A NEW SONG FOR A NEW EVANGELIZATION
BY CAROLYN PIRTLE, M.S.M.
A person unfamiliar with the technical components of
musical notation would never be able to interpret a score
correctly right away. For such a person...
Baude Cordier (c.1380-before 1440). “Belle Bonne Sage,”
a secular love chanson from the Chantilly Codex (Musée Condé 564).
The unusual notation is an example of ars subtilior: the composer
indicates the amorous lyrical content of the chanson through the use
of a heart shape and red notes.
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
THE INSTITUTE FOR CHURCH LIFE
...A MUSICAL SCORE LIKE THIS:
WOULD PROBABLY BE COMPARABLE TO AN IMAGE LIKE
THIS IN TERMS OF ITS COMPREHENSIBILITY:
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A NEW SONG FOR THE NEW EVANGELIZATION / CAROLYN PIRTLE
In a related scenario, a person attempting to transcribe or compose music in a vacuum—having
never seen a musical score—would never arrive at the system for musical notation currently used
throughout the world. Absent the context of historical development, it is completely arbitrary to
signify different pitches by placing ovals on a series of lines, and to classify those pitches using the
first seven letters of the alphabet.
&
œ œ
œ
œ
œ
œ œ œ
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
A... REALLY?!
(What does this even mean?)
True, a person with no working musical knowledge
could perhaps see a simple score and at least recognize
it as music in written form. A very astute person may
even be able to figure out that highness or lowness of
musical pitch is indicated by where the notes (the oval
shapes) are located on the staff (the lines). But even
a highly intelligent person could never arrive at a full
understanding of musical notation by mere intuition or
reason. If one is to fully comprehend musical notation,
one must be taught. The mysteries of the musical
language (or any language for that matter) must be
revealed by one who possesses knowledge of their inner
workings to one who desires to know them. One must
be led, or if you will, initiated, into such mysteries.
In a similar way, human reason can lead to a certain
knowledge of God. For example, observing the created
world can lead a person to recognize its origins in a
divine Creator.1 But human reason alone cannot fully
comprehend or even imagine the divine mystery;
therefore, God “has revealed himself and given himself
to [humanity]”2 to enable humans to “have access to
the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in
the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine
nature.”3 In his desire for communion with the human
family, God has chosen to “communicate his own
divine life to the [people] he freely created”4 through
the gift of divine Revelation. God freely goes out to
meet those who long for him,5 revealing his love in
word and deed throughout salvation history.6
Returning to our analogy, a music teacher would not
expect a beginner student to understand technical
terms of musical notation such as clef, accidental,
fermata, or rallantando; such a thorough knowledge
can only come with years of patient teaching and
diligent study.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). Theme and
Variation XII from “Twelve Variations on ‘Ah, vous diraije maman’, K.265/300e” (commonly referred to as “12
Variations on ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star’”)
Public domain
THE INSTITUTE FOR CHURCH LIFE
GRADUALLY, ONE’S UNDERSTANDING DEEPENS, MOVING FROM THIS
& 42
œ œ
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œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙
TO THIS
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œŸ. œ ˙
2
œ
œ
&4
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
œ œœ
? 42 œ
˙
TO EVEN THIS
Allegro
& 43 gggg œœœ
Œ
Ÿ
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#œ œ
? 43
œœœœœœœœœœœ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ
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#œ
Ÿ
5
Ÿ
.
#œ
nœ œ œ œ
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œœ
Œ
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Π..
œœ
&
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?
œ #œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
nœ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ
œ
nœ
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..
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ #œ œ œ œ œ nœ œ œ œ œ œ
œ
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A NEW SONG FOR THE NEW EVANGELIZATION / CAROLYN PIRTLE
Just so, out of tenderness for our finite understanding,
God has demonstrated patience in his “divine pedagogy,”
revealing the mysteries of his will and his plan in
stages over time.7 In “the fullness of time,”8 this divine
revelation “[culminated] in the person and mission of
the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ,”9 who is “the Father’s
one, perfect, and unsurpassable Word. In [Christ, the
Father] has said everything; there will be no other word
than this one.”10
The completion of divine revelation in Christ can
be likened to the mastery of musical notation by a
student. Once the components of the musical language
are grasped in their fullness, no other instruction is
needed. Yet, the diligent music-lover may spend the
rest of his or her lifetime using this learned (revealed)
knowledge to delve ever more deeply into the vast
musical repertoire from Bach and Mozart to Copland
and Gershwin, learning the nuances of various
techniques and appreciating the musical language in
an ever growing capacity. Similarly, “even if Revelation
is already complete [in Christ], it has not been made
explicit; it remains for Christian faith gradually to grasp
its full significance over the course of the centuries.”11 By
contemplating Christ, the one Word of the Father, in the
grace of the Spirit, the Christian may spend the rest of
his or her lifetime using the knowledge of God attained
through divine revelation in order to delve ever more
deeply into the divine mystery, learning the nuances of
divine truth, appreciating the richness of divine beauty,
and sharing ever more fully in the divine life.
†
Carolyn Pirtle, M.S.M., is the Assistant
Director of the Notre Dame Center for
Liturg y and a composer of liturgical music.
THE INSTITUTE FOR CHURCH LIFE
NOTES
1 cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church
[CCC], 2nd ed. (Washington, DC: Libreria Editrice Vaticana–United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2000),
§§32, 34.
2 Ibid., §50.
3 Ibid., §51.
4 Ibid., §52.
5 cf. CCC, §27 and Lk 15:11-32.
6 cf. CCC, §53.
7 Ibid.
8 Gal 4:4.
9 CCC, §53.
10 Ibid., §65.
11 Ibid., §66.
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