I'm posting this again because I only got one response last time..?
  • I'm sorry if I made anyone mad, I'm just gonna leave because apparently I'm not wanted here. Goodbye and God bless you all.
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 781
    I think you probably only got one response because the vast majority of people on this forum do not really like contemporary music, so most people probably decided to go with "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

    Also, the vast majority of people on here do not really like OCP or GIA much at all, so the advice there would be to submit it to neither... (I have known people to submit things to them- good luck even getting it looked at!)
  • marajoymarajoy
    Posts: 781
    Allow me to add to my rather hastily written response-
    I hope that you will stick around and browse through the archives, and perhaps investigate such questions like why do many of us not believe that contemporary music is appropriate at Mass, etc.
  • I agree with what marajoy has said - as in, those are probably the reasons no one responded. But I also agree that you should definitely stick around and investigate some of these questions. Many of the Popes from the last 100 years or so have had lots of things to say regarding the kind of music that ought to be used in church - even Vatican II said that Gregorian Chant really is the ideal, followed by polyphony. These are statements reiterated by Blessed John Paul II in his 2003 Chirograph on Sacred Music. Our current Pope as well has had similar things to say on the subject. Another prominent point made over and over again in the writings of various Popes is that the music to be used in church must not be indistinguishable from popular secular styles - the music must remind us that at Mass we are not doing anything that is of this world; rather we are trying to glimpse eternity as best we can here on earth. The music has to reflect this fact and try to lead us toward those realities. It should not keep us firmly rooted in the everyday world by imitating contemporary styles. Sad to say, most "contemporary" church music sounds just like something one would hear on the pop radio station, at a Broadway musical, or a jazz concert. It does not help people to get beyond this world and into that brief glimpse of heaven, since it is so really indistinguishable from popular styles. I am not saying that all modern music written for use in church is unacceptable - there are many beautiful pieces out there that have a distinctly modern sound to them but are still set apart from secular music and so are able to help us at Mass to lift our hearts to God and the eternity of heaven. For examples of what I mean, I would recommend "Ubi Caritas" by Maurice Durufle, "O Magnum Mysterium" by Morten Lauridsen, "Hymn for the Mother of God" by John Tavener, and "Lully, lulla, lullay" by Philip Stopford, just to name a few.

    Again, do stick around for a while and you will definitely learn about sacred music and what kinds of music are truly appropriate for the Mass. God bless!
  • And now, having watched Paul's video above, that seconds what I was saying above - there is true, beautiful sacred music being written right now in this day and age, that meets all the requirements for appropriateness.