“You Sing Like Protestants!”
I remember a particular Sunday some years ago when our parish priest was
away and a visiting priest was presiding. At the end of Mass he told us that
we sang so well that he thought he had walked into a Protestant church!
The inference was that the singing in that parish was better than could be
said of most! There are possibly a number of reasons for this.
One may well be that for centuries, liturgical music was the preserve of
choirs who sang everything for us with no expectation that the community
would join in – especially when the liturgy was all in Latin. Another reason
could be that currently there is a shortage of musicians and lead singers in
our parishes, compared to a few decades ago. A third reason may be the
vast amount of music now available that offers limitless choices to draw on,
with each parish and even each Mass within a parish building up its own
repertoire - unlike the pre-Vatican years when every parish was familiar
with many of the same hymns or Mass settings and so no matter where
one went, the music was known.
Since Vatican II, major Church documents like the General Instruction of the
Roman Missal (GIRM) have stressed the importance of communal singing in
liturgical prayer because to sing the liturgy gives an added dimension to our
communal prayer and the joining of our voices gives symbolic expression to
our connectedness as members of the Body of Christ in every time and
place. What’s more, “faith grows when it is well expressed in celebration.”
(Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, p. 2). Whenever I hear others
singing with me at a Sunday Eucharist I feel uplifted and encouraged in my
own faith.
An occasion in the liturgical year when I feel this very strongly is at the
Chrism Mass in Holy Week when our cathedral is full to capacity, and the
singing is truly uplifting.
When should we sing? Different denominations have different practices in
regard to liturgical music. The Catholic and Orthodox liturgies are unique in
that priority is given to singing certain parts of the very liturgy itself. For
instance, what is to be sung above all else at a Catholic Sunday Eucharist is
the Holy Holy, (with its origins in the Book of Isaiah), the Memorial
Acclamation, the Great Amen and also the Gospel Acclamation. Those parts
are of greatest priority for singing because at those times we are singing
the very liturgy as against singing at the liturgy – which we do when we sing
a hymn. Another occasion for singing the very liturgy is the responsorial
psalm which after all, is a song, not a reading! Even just singing the psalm
response would help to distinguish between what is to be read and what is
meant to be sung in the Liturgy of the Word.
Singing other parts of the Mass besides those mentioned can give added
richness to special feasts or seasons.
A recently published national music resource, produced at the request of
the Australian Bishops, is Catholic Worship Book II which consists of a
People’s Book and a 2-volume accompaniment for musicians. A team of
liturgical musicians, one of whom was Jenny O’Brien, from our Office for
Worship, worked for over ten years on producing this resource. To give
parish musicians a taste of what it offers, Catholic Worship Book II was
workshopped in every Deanery of our Archdiocese in recent months.
Catholic Worship Book II has 652 pieces of music that comprise 7 complete
Mass settings (parts of the Mass), plus particular examples from other
settings, music for all the Sacraments and liturgical rites (such as the RCIA
and Morning and Evening Prayer), and some 450 hymns and songs covering
music for all the liturgical seasons, major feasts, saints’ days and specific
themes (e.g. peace, justice, mercy). A rich resource indeed!
Further information regarding CWB II can be obtained from contacting the
Office for Worship (81527806 or [email protected]).
Ilsa Neicinieks RSM
Office for Worship.