Church music as a diet
  • mlabelle
    Posts: 46
    I've just started at a parish where the music for the past few years has been what can best be described as Catholic Top 40, i.e. Haugen, Haas, Joncas, etc. I know the pastor will support me in my quest to build a more balanced traditional repertoire, but I want to find a simple, creative way to explain myself to parishioners. I often hear people talk about repertoire in terms of a diet, so here's my attempt to systematize that metaphor:

    The Food Pyramid of Catholic Music

    Grains: English Hymns
    They're common, affordable, easy to prepare, and come in a wide variety of complexity and nutritional value. You wouldn't want this to be the only thing you consume, but it can make up a substantial part of your diet.

    Vegetables: Latin Hymns
    Similar to Grains/English Hymns but with added nutrients. Most people who claim to hate them just haven't had a good experience with them yet. Try them raw (unison a capella) or with rich seasoning and sauces (harmonized and/or accompanied).

    Fruits: Spirituals and Folk Tunes
    Sweet and refreshing, this is a nutritious snack because it's natural and plentiful, but they also come in all sorts of local and national varieties. Not everyone likes them, especially if they didn't grow up with them, but they can at least appreciate the nutritional value of including these from time to time.

    Dairy: Choral Polyphony
    It comes in all varieties: rich and creamy, light and fluffy, or thick and decadent. Requires extra attention because it's prone to spoil if prepared carelessly.

    Meat: English and Latin Chant
    Good for your muscles. Essential for spiritual growth.

    Fats, Oils and Sweets: Glory & Praise/Praise & Worship
    Widely popular and addictive, lots of money and marketing goes into the widespread distribution of many of the products in this category. There's room in the diet for limited consumption, but avoid over-indulgence.
    Thanked by 2Andrew_Malton ClergetKubisz
  • Andrew_Malton
    Posts: 1,187
    This is a metaphor I will not be able to unsee. Good idea but want to adjust it a bit.

    Dairy: I laughed. Good call. Fruit : like it. Meat: hmm.

    Fats, oils, and sweets are good, though. Fat is essential nutrient. Cheesies and twinkies, not so much.
    Thanked by 1mlabelle
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,216
    It's a cute idea, but it's not in sync with the new food wisdom, which seems to call for a low-carb, high-fat diet. Perhaps a better metaphor for P&W and other products of the Christian pop-music industry is "highly processed foods". So chant might be "paleo". :-)
    Thanked by 2Adam Wood mlabelle
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,315
    Most people, even as diet wisdom is spreading across generations, will get the old chart more easily than the new. So ymmv.
    Thanked by 1mlabelle
  • KARU27
    Posts: 184
    I think if we're going to go paleo, here's the diet:

    Priest's chanted part of the Mass: protein (meat)
    Chanted responses and propers from the choir and assembly: vegetables / greens
    High quality hymnody: nuts and seeds
    Polyphony: fruit
    Thanked by 5JulieColl canadash CCooze mlabelle francis
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,415
    .
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    Tofu: Taize.

    Takes on numerous flavors, but ask yourself - can it replace the Real Thing?
    Thanked by 4ClergetKubisz Ben mlabelle francis
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,700

    Meat: English and Latin Chant
    Good for your spiritual muscles. A little bit goes a long way.


    A little bit goes a long way?

    Grumpy Cat No Meme.
    Thanked by 3ClergetKubisz CCooze mlabelle
  • ClergetKubiszClergetKubisz
    Posts: 1,912
    I agree with MatthewJ: chant should be the mainstay of the music of the Church.
    Thanked by 2Ben mlabelle
  • JonLaird
    Posts: 245
    Chant might better be compared to breath rather than food; I do in fact feel stifled if I come out of a Mass that was chant-free.

    The problem with the extended food metaphor, to me, is that everything listed above, with the exception of chant, is frankly unnecessary. On the other hand I can "gorge" myself on chant in every Mass without becoming spiritually lethargic as a result.

    But there is something to it, I suppose -- we find the Psalmist rejoicing that God fills him "as with marrow and fatness"; the point being that to consume such richness was a rare and joyful thing in our earthly experience, but that spiritual fullness/satisfaction could be enjoyed by anyone at any time who turned to God for help and followed his precepts. But again, it does not work to extend the metaphor by the direct comparison "marrow and fatness" = "grace."

    A more subtle metaphor might compare chant to bread -- not Wonder bread, but good old fashioned grind-your-own-whole-grain bread. Still it must be a qualitative rather than quantitative metaphor.
    Thanked by 3JulieColl Ben mlabelle
  • JulieCollJulieColl
    Posts: 2,465
    The Gregorian propers are like artisan bread made from a dough of water, freshly ground flour, salt and yeast, fermented for a few hours and baked in a cast iron pot until it has a beautiful crackly crust. Nothing in the world like it. : )
    Thanked by 2mlabelle mmeladirectress
  • mlabelle
    Posts: 46
    Thanks for your feedback, everyone. To reiterate, this model is for people whose main diet has been almost exclusively processed fats and sugars. I want to communicate to them that we need more nutrition and more variety than we're currently getting. And maybe in the future, as we build our spiritual muscles, a paleo diet will be not only more tolerable but more desirable.
    Thanked by 2KARU27 Vilyanor
  • rogue63
    Posts: 410
    Good analogies, but analogies ultimately fail. Finding the right words for an explanation is not a fruitless exercise, but should be tempered by the desire to share the experience. It's the difference between knowing God and knowing about God; knowing and explaining what good music is in the liturgy (which almost everyone can instinctively identify) vs. experiencing and participating in it. Good analogy, good work. Don't fuss too much on the words.
    Thanked by 2KARU27 mlabelle
  • CHGiffenCHGiffen
    Posts: 5,193
    There are deliciously garlicky dill pickles ... but then try drinking a cup or so of pickle juice.
    Thanked by 1M. Jackson Osborn
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,980
    All this food talk is making me hungry. Off to Kroger! ;-)
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    Is Mozarabic chant hummus?
    Thanked by 1mlabelle
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,093
    More like garbanzos fritos - think the western end of the Mediterranean, not the eastern end.
  • StimsonInRehabStimsonInRehab
    Posts: 1,933
    I'm trying to think of what the middle eastern version would be. Because hummus sounds really good right now. Maronite?
    Thanked by 1mlabelle
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,093
    The fundamental problem with the metaphor is that, despite its intended reference to nutrition, it will likely be understood as an appeal to taste (and any attempt to prevent that understanding will likely be taken as an effort to game the comparison - people notice that, even if they don't have the words to describe it (it's why Catholicism favors a feedback loop of passive aggression) - so it's a dead end).
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen mlabelle
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