catholic Church Music).

[edit] Musical style

The musical style of Contemporary Catholic Music varies greatly from song to song and composer to composer. Much of it is composed so that choir and assembly can be accompanied by piano, guitar, or organ. Though it is often said that "This music is generally written for chorus with piano, guitar and/or percussion accompaniment, as opposed to the more traditional pipe organ," it should be noticed that many classics including "One Bread, One Body" (Foley) and "Community Mass" (Proulx) were composed to be accompanied by organ. Contemporary Catholic Music by no means excludes the use of the organ, and in fact often uses the instrument to its full potential. Although initially the genre was "folk-sounding," it has matured over the last 30 years to a much more eclectic, multi-cultural, and pristine sound of its own.

Contemporary Catholic Music is more often in song form (very much like Gregorian Antiphons) than in strophic form, where a cantor leads the assembly in a refrain (antiphon) and then sings the verse solo, followed by the refrain again. This form is often called "Responsorial."

It should also be noted that the genre of Praise and Worship Music is not synonymous with Contemporary Catholic Music. Praise and Worship music, which is often associated with Life Teen Masses, is often poorly written and difficult to sing and perform. In many ways, it is similar to much of the very early Contemporary Catholic Music that has gone out of favor in the church over the last 30 years.


[edit] Popular composers

The most popular American composers of this music, along with some of their most popular tunes, include:[1]

  • Marty Haugen, b. 1950 ("Gather Us In", "Canticle of the Sun", "We Are Many Parts", many psalm settings)
  • Michael Joncas, b. 1951 ("On Eagle's Wings")
  • Rory Cooney, b. 1952 ("Bread of Life")
  • David Haas, b. 1957 ("Blest Are They", "You Are Mine")
  • Carey Landry, b. 1945 ("Peace Is Flowing Like a River", "Hail Mary, Gentle Woman")
  • Suzanne Toolan, SM, b. 1927 ("I Am the Bread of Life")
  • The Dameans - Gary Ault, Mike Balhoff, Buddy Ceaser, Gary Daigle, Darryl Ducote ("Look Beyond")
  • Tony Alonso, b. 1980 ("What You Have Done for Me")
  • John Angotti ("Rise Up, My People")
  • Rob Glover, b. 1950 ("Abundant Life","Peace Child")

along with the former and current members of the St. Louis Jesuits, namely:

  • Dan Schutte, b. 1947 ("Here I Am, Lord", "Sing a New Song")
  • Bob Dufford, SJ, b. 1943 ("Be Not Afraid", "All the Ends of the Earth")
  • John Foley, SJ, b. 1939 ("One Bread, One Body")
  • Roc O'Connor, SJ
  • Tim Manion

Notable composers of contemporary liturgical music from outside the US include:

[edit] Publishers of this music

A significant percentage of Contemporary Liturgical Music has been published under the names of three publishers: Oregon Catholic Press(OCP), Gregorian Institute of America (GIA), and World Library Publications (WLP, of J.S. Paluch Publishing).

[edit] Controversies surrounding this music

This music has been generally accepted throughout the American Catholic Church,[citation needed] but has also drawn negative reactions from a significant number of Catholics. Music for worship, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, is to be judged by three sets of criteria: pastoral, liturgical, and musical. How contemporary Catholic liturgical music fares by these three criteria is a matter of dispute.

[edit] Theological viewpoints favoring this music

Some of those who favor this music argue that it can reach out to lay people in the inclusive spirit of the Second Vatican Council. They argue that this music is wholly in keeping with the vision of liturgical reform and renewal set out by the council, and that this musically direct and accessible style places the participation of the gathered assembly higher in priority than did the aesthetic values which characterised sacred music of the Renaissance.

Some also point out that this style is written to be sung by the assembly, unlike some forms of pre Vatican II music which were written more for performance. On the other hand, many of the popular hymns in the first two-thirds of the twentieth century were in the vernacular and were sung by the entire congregation, and these hymns have also vanished in many parishes.

Many of those who favor this music point out that these songs contain many direct Biblical quotations, and at times are basically Biblical passages slightly rewritten so that they can be set to music.

Some of those who favor this music argue that it is a proper outgrowth of the Liturgical Movement.

[edit] Theological viewpoints opposing this music

Some of those who oppose this music argue that the adoption of popular musical styles is profoundly alien to the Roman Rite, and weakens the distinctiveness of Catholic worship. Moreover, some have pointed out that Gregorian chant, Renaissance-style sacred music, and traditional hymns were the model proposed by Pope Pius X for church music in 1903.

