GOOD PLACE TO

CHANT:

'1\ VERY

GOOD

PLACE TO

START"

Vincent CarrAssociale Or8anisl

Cathedral Basilica of lhe&acred Hearl. Newark

Following the instruction of Liturgiam authenticam to produce a

directory of liturgical song, the Music Subcommittee of the BCL has

generated considerable press this year for its part in such a tremendous

task.' Where does one even begin to formulate such a directory? After all, there

are so many theological, doctrinal and musical issues to be addressed in order

to properly assemble this resource (far too many for this short article). But the

unavoidable starting point, and arguably the most appropriate one, is a

discussion of the value and use of Gregorian chant - the bedrock music of

Catholicism.

Any discourse on Catholic music requires a fundamental understanding of

Catholic identity as it relates to sacred music. Identity, as a matter of principle,

never exists in a vacuum; it is always engendered by the past, informed by the

present and challenged by the future. Even though chant is a highly

contentious issue today, we must at least acknowledge its immense value to,

both ecclesial and musical history. Consider, for example, that the seminal

text, A History of Music in the Western World, by Donald Grout, Peter

Burkholder and Claude Palisca, dedicates over 40 pages of its narrated history,

which spans millennia, to the use of chant and music in the early church. As a

music student at Indiana University, I was often quite amused by the varied

students in my music history course who were struggling to memorize not only

the Ordinary of the Mass but also the Propers for the Mass of Christmas Day.

Yes, this was required at a public university music school! Obviously, this was

not the result of some Catholic conspiracy in the musicology department;

rather, any respectable study of the history of music would begin with a firm

understanding of foundational repertoire.

In the Middle Ages, chant was inextricable from pedagogy. About 900 years

before Julie Andrews was teaching solfege in the Sound of Music, the monk

Guido de Arezzo was using Ut queant lax is, the chant in honor of St. John the

Baptist, to teach ascending and descending note patterns. In essence, before

the literate music world had meter, rhythm and harmony, it had chant. When

we acknowledge the rich history of chant, it should come as no surprise that

the church grants it "pride of place" in the liturgy.'

In this issue:• Music of the Past • Pontificum Sumrnorum • 2008 Liturgical Year Calendar ItemsChant: "A Very Good Place to Start

Missa I

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A modern dilemma exists in that there arethose who want no chant in the liturgyand those who think chant should begenerally the only music permissible inthe liturgy. How is this divisionreconciled? And why do we seldom hear

1.------'fff<f0ffHhese-ifl--tbe-m.i.ddle; these with-anintegrated approach? Frankly, those whothink chant is the only acceptable musicare turning their backs to post-conciliargains in liturgical music, gains that havebeen so valuable, especially in the area ofecumenism. A sampling of modernhymnals illustrates this point well - thePresbyterian Hymnal contains largecontributions from Catholic composerRichard Proulx; several Catholic hymnalsborrow greatly from the works of MartyHaugen (Lutheran); it is inconceivablethat any new hymnals, regardless ofdenomination, would be void of music byRichard Hillert (Lutheran) and DavidHurd (Anglican) or music from the lonaand Taize ecumenical communities. Onthe other hand, those who limitthemselves to humming-and-strummingtheir way through the "latest" from thecatalogs of OCP, GIA and WLP are goingto be wondering why their music soundsboring and exhausted decades from now.A practical question remains in how onerespectfully and creatively uses chant in away that compliments 21" century liturgy.Every church should take an inventory ofchant repertoire used by the congregation.Yes, chant should be congregational2

music. As a minimum, every parishshould be singing at least one chant foreach liturgical season. Language issuesshould also be considered - some chantswork really well in English and others arebetter served in Latin. The Advent hymn"Creator of the Stars of Night" (Conditoralme siderum), the Christmas hymn "Ofthe Father's Love Begotten" (Divinummysterium), and the Lenten hymn "0 Sunof Justice" (Jesu dulcis memoria) all workvery well in the vernacular and are filledwith rich imagery and symbolism. On theflip side, the traditional Marian chants Avemaria, Salve regina and Regina caeli arenotably awkward in English and shouldbe sung in Latin. Fortunately, there arechants that work well in either language;Ubi caritas, Stabat mater, Pange linguaand Adoro te devote are a few that cometo mind.

