Monsignor Manzetti and organ accompaniment . . . a unique perspective
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Corpus Christi Watershed's recent release (in print) of the (complete) Year A Gregorian chant Responsorial Psalms has, once again, brought up the question of Gregorian accompaniment.

    Would it not sound rather strange, for instance, were it laid down as an aphorism, as is done for the accompaniment of the Chant, that the high dignitaries of Church and State, who accompany their sovereign, be he Pope, King or President, are out of place and detract from his great dignity and supreme prerogatives; that, at all events, they are not to show a personal individuality, but should be mere mechanical robots? If, as Dom Desrocquettes of the Benedictine Order of Solesmes writes, “The Gregorian melodies, to be really themselves, must be heard without accompaniment” then any supreme sovereign, to be really himself, must never be accompanied. Obviously such a fantastic speculation is not sound in principle. On the contrary, the Pope shows to better advantage in the midst of his attendants.


    Rev. Msgr. Leo Manzetti offers a A TRULY UNIQUE TAKE ON THIS SUBJECT.

    That's all I'm going to say: unique.
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    This analogy is incredibly lame and inept. 'Accompaniments' to chant can hardly be likened to the members of a royal or prelatial court, certainly not to the heavenly host. They are more like presumptuous intruders and hangers on. They do not reflect the splendour of the chant; rather, they obscure it. It is the singers who are the splendid 'court' of the sacred chant. (Here we go again - our esteemed colleagues who 'accompany' chant do it because they enjoy doing it. The chant is not sufficient for them. [One might even venture to suggest that the chant is a vehicle or excuse for their accompaniments!])
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    M. Jackson Osborn,

    I agree that it's one of the goofiest analogies I've ever heard, and I hinted at this if you follow the link (above).

    (Did you make it through the entire article? It's . . . truly unique, eh? )
  • MarkThompson
    Posts: 768
    M. Jackson Osborn: you're saying accompaniment to chant is less like lictors preceding a consul and more like Billy Carter tagging along with the president?
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,414
    Jeff - Sorry (without any retractions) - I'll (try to) read the whole article.
    Mark - I would say that you read me correctly.

    Addendum - i just tried reading it and gave up. What a comical pastiche of amatuerish assertions from (should we suppose?) a would-be musical authority! You chose the right word: 'goofy'.
  • MaryAnn Carr WilsonMaryAnn Carr Wilson
    Posts: 1,738
    The word 'balderdash' was invented for situations such as these.
    I thank the writer of the analogy for giving me the occasion to use it.
  • RagueneauRagueneau
    Posts: 2,592
    Mary Ann ! Is that any way to speak of a composer of such stature ??

    ;-)

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