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Showing posts with label sacred music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sacred music. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 19, 2023
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
If You're Looking For Some Penitential Practices
I know Lent is quite some time away, but Advent does have a penitential aspect. Or you may just want to do some extra reparation for a personal sin or the general state of the world. Well, I just stumbled across this nightmarish site and think that it would be useful for some mortification - of the ears and musical sensibilities in particular. It is a throwback site on which the owner waxes lyrical about the halcyon days of "guitar masses" that were the rage in the 1960s and 1970s. The musicians then were young and chipper. Fast forward a few decades. These masses still exist - with the same musicians with a tad more gray hairs and some pot bellies to boot.
The site is: "Folk Mass Music Original Recordings". On it are featured clips from the original authors. I suppose the site owner doesn't know (or maybe doesn't care) that Ray Repp is now living in sin with his male accomplice; I sure hope the site owner isn't paying Repp royalties for Catholic recordings when his life is at serious variance with Catholic morality - so much so that he skates quite close to perdition.
By the way, take a look at that picture. Is the whole kit and kaboodle engaging in an entrance procession? What is the GIRM guidance on that?
Let's address what the site owner claims was a purpose of the folk music crap: "Surely after almost 50 years we should all be able to appreciate them for what they were trying to do, help young people of the 1960s and 1970s worship in a distinctive way they could relate to." A personal note: not only was I one of those "young people" to whom he referred, but I actually played that junk at Mass. I was not only young but woefully ignorant of real music. Now why did the purveyors of this "folk music" think that the youth of the 1960s and 1970s needed their own "distinctive way" to worship (assuming that can be called worship)? Why did we need something different than did previous generations of young people throughout the Church's 2000-year history? What caused people (including us) to think that the young of the 1960s were such precious prima donnas that the Church's sacred music was just not good enough for us? In many ways we harbored such attitudes about ourselves, showing just what arrogant louts we truly were. Apparently some still have not learned, judging from this website that is nothing more than a trip down "awful memory lane".
Anyway, if you'd like to engage in some musical mortification, have at it. I won't say "enjoy" for that is not the point and that certainly won't happen!
The site is: "Folk Mass Music Original Recordings". On it are featured clips from the original authors. I suppose the site owner doesn't know (or maybe doesn't care) that Ray Repp is now living in sin with his male accomplice; I sure hope the site owner isn't paying Repp royalties for Catholic recordings when his life is at serious variance with Catholic morality - so much so that he skates quite close to perdition.
By the way, take a look at that picture. Is the whole kit and kaboodle engaging in an entrance procession? What is the GIRM guidance on that?
Let's address what the site owner claims was a purpose of the folk music crap: "Surely after almost 50 years we should all be able to appreciate them for what they were trying to do, help young people of the 1960s and 1970s worship in a distinctive way they could relate to." A personal note: not only was I one of those "young people" to whom he referred, but I actually played that junk at Mass. I was not only young but woefully ignorant of real music. Now why did the purveyors of this "folk music" think that the youth of the 1960s and 1970s needed their own "distinctive way" to worship (assuming that can be called worship)? Why did we need something different than did previous generations of young people throughout the Church's 2000-year history? What caused people (including us) to think that the young of the 1960s were such precious prima donnas that the Church's sacred music was just not good enough for us? In many ways we harbored such attitudes about ourselves, showing just what arrogant louts we truly were. Apparently some still have not learned, judging from this website that is nothing more than a trip down "awful memory lane".
Anyway, if you'd like to engage in some musical mortification, have at it. I won't say "enjoy" for that is not the point and that certainly won't happen!
Friday, June 10, 2011
"Praise And Worship" Music
In browsing through the Pewsitter page, I came across this excellent article by Fr Christopher Smith on the Chant Cafe blog regarding "Praise and Worship Music". I suggest its close study, as I think he is spot-on. A little personal background is in order. Several decades ago, when I was young and naive, I not only attended "guitar Masses"; I did them. Week after week, I hauled my 12-string to Mass and performed with several others. Granted, at that time I was a victim of youthful ignorance and lousy catechesis.
About 20 years ago, when I started doing my own research on my Catholic heritage, I realized that such music is not appropriate for Mass for all the reasons Father Smith succinctly states. (No more would I pick up a guitar at Mass.) I think that it is also part and parcel of the progressive movement to divert attention from The Unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass and to excite the emotions. In saying that, I speak as a musician who was trained on methods to elicit emotional responses from the congregation. Notice Father's 8th point about conversion being primarily an act of intellect and will. The role of emotions is secondary at most. However, such confusion about emotions is only symptomatic of our culture, which does place feelings over thought - often with deadly results. Also look closely at point #9.
There are a few other points that I do think Father overlooks. If you've been in older churches, you'll notice that they all have choir lofts in the upper rear of the church. I think the reason is very obvious. Attention was never to be focused on the choir, and this location was deliberately selected to prevent that (I'm sure it was elevated to aid in acoustical considerations). Now they're often in front; where do you see a lot of people look during the singing?
Fr. Smith touches upon the aberrant liturgies of the Life Teen organization. He mentions that none of his Life Teen friends are still practicing Catholics. I for one am not surprised, as the apple generally doesn't fall too far from the tree. What can that possibly mean? Consider that one of the three founders of Life Teen, Fr Dale Fushek, was excommunicated by Bishop Olmsted of Phoenix several years ago. Read this article and notice the comment by Stan and Jan Nicpon. Such are the fruits of misplaced emphasis on emotions.
It does appear that people are finally waking up. They are forsaking the music of overgrown hippies and discovering their true spiritual and cultural heritage, and not a moment too soon.
About 20 years ago, when I started doing my own research on my Catholic heritage, I realized that such music is not appropriate for Mass for all the reasons Father Smith succinctly states. (No more would I pick up a guitar at Mass.) I think that it is also part and parcel of the progressive movement to divert attention from The Unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass and to excite the emotions. In saying that, I speak as a musician who was trained on methods to elicit emotional responses from the congregation. Notice Father's 8th point about conversion being primarily an act of intellect and will. The role of emotions is secondary at most. However, such confusion about emotions is only symptomatic of our culture, which does place feelings over thought - often with deadly results. Also look closely at point #9.
There are a few other points that I do think Father overlooks. If you've been in older churches, you'll notice that they all have choir lofts in the upper rear of the church. I think the reason is very obvious. Attention was never to be focused on the choir, and this location was deliberately selected to prevent that (I'm sure it was elevated to aid in acoustical considerations). Now they're often in front; where do you see a lot of people look during the singing?
Fr. Smith touches upon the aberrant liturgies of the Life Teen organization. He mentions that none of his Life Teen friends are still practicing Catholics. I for one am not surprised, as the apple generally doesn't fall too far from the tree. What can that possibly mean? Consider that one of the three founders of Life Teen, Fr Dale Fushek, was excommunicated by Bishop Olmsted of Phoenix several years ago. Read this article and notice the comment by Stan and Jan Nicpon. Such are the fruits of misplaced emphasis on emotions.
It does appear that people are finally waking up. They are forsaking the music of overgrown hippies and discovering their true spiritual and cultural heritage, and not a moment too soon.
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