Certain songs in this genre speak from God's point of view in the first person (for example, Suzanne Toolan's "I Am the Bread of Life", and the verses of "Here I Am, Lord" by Dan Schutte). Some argue that this is inappropriate, since the congregation traditionally sings to God rather than in the place of God. In rebuttal, supporters point out that in order for such settings to directly paraphrase scripture it is necessary for them to be in first person. It is also notable that musical settings in the first person abound from the high Renaissance of texts such as Ego sum panis vivus (from chapter 6 of St John's Gospel) by composers such as Byrd and Palestrina, or from 20th century classical sources like Maurice Durufle's "Tu es Petrus." In the official chant book of the Roman Catholic Church, Graduale Romanum, there are numerous examples of texts in the first person.

Others have found fault with this music for lack of a scriptural basis (in opposition to Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Vatican II document on the liturgy that strongly urges such a basis). However, as mentioned above, defenders of this music point out it uses direct quotations from Scripture far more than traditional hymns do.

Some critics object to the fact that some songs -- such as Marty Haugen's "Gather Us In" and Tom Conry's "Anthem" -- are about the congregation gathered in the church rather than about God. Those who appreciate "we-focussed" music point out that that Sacrosanctum Concilium recognized that Christ "is present, lastly, when the Church prays and sings."

[edit] Dispute about musical quality

Supporters and detractors of this music agree that liturgical music should be relatively easy for an untrained congregation to sing. But they disagree about whether this type of music is in fact easy to sing.

Some church musicians, including some who are trained in composing and performing classical music, consider the music of these composers to be shallow and trite. Some supporters of this music have defended its quality, while others, focused primarily on liturgical and pastoral judgments, argue that musical criticism is irrelevant to the music's purpose as a vehicle for the sung prayer of the assembly, most of whose members are not trained musicians. In rebuttal, the critics insist that there are musical standards even for an untrained assembly, and that this music fails to meet them — unlike, for example, the hymn tunes and folk song adaptations by Ralph Vaughan Williams in the 1906 English Hymnal.

Some of the most popular of these songs sometimes feature difficult rhythms, large intervals (leaps in pitch), and non-chordal tones. For instance, Michael Joncas' "On Eagle's Wings," a song that has transcended religious denominations in its popularity, begins on a note a tritone above the bass (C-sharp above G), and features three-against-two rhythms in the verses. These rhythms are rarely performed as written.

[edit] Dispute about the advent of this music

Supporters argue that this new musical style was quite welcome in most U.S. Churches, especially Irish-American Parishes, where music, whether Latin hymns or Latin chants, was almost completely absent. In addition to this, supporters assert that the new music in the vernacular allowed Catholics to participate well in their Eucharistic celebrations, as called for by Sancrosanctum Concilium, for the first time in almost 500 years (since the Council of Trent).

Opponents of this music sometimes assert that this music was imposed on many parishes without anyone ascertaining whether it was actually welcomed by the parisioners.

[edit] Parodies and mockery

Dan Schutte's "Here I Am, Lord', while popular in contemporary worship, is unusual in that while it has also achieved some popularity for use in traditional services and is featured in most hymnals published today (including Protestant ones), it is also among the most excoriated religious songs of all time. Thomas Day pointed out its similarity to the theme song of the sitcom The Brady Bunch in his book Why Catholics Can't Sing.

Criticism of this music is especially common in the blogosphere. For example, there is a popular web site entitled "Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas".

[edit] Relation to other controversies

Some see the debate over the merits per se of this music as merely a tangent of the larger argument over the role in the Roman Rite of collective sung prayer by the entire assembly versus the traditional role of the choir. Others see it as part of the general controversy between "liberal" and "conservative" Catholics, or part of the general controversy regarding all the liturgical changes that have occurred since Vatican II.

[edit] New Movements in Catholic Liturgical Music

Psallite - In 2005, Liturgical Press published a set of Antiphons in English influenced by the Gradual Simplex and the Lectionary for Mass named Psallite. These antiphons were written by a team of composers including Paul Inwood, Dr. Paul Ford, Catherine Christmas, and Cyprian Consiglio. These are eclectic in style, and can be performed in a variety of settings (a capella or with instruments). The books (published in three volumes, one for each year) will certainly push Contemporary Catholic Liturgical Music in a new direction.

[edit] See also

[edit] Sources

[edit] Hymnals and song collections

[edit] Opinion pieces

[edit] Internet sites

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Dates of birth and religious affiliations taken from Gather: Comprehensive, eds. Robert J. Batastini and Michael A. Cymbala (Chicago: GIA Publications, 1994), from the Oregon Catholic Press website, and from the St. Louis Jesuits' news page on Dan Schutte's website.
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