standards for music at Mass
  • teachermom24
    Posts: 330
    I'm working on something for an ordinary NO (I guess that's redundant) parish and want to present a list of standards for selecting music. The parish has a decent organ and an organist but no one trained in liturgical music.
    What would your list include? Thanks!
  • Liam
    Posts: 5,464
    Is this something the pastor requested? It probably matters.
    Thanked by 3CHGiffen MatthewRoth LauraKaz
  • teachermom24
    Posts: 330
    Yes, he asked for input on matters related to the liturgy.
    Thanked by 1Liam
  • MarkB
    Posts: 1,110
    Such standards for selecting music would be highly context dependent. What music has the community been accustomed to hearing or singing at Mass? What are the musicians and vocalists capable of leading? How well -- honestly -- does the assembly sing right now?

    To start, the musicians could read "Sing to the Lord" by the USCCB. It's not the first nor the last word about liturgical music, but it's a good starting place for people who have no training in liturgical music.

    https://archive.ccwatershed.org/media/pdfs/13/09/06/12-23-00_0.pdf

    Here are some articles I've bookmarked that might help:

    http://wcucatholic.org/some-thoughts-on-liturgical-music/

    https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/what-exactly-is-sacred-music

    https://medium.com/test-everything/a-joyful-noise-catholic-liturgical-song-9d50c5a75794

    https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/singing-with-wisdom-music-in-roman-catholic-worship-part-1/

    https://www.sourceandsummit.com/blog/what-is-the-role-of-liturgical-music-in-an-apostolic-age

    https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2024/02/01/sing-a-new-song/

    Thanked by 4CHGiffen teachermom24 Don9of11 Alli
  • francis
    Posts: 11,175
    You cannot go wrong reading the 1903 motu...

    https://adoremus.org/1903/11/tra-le-sollecitudini/

    IMHO, anything written afterwards begins to water down the truth about the subject. This is as barebones as it gets in gaining a grasp on "the office of sacred music". It is very short, quite direct and to the point.

    It's good to know the ideal, and then if you need to back away into "less-than-ideal", you can, but this is a great anchor to the subject.
    PiusX-Tra-le-sollecitudini.pdf
    74K
    Thanked by 5teachermom24 sdtalley3 OMagnumMysterium DavidOLGC CHGiffen
  • Don9of11Don9of11
    Posts: 803
    Check the diocese of your parish and see if there isn't already some musical guidelines.
    Depending on the missallete you are using, publishers have a Liturgical Guide which give hymn suggestions.
    Also, get a copy of "Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church: An Aid for Evaluating Hymn Lyrics", this is available from the USCCB.

    To help with evaluating hymn lyrics check out Anthony Esolen "Real Music" and Father George Rutler's "Stories of Hymns"

    And lastly, I would have a copy of the Catholic Catechism available.
    Thanked by 5teachermom24 oldhymns Chant_Supremacist Steve Q CHGiffen
  • emac3183
    Posts: 87
    I'm assuming you mean "quality standards" and not "standards in the repertoire."

    All criteria must apply, at least to an ever-increasing degree.

    1. (if applicable) The text is orthodox and avoids ambiguous expressions of faith and doctrine...especially regarding the Eucharist.
    2. (if applicable) The text is profound, true poetry written artfully, avoiding triteness and irreverence toward God.
    3. (if applicable) If provided, the text given by the Church is used. If the liturgical text for some reason is augmented or replaced for "some other suitable chant," the text used illumines the mind of the Church at that specific moment in the liturgy by being "suited to the sacred action, the day, or the time of year." (GIRM 48).
    4. The ensemble performing the music (choir, organist, and/or congregation) is capable of doing so beautifully. This may be achieved via appropriate level of difficulty or familiarity with the piece, or both.
    5. The musical content communicates the gravitas of the occasion: the sacrifice of our Lord in the Mass.
    6. The music avoids secular styles, instead growing organically out of the traditions of chant, polyphony, or metrical hymnody (in that order of preference).
    Thanked by 8irishtenor CHGiffen hilluminar a_f_hawkins OMagnumMysterium Chant_Supremacist teachermom24 LauraKaz
  • Chant_Supremacist
    Posts: 228
    That's a great set of standards @emac3183, and better than I could do, but I find the wording of #6 odd and read literally seems to suggest only music that has grown organically out of those traditions rather than music within those traditions.

    How about: "The music is selected from the traditions of sacred chant, polyphony, metrical hymnody, or traditional 70s guitar mass, or is of a style growing organically from those. Secular styles of music are avoided."
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,486
    How about...metrical hymnody..
    . You are not the only one who refers to what (I think) you mean by 'metrical hymnody' as 'metrical' hymnody. However, we need a better signifer for such hymnody because all the Church's hymnody, save Te Deum, Gloria, and a few other prose texts, is metrical - both texts and tunes. Any hymn can be sung to any tune (and vice versa) if text and tune share the same meter, be it chant or modern. Perhaps 'modern tunes', post-chant tunes, or some other adjective would better and more accurately serve our purposes. Any suggestions?
  • OMagnumMysterium
    Posts: 331
    I tend to call them "vernacular hymns", however, while this term makes sense in the context of the LTM, it does not make sense in the ordinariate where the Latin hymns may be translated to English as well. So perhaps the term "devotional hymns" or "paraliturgical hymns". I consider those two things to be slightly different, but if we blur the lines of our definitions it may work. At any rate, both those terms signify something which is not a part of the proper liturgy itself (the prescribed texts of the Mass and Office) yet is still a song religious in nature, having some relation to the liturgy without being an essential element.
    Thanked by 2CHGiffen tomjaw
  • emac3183
    Posts: 87
    I agree on the need to workshop #6.

    Here's another take:
    6. The music avoids secular styles, instead belonging (in order of preference) to the Church's chant, polyphonic, or paraliturgical hymn (German chorale, Anglican hymn, etc.) traditions or a natural outgrowth of the same.

    Still not exactly what I would like to say....and I agree that "metrical hymn" is not a good signifier, but I want to put appropriately Catholic German chorales, Anglican hymns, etc. into one bucket without just saying "hymns"...

    Also @Chant_Supremecist, just take out "or traditional 70s guitar mass," and I'm happy :) If it has the staying power to last another 200 years as the other genres in the list have, then let it be added to the list.
    Thanked by 4irishtenor Chant_Supremacist teachermom24 DavidOLGC
  • teachermom24
    Posts: 330
    Thank you all so much! This is exactly what I was looking for.
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