Popular Devotions and Sacred Music
  • Priestboi
    Posts: 155
    There have been many ups and downs in liturgical music ministry at my parish, including a new folk group. At the moment limited to teaching theory to a handful of interested musicians at my parish and the occasional role as cantor Apparently I'm a puritan when it comes to liturgical music, a label I wear with pride! Haha! I am currently in my fourth year at the University of Port Elizabeth doing my BMus and hopefully masters in choral conducting, which requires me to build a choir from scratch Kyrie Eleison! My questions are:

    1. How can one use popular devotions to draw folk art out of the liturgy to make room for chant, polyphony etc.?
    2. Also which popular music can you recommend for this as Christian rock such as Hillsong, Casting Crowns, Chris Tomlin et al that doesn't have the same reverent (me being difficult probably) as say Taize.
    3. What does inculturation REALLY mean? Here we have many really awful kitsch African songs (western interpretations - go figure) that has no place in an all European/Coulored parish. Has anyone had this problem say with Spanish music in an all European parish?

    I know these are very broad questions, but I'm really interested in your opinions on the matter.Please advise!

    PS. As a side note. Good luck to all of you in USA/UK/etc. for the implementation of the New Mass Texts. The 2008 version is now a part of daily life here in South Africa. Lets hope the 2010 revision is received in a similar spirit. We only complained the first year and a half. Not bad I dare say! ;-p
  • Charles in CenCA
    Posts: 2,416
    Yes, please no more Siyahamba or Freedom is Coming, thank you! Great for BBQ's ;p

    Re. 2: Interesting notion. Hillsong repertoire is compelling as a great deal of it avoids "me n Jesus" texts, and their composers' hooks are sharp. Tomlin's music a bit more personal (Untitled Hymn: Come to Jesus), but has the simplicity that mirrors the EWTN pop version of the Divine Mercies.

    3. Whatever your pastor thinks it means. Real answer- not sure, but the Church is inexorably headed for inculturation/recultivating its own native, pristine seedstock thanks to Pius X and the litany of Doms at Solemnes.
    Chanting in South Africa isn't, ahem, unheard of (Ladysmith Black Mambaso.) Seems like a motivated people would take to the purity of chant, maybe if taught with ison not organum, quite well.

    Welcome. Love your wines.
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