The sad reality is that many parisheschoose to forgo this rich music alltogether because of either laziness ordistaste. This strikes me as oddconsidering that various chants have beenalready embedded into the fabric of ourritual prayer. Most if not all Catholics canwalk into any church in the country andrespond appropriately to the chantedEucharistic Prayer invitation, the Lord'sPrayer and doxology or the solemn Easterblessing. These dialogues, in my opinion,have an incredible ability to express ourfaith with simplicity and beauty. In thewords of John Paul II: "Beauty is a key tothe mystery and a call to transcendence ...It stirs that hidden nostalgia for GodWhich a lover of beauty like SaintAugustine could express in incomparableterms: 'Late have I loved you, beauty soold and so new: late have I loved you!'"?Though the dialogue chants in ourliturgies are old, they never seem to tire -their newness evolves from theirconsistent beauty.

How can chant respond to our modernsensibilities? To be informed by thepresent requires that we foster chant'sdevelopment through scholarship andcreativity. Fortunately, the last decade hasshown great movement in this direction.In 1999, Liturgical Press released Paul F.Ford's By Flowing Waters, which isessentially a vernacular rendering of theGraduale Simplex. This commendablebook brings the old melodies to new lightwith refreshing verse in English. In 2005,

Liturgy Training Publications (LTP)released Christoph Tietze's Hymn Introitsfor the Liturgical Year. In this interestingproject, Tietze takes the introit texts andreworks them for metric hymns. This hasvery little to do with chant from a musicalperspective, but in this book the verything that has been commonly used inplace of the introit at Mass, namely, the"processional hymn," has been fused withthe traditionally chanted text. It seemstwo worlds, again old and new, have cometogether in a creative and diplomaticapproach. Most recently, the freshly-printed Mundelein Psalter from LTPfollows similar suit, meeting the church'scall to "do the research needed to findnew uses for the best of the old music"and "find practical means of preservingand using our rich heritage of Latin chantsand motets."

About a year ago, while studying chantmanuscripts in the Metropolitan Cathedralin Mexico City, I observed several 18th

and 19th century oversized books whichcontained metric chants - this was quitean odd discovery as chant is not usuallymetricized in manuscripts - its free-flowing, barless rhythm has indeed"'----become its indelible mark. These chantseven had dance rhythms superimposedthat made them lively and fun to sing.One of the researchers from the ProyectoMusicat, a committee dedicated topreserving the musical and culturalhistory of the Mexican cathedrals, notedthat many of these rhythms wereadaptations of Spanish and indigenousrhythms that proved crucial to themissionary work being done in NewSpain throughout the 16th century onward.The conversation between old and new,tradition and society, is an ever presentforce in the church, then and now.

As a last personal example, a few monthsago, as I was playing the hymnBendigamos al Senor ("Let Us Bless theLord") from the Flor y Canto II hymnal, Inoticed in particular that the music waswell-written, the melody warm, flowingand majestic and the text spoke of thegreat love, charity and unity of God'speople. After doing some research, Idiscovered that the melody, which wassimply labeled "Pierre de Corbeil, c.1190-1222" in Flor y Canto, was actually theConcordi laetitia chant - a hymn to theVirgin Mary. The chant had been adapted

to sound more like a metric hymn and adifferent text was supplanted, giving newmeaning to both the words and the music.This clever use of the chant made for awonderful processional hymn completewith a truly Catholic melody.

SUMMORUM PONTIFICUMnary form, a Priest must be suitably quali-fied for and not prohibited by any impedi-ments to the celebration of the Massaccording to the 1962 Missale Romanum.This means he must have the minimumknowledge and ability required for a legit-imate use of the extraordinary form.

On July 7, 2007, the Holy Father PopeBenedict XVI issued a Motu Proprio,Summorum Pontificum, allowing for awider use of the 1962 Missale Romanumof Blessed Pope John XXIII. In the docu-ment the current form of the Mass isreferred to as the "ordinary form" whilethe older is referred to as the "extraordi-nary form." Below are a few questionsand answers about the Motu Proprio pub-lished by the US Bishop's Committee onthe Liturgy. For the complete listing ofthe BCL's questions and answers, see ourwebsite www.rcan.comlworship and clickon "Frequently Asked Questions."

