Canadian Bishops: Parish Liturgical Music Audit
  • matthewjmatthewj
    Posts: 2,696
    The Canadian Catholic Bishops have published this essay on their Roman Missal news site:
    http://nlo.cccb.ca/images/stories/liturgical_music_audit.doc

    The site:
    http://nlo.cccb.ca/index.php/roman-missal

    Though it's impressive that the essay even mentions chant, it downright discourages the use of polyphony (especially polyphonic Masses) and pretty much discourages the idea of the choir ever singing without the congregation singing along with it.

    It's a fascinating read, because believe it or not, this is a step in the right direction compared to what was being said in various liturgical "workshops" I attended while living in Canada. I would have heard that the Missal chants were "unpastoral" likely had the new Missal translation been introduced 5 years ago. Things are getting better up there, just slower than they are here...

    There's a lot to be concerned about in that essay though.

    This paragraph especially seems very disturbing:
    "One implication of this principle of progressive solemnity is that resorting to the priest and assembly simply listening to recordings of other people singing the ordinary, psalmody and hymnody of the Mass, or replacing the assembly’s song with that of the choir in the singing of these parts of the liturgy is not at all preferred."
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,161
    Banning recorded music at Mass is a good thing; recorded music is prohibited under De musica sacra (1958).

    The other part of that paragraph shows a lack of distinctions between hymnody, the ordinary, and psalmody. Hymnody proper is not part of the Mass, so the statement shows some confusion.
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