Text courtesy of Maria V for Una Voce Canada; photos courtesy of Ryan Bjorgaard, BC Sacred Music Symposium
Panel discussion at the 2019 BC Sacred Music Symposium
Restoration of our beloved musical heritage in the liturgy has proceeded with renewed vigour in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia with the second annual BC Sacred Music Symposium, held at Sts. Joachim and Ann Parish in Aldergrove, on August 2-4, 2019. It was an opportunity for musicians across the province, and some from the United States, to learn, share advice, network, and compare and contrast their own experiences with those of others. This year’s symposium was a huge success, with over one hundred participants and more classes, teachers, and ceremonies than last year. The complete experience was unique to this conference, with participants receiving training from professional musicians according to their skill level, learning polyphonic pieces as well as how to sing Gregorian chant. This year saw the addition of a chant immersion class, allowing for greater depth of learning and more intensive training. Besides acquiring knowledge that could be applied in their own parishes, participants promptly put it into action by contributing to the music of the Masses – in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms – celebrated on Saturday and Sunday. Besides this, there was the Liturgy of the Hours in both English and Latin, including sung Lauds, Vespers, and Compline, with accompanying instruction on how to sing the psalm tones.
This year’s keynote speaker was Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth from the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL), who also officiated at the ceremonies. Msgr. Wadsworth also spoke about his work with ICEL, particularly the commission’s current project translating hymns for the Revised Liturgy of the Hours that are faithful to the original Latin. Participants could also choose from other presentations, including a study of liturgical vesture, its history and symbolism; the theology and praxis of Vespers; the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI on the Sacred Liturgy; and an overview of the history of Gregorian chant. Participants had a unique opportunity to ask questions, make their concerns heard, and express their opinions during the panel discussion on the first day and throughout the conference. Appropriately, the High Mass in the Extraordinary Form was the highlight, being the most elevated form of the Mass, but a purpose of the conference was also to demonstrate to the faithful how the Mass can also be said reverently and properly in the Ordinary Form, what that looks like, and especially what it sounds like.
Msgr. Andrew Wadsworth gave the keynote address …
… and celebrated the final Mass of the symposium
What is sacred music?
In order to improve the situation of music in the liturgy, one must first understand what is meant by sacred music, including its origin, idea, and end. First, sacred music is a liturgical action. Therefore, a false understanding of the liturgy will lead likewise to one in its musical apparel. If the sole purpose of the liturgy is the worship of God, then it is done for the glory of God, and not for our own personal satisfaction. In the words of Msgr. Wadsworth, “the liturgy is a gift we receive from the patrimony of the Church, not something we make for ourselves.” Therefore, sacred music must be based upon what Christ wants, as taught through the Church. Our obligation is to know what the teachings are and then to carry them out.
Second, if sacred music is by its very nature a liturgical action, this means that music is integral rather than incidental to the liturgy, specifically the Sung Mass and the Divine Office. It is not something added, but it is the Mass in its most elevated form. As the saying goes, “we must sing the Mass, rather than sing at Mass.” The texts of the Mass themselves are meant to be sung, in contrast to the Protestant alternative of surrounding everything with music, where we have a veritable “hymn sandwich,” regardless of the good intentions and good taste of the musicians. This also means that music must not hinder the ceremonies it accompanies. It is not an intermission between parts of the Mass, but rather is the parts of the Mass, and must flow smoothly with the ceremonies. It must also avoid becoming a performance, but instead focus our attention on the Sacrifice.