I began this article by examining Catholicidentity in sacred music. On a most basiclevel, I hope I successfully communicatedthat chant simply can not and should notbe ignored; nor should it be dismissed as"old-fashioned" or "out-of-touch." IfCatholics were to abandon chantaltogether it would be even moredevastating than if the Anglicans were toabandon the music of Howells, Byrd,Stanford as well as Anglican chantpsalmody; the Lutherans were toeliminate the great Bach chorales andcantatas; the Methodists were to erase thewealth of Wesleyan hymnody. It goeswithout saying what an enormous tragedythis would be. It is my hope that in thecoming years the Catholic Church willseek to be engendered by its treasury ofGregorian chant, informed by the highestquality of modern hymnody andcomposition, and challenged to walkconfidently with a unified voice towardthe generation to come.

As a rule, is it possible for a priest toabandon the ordinary form entirely?No. The Holy Father states unequivocallythat "in order to experience full commun-ion, the priests of the communities adher-ing to the former usage cannot, as a mat-ter of principle, exclude celebratingaccording to the new books. The totalexclusion of the new rite would not in factbe consistent with the recognition of itsvalue and holiness."

When may a Priest celebrate theextraordinary form in a Mass withoutthe people?Any Priest of the Latin Church may, with-out any further permission from the HolySee or his Ordinary, celebrate the extraor-dinary form of the Missale Romanum in aMass without the people at any timeexcept during the Sacred Triduum. Ifmembers of the faithful wish to join inthese celebrations, they are permitted todo so.

Does this action call into question theliturgical reform of the Second VaticanCouncil?No. The Holy Father makes clear that thecurrent Missale Romanum is the ordinaryform (forma ordinaria) of the EucharisticLiturgy. The extraordinary form is foundin the 1962 Missal of Blessed John XXIII.

I Liturgiam authenticam, 108.2 General Instruction of the Roman Missal

(2002),41.3 John Paul II, Letter to Artists on the Place

and Significance of Art (1999), 16.4 USCCB, Music in Catholic Worship (1982),

27.

When will the Apostolic Letter takeeffect?The Apostolic letter will take effect onSeptember 14,2007, the feast of theTriumph of the Holy Cross.

If a priest fails to demonstrate a mini-mum rubrical or linguistic ability tocelebrate the extraordinary form, mayhe still celebrate the 1962 MissaleRomanum?No. In order to celebrate the extraordi-

2007 - 2008 Liturgical Minister TrainingAll workshops are held at the Archdiocesan Center, 171 Clifton Avenue, Newark

LectorsSaturday, February 23,2008

8:45 AM - 12:30 PMOffered in Spanish and English

Ministry of Hospitality - Ushers and GreetersTuesday, October 16, 2007

7:30 - 9:30 PM

LectorsSaturday, November 3,2007

8:45 AM - 12:30 PMOffered in Spanish and English

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy CommunionSaturday, April 5, 20088:45 AM - 12:30 PM

Offered in Spanish and EnglishExtraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion

Saturday, November 10, 20078:45 AM - 12:30 PM

Offered in Spanish and English

Registration forms will be available via First Classor www.rcan.org/worship

MUSIC OF THE PAST

From the 1982 Bishops' Committee on theLiturgy document Liturgical Music Today:

in the liturgies of today. "Masses" as set pieces, but looks more tothe repertoire of motets, antiphons andanthems which can be harmonized moreeasily with the nature of the renewedliturgy and with its pastoral celebration.

51. On the eve of the Council fewparishes were performing the authenticrepertoire recommended by Saint Pius Xin his famous Motu Proprio (Tra LeSollecitudini) on music. Rather, mostparishes generally used only a few of thesimple chant Masses along with modernimitations of Renaissance motets andMasses. Moreover, the great music of thepast was seldom the music of the ordinaryparish church. Most often it was aproduct of the cathedrals and courtchapels.

49. The Constitution on the SacredLiturgy sets forth the principles for therecent reform of the liturgy. At the sametime it called the heritage of sacred music"a treasure of inestimable value." Thesepurposes, while not opposed to each other,do exist in a certain tension. Therestoration of active participation in theliturgy, the simplification of the rites, andthe use of the vernacular have meant amassive change in the theory and practiceof church music ...

53. At Mass that place will typicallyinclude the time during the preparation ofthe gifts and the period after communion.A skillful director will also be able to findsuitable choral repertoire to use as aprelude to the Mass, at the end of it, andat the Glory to God. Jubilate Deo, thebasic collection of simple Gregorianchants, should also be employed as asource for the assembly's participation.