But what exactly does sacred music, to be fit for the liturgy, necessarily comprise? This was the topic of the keynote address and a recurring theme throughout the conference because of its importance and relevance. According to the Church documents, in order to be used in the liturgy, music must contain in its very nature the “qualities proper to the liturgy” (Tra le Sollecitudini, I): sanctity, goodness of form, and universality. It is holy by an absence of any profanity whatsoever: it is to contain nothing that is associated with secular styles, themes, or venues. These have time and time again crept into the repertoire and been condemned by the Church. Sacred music must accomplish its purpose – to raise our minds to God above that which is worldly – and it cannot do this if it contains anything commonly associated with ordinary and mundane activities. By goodness of form we mean that it must be true art, worthy of this highest form of worship: this applies to both the words (they must not contain implicit or explicit heresy) and the music (it must give to God the best that we have). Parishes ought to invest time and resources in the upkeep of their choirs, something that is often overlooked as unimportant, leaving the musical state of so many parishes with much to be desired. And finally, the third quality is that of universality. If the two other qualities are present, so will the third be present – that is, if it is inherently sacred and a masterpiece, it will be universally recognizable as such. Any music to be used at Mass must raise our minds to God and be beautiful to anyone, regardless of background. These three qualities are not just the ideal – they are what must be present in every musical piece to be fit for Mass.
The Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, re-emphasizes as one of its themes a phrase from earlier documents, namely, “active participation.” This phrase has been subject to much interpretation – or rather, misinterpretation – but a reading of the documents themselves indicates that participation must be above all interior, because it is prayer, and prayer is above all interior, defined by Angelic Doctor as “a lifting of the mind and heart to God” (Summa Theologiae, II.II.i.,Q.83, A.1). So music to be used at Mass is that which best facilitates this interior prayer.
All these requirements may seem like a tall order to many. So what is this ideal music? The Church answers with a loud and resounding “Gregorian chant!” This is the music that is uniquely and thoroughly Catholic, possessing in its very nature all the qualities proper to the liturgy, being specially designed for this use, having its origins in the same, and yet all the while being simple and within reach of the faithful. Sacred chant, besides being holy, true art, and universal, also reflects the Church’s mark of Apostolicity, being the connection through time to its foundations: the music that has been used since the very beginning. It reflects the Oneness of the Catholic Faith as it is unifying, uniting all under the Roman Rite. Wherever they go, Christians who attend the Traditional Form of the Roman Rite can feel at home, being guaranteed to hear these very same chants. These are just some of the many reasons the Church endorses Gregorian chant. The primary reason we ought to use it is that the Church endorses it.
Fr. Robert Fromageot, FSSP, led the Gregorian chant workshop
Besides giving us guidelines for how sacred music is to be sung, the Church documents on music have rules with regard to musical instruments, following these same principles. The only approved instrument to be used in the liturgy is the pipe organ. This is because it most closely resembles the human voice, the highest instrument. There are exceptions for strings and other instruments, provided there is permission from the local bishop, but the use of all percussion instruments (including the piano, which may come as a surprise to some) is forbidden in the liturgy (Tra le Sollecitudini).
Progress and development in music are good and are to be encouraged, and sacred polyphony and hymns enrich the experience for those present, but they must be consistent with the aims and spirit of chant, possessing its qualities at its very core: “The more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savour the Gregorian form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple” (Tra le Sollecitudini, G.P., 3). Hymns in the vernacular are permitted so long as they are simple, free from an excess of vain and violent words, and appropriately serious and dignified, in accordance with the particular feast and season. But above all, as repeated emphatically in the Church documents, although polyphony and hymns have their place in beautifying the liturgy and inspiring those present with holy feelings, they are not fundamental to it, and they do not replace chant, which is the “supreme model for sacred music” (Tra le Sollecitudini, 3).
The present is shaped by the past – the vast treasury of musical tradition is available to us for our own benefit. As taught in the major Church documents of the last hundred years, progress in art is good and to be encouraged. But it must be true progress, that is, in keeping with the mind and heart of the Church. In order to guide us in this aim, the Church has given us principles and guidelines to follow. The lack of obedience – and even widespread lack of knowledge – concerning them is greatly lamentable, but it is by no means a new situation. Even in 1903, Pope St. Pius X was greatly saddened by the state of music in the Mass, and he entrusted the Abbey of Solesmes in France with the task of restoring Gregorian chant (which at the time was being cast aside as unimportant, similar to what we witness today) to its proper dignity as having “pride of place” (Sacrosanctum Concilium,116; Musicam Sacram, 50a).