50. Some have viewed this situation withprofound regret. For some, the settingaside of the Latin repertoire of pastcenturies has been a painful experience,and a cause of bitter alienation. "Now isthe time for healing." It is also the timeto make realistic assessments of whatp~e the music ;f the past -ca~~till ~have

52. However, singing and playing themusic of the past is a way for Catholics tostay in touch with and preserve their richheritage. A place can be found for thismusic, a place which does not conflictwith the assembly's role and the otherdemands of th~1ite. Such 'Lpractice no __longer envisions the performance of

The document Liturgical Music Today canbe found at www.dow.org/documents/LITURGICALMUSICTODAYpdf

The document Music in Catholic Worshipcan.he found ntw.ww.usj:J;l2,Qrg/ljturgyLcurrent/musiccathworship.shtml

Rite of Christian Initiation of AdultsCalendar of Events 2007-2008

Call to Continuing ConversionCathedral Basilica • Newark> Saturday, February 9, 2008

Bergen and Hudson Counties - 11:OOAMEssex and Union - 1:30 PM

For those adult candidates who are validly baptized (Catholic or non-Catholic) who are completing their initiation or who are being received

into full communion with the Catholic Church.

County RCIA Coordinator Meetingswith Regional Bishops,

Reverend Michael Sheehan - Reverend Thomas Dente7:30PM-9PM

Saint Thomas the Apostle, Bloomfield (Essex)Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Bayonne (Hudson)Tuesday, September 18,2007 Rite of Election

Cathedral Basilica> Newark> Sunday, February 10, 2008 ..Bergen and Hudson Counties= 2:30 PM .

Essex and Union Counties > 4:30 PMRequired for all catechumens being initiated

at the 2008 Easter Vigil

Saint Theresa of Avila, Summit (Union)Thursday, September 20, 2007

Annunciation, Paramus (Bergen)Monday, October 1, 2007

Day of Recollection for those Preparing for theEaster SacramentsWorkshop on the Period of the Catechumenate:

Examing the Vision of the RCIAArchdiocesan Center • Newark

Saturday, January 26, 2008 • 8:45 AM - 2:00 PM

Annunciation· ParamusSaturday, March 15, 2008 • 9:30 AM - 2 PM

Presenter: Reverend Anthony Randazzo

PresentersReverend Michael Sheehan - Reverend Thomas Dente

Chrism MassCathedral Basilica> Newark

Monday, March 17,2008·8:00 PM

2008 LITURGICAL YEARCALENDAR ITEMS

Due to the timing of Easter in 2008 (March 23), thereare several notable changes to the 2008 liturgical cal-endar:

Saturday, March 15, 2008SOLEMNITYOF JOSEPH, HUSBAND OF THE BLESSEDVIRGIN MARYwhiteReadings: Lectionary 543Proper and Preface of S1. Joseph, Husband of MaryGloria and Creed

Funeral Masses may be celebrated on this day.

Wedding Masses on this day must use the readings,prayers, and preface of St. Joseph, Husband of Mary.One reading may be replaced with a reading from themarriage ritual.

Monday, March 17, 2008MONDAY OF HOLY WEEKvioletReadings: Lectionary 257Proper of Holy Week - Preface of Passion II


In 2008, the optional memorial of St. Patrick is notliturgically observed.

Note: In places where St. Patrick is observed as aSolemnity, the liturgical observance is transferred toTuesday, April 1, 2008.

In the Archdiocese of Newark, this would occur in achurch under the title of St. Patrick. Prayers are taken

from the Proper of Patrick (March 17) and theCommon of Saints (Pastors); Preface of Pastors.Readings are taken from the Common of Pastors.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008WEDNESDAYOF HOLY WEEKvioletReadings: Lectionary 259Proper of Holy Week - Preface of Passion II


In 2008, the Solemnity of St. Joseph is transferred toSaturday, March 15, 2008, and may only be celebrat-ed on that day. (See above) March 19 is observed asthe Wednesday of Holy Week.

Thesday, March 25, 2008TUESDAYIN THE OCTAVEOF EASTER (Solemnity)whiteReadings: Lectionary 262Proper of the Easter Octave - Easter Preface IGloria


In 2008, the Solemnity of the Annunciation of theLord is transferred to Monday, March 31,2008, andmay only be celebrated on that day. (See below)March 25 is observed as Tuesday in the Octave ofEaster.

Monday, March 31, 2008SOLEMNITYOF THE ANNUNCIATIONOF THE LORDwhiteReadings: Lectionary 545Proper and Preface of the AnnunciationGloria and Creed


5

OH. Nc! Nor AN

UtIfIAPf7ED 12 Y9aTOld

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