Many of the participants I spoke with who had lived through the post-conciliar reform told a similar story: without warning, and virtually overnight, it appeared that norms of the liturgy were uprooted, and along with them the principles. Everyone was told they “just had to go along with it.” Many of those at the conference confessed that this was the first time they had heard anything about what the Church teaches on music and the reasons behind it, let alone witnessed it being properly done – things they wished they had known long ago. This raises the question: if the Church has spoken so strongly in the guidelines she has given us for music to be used at Mass, why is our everyday experience so different?
Lack of knowledge, qualification, willingness, and availability of resources have all been factors. Perhaps the biggest stumbling block is that both the laity and clergy are largely ignorant of these requirements; this illustrates the value of informing the faithful. Those who do know, on the other hand, are not willing or able to disseminate their knowledge because of potential resistance. This was addressed in the panel discussion, and Msgr. Wadsworth counselled those trying to improve the situation in their parishes that it is not enough to just point out problems to the priest, as it may seem as if you are creating problems; instead, try to present solutions also. Another reason is the scarcity of good musicians. It takes not only training and experience to make music worthy of God but also a devoted musician – it cannot be an afterthought. It is not just the musicians but also the music itself that must be considered. People can sing only what they have, so whatever is found in the hymnals will determine what is sung. Scarcity of worthy hymns readily available today is a problem largely due to the fact that the repertoire is for the most part controlled by publishers; in addition, the hymns themselves are not properly examined and it is far too easy to obtain an imprimatur. These and many other problems brought up in the discussions need to be identified, but more importantly, they must be addressed within the guidelines provided by the Church. The aim of this conference was to bring these guidelines within reach of the people, to educate them, to train and prepare them to begin taking steps to implement them in their own parishes, and to provide them with the support and resources to do so.
As pointed out in the discussions, it may be tempting to become discouraged, but the first thing we need to realize is that the state of church music was not always ideal. The Church has always been dealing with liturgical abuse ever since its beginnings, and the period before the Second Vatican Council was certainly no exception. But we have reason to rejoice – after every destruction comes reform and renewal. It was those earlier problems that gave rise to the magnificent Church documents on music that we can work with today. A great deal of unanticipated good is coming about because the confusion is motivating people to educate themselves. Those parishes that are embracing tradition are seeing the results and experiencing growth, especially in those attending the Traditional Latin Mass. This in turn has led to greater availability of High Masses in the Extraordinary Form, at a rate never seen before. Many people do not realize how incredible it is that we are in some ways better off than those who lived in the pre-conciliar era, when sung High Mass was relatively rare except in the largest parishes and cathedrals. Conferences like this one are springing up all over the world, speaking to a growing interest. We are, said Msgr. Wadsworth, “looking forward to recovering the past”; “Tradition, the new fashion, is catching on, and we better not be left behind in the music and liturgy of the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s”: Tradition is for the young. We need, he said, this “re-en-Chant-ment” in the area of sacred music, and the clergy and laity, starting with the youth, must be trained in the language of music. This conference hopes to have accomplished this, exhorting the faithful to sing wisely – psallite sapienter!
The conference encouraged many who are struggling with the same difficulties to come together and realize they are not alone – to feel the support of others who have been there, experience what they are aiming for, and begin seeing the fruits of their efforts, the hope for the future. Again Msgr. Wadsworth: “You have started a revolution!”
Sources
Tra le Sollecitudini (Motu Proprio on Sacred Music, promulgated by Pope Pius X on November 22, 1903)
Musicae Sacrae (Encyclical on Sacred Music, promulgated by Pope Pius XII on December 25, 1955)
Sacrosanctum Concilium (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Second Vatican Council, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963)
Musicam Sacram (Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, Sacred Congregation of Rites, March 5, 1967)
Voluntati Obsequens (Letter to the Bishops on the Minimum Repertoire of Plainchant, Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship, April 14, 1974)
General Instruction of the Roman Missal (Third Typical Edition, 2002)
The Fitting Role of Sacred Music in the Holy Liturgy (Chirograph published by Pope John Paul II for the 100th anniversary of Tra le Sollecitudini; larger work: L’Osservatore Romano, January 28, 2004)
