Thanks to reader David P. Himes for finding this.
It reminds me of a quote in the local paper here from several years ago. The reporter did a story on the city’s Unitarian-Universalist congregation. The pastor waxed eloquently about the joys of diversity — Hindu, Christian, atheist, pantheist, Wiccan, whatever — but bemoaned the utter absence of a good Unitarian-Universalist song.
So here’s how you persuade your atheistic friends: the real test of a religion is the quality of its hymnody. A religion with no songs is a religion that doesn’t speak to who we really are.
If 'the real test of a religion is its hymnody,' you may as well run a white flag up the pole now. The Catholics, Anglicans and Lutherans have the CoC clobbered. And that's before we even begin putting all the music traditions east of Italy on the table.
The UU is a historically young group. Their ecumenical spirit is wide and broad indeed, and for this reason they can't–as the CoC has done–just bring over music by Luther, Bach, and the Wesleys and pretend their own tradition invented it. As the UU time is new, so its adherents are obliged to think anew and act anew. The classics are great but in good conscience they require something more, well, universal.
It's as the King James translators themselves pointed out in 1611: "No task, having once been begun, is at the same time perfected." This is true of every task under the sun. No one is exempt.
Note the reversal if the subject turns to literature. The UU has Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. The CoC has tract racks.
One has this gift, another that.
The Catholics have the COC clobbered at hymnody? I find that one quite hard to buy. Isn't everything they have either a bad translation from some Latin hymn that wasn't so great in Latin to begin with, or just borrowed from Protestant (like the COC does too)?
Uh, no.
Catholic tradition has Mozart and Palestrina and Gregorian chant. And that's just for starters.
The Catholic Church is the New York Yankees of sacred music. You can like it or not as you wish, but there is no denying all the pennants lining the wall.
Sacred music in Catholicism has a long, distinguished, and influential history. That history has influenced your own franchise profoundly, in ways you don't even know.
If you are a member of the CoC, please consider the respectful suggestion that it's possible–just possible–that the window you have been given on other traditions besides your own is a bit… narrow.
Louis,
You notice that this morning's post (and tomorrow's) is filled with YouTube versions a Bach cantata — which is Lutheran. I have no interest in interdenominational disputes over who has the best music. Rather, I've been working here for a while trying to lower denominational barriers.
I said that "the real test of a religion is the quality of its hymnody" — a bit tongue in cheek — but speaking of different religions ("Hindu, Christian, atheist, pantheist, Wiccan, whatever"), not different denominations. As a Christian, I'm quite proud to claim Palestrina, although I really do prefer Bach, but not because he was a Protestant.
"Catholic tradition has Mozart" — isn't that just instrumental or are there lyrics?
Rey,
Check out
It was written for a funeral.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
You are praised, God, in Zion,
and homage will be paid to You in Jerusalem.
Hear my prayer,
to You all flesh will come.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Day of wrath, day of anger
will dissolve the world in ashes,
as foretold by David and the Sibyl.
Great trembling there will be
when the Judge descends from heaven
to examine all things closely.
The trumpet will send its wondrous sound
throughout earth's sepulchres
and gather all before the throne.
Death and nature will be astounded,
when all creation rises again,
to answer the judgment.
A book will be brought forth,
in which all will be written,
by which the world will be judged.
When the judge takes his place,
what is hidden will be revealed,
nothing will remain unavenged.
What shall a wretch like me say?
Who shall intercede for me,
when the just ones need mercy?
King of tremendous majesty,
who freely saves those worthy ones,
save me, source of mercy.
Remember, kind Jesus,
my salvation caused your suffering;
do not forsake me on that day.
Faint and weary you have sought me,
redeemed me, suffering on the cross;
may such great effort not be in vain.
Righteous judge of vengeance,
grant me the gift of absolution
before the day of retribution.
I moan as one who is guilty:
owning my shame with a red face;
suppliant before you, Lord.
You, who absolved Mary,
and listened to the thief,
give me hope also.
My prayers are unworthy,
but, good Lord, have mercy,
and rescue me from eternal fire.
Provide me a place among the sheep,
and separate me from the goats,
guiding me to Your right hand.
When the accused are confounded,
and doomed to flames of woe,
call me among the blessed.
I kneel with submissive heart,
my contrition is like ashes,
help me in my final condition.
That day of tears and mourning,
when from the ashes shall arise,
all humanity to be judged.
Spare us by your mercy, Lord,
gentle Lord Jesus,
grant them eternal rest. Amen.
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
liberate the souls of the faithful,
departed from the pains of hell
and from the bottomless pit.
Deliver them from the lion's mouth,
lest hell swallow them up,
lest they fall into darkness.
Let the standard-bearer, holy Michael,
bring them into holy light.
Which was promised to Abraham
and his descendants.
Sacrifices and prayers of praise, Lord,
we offer to You.
Receive them in behalf of those souls
we commemorate today.
And let them, Lord,
pass from death to life,
which was promised to Abraham
and his descendants.
Lamb of God, who takes away
the sins of the world,
grant them eternal rest.
Lamb of God, who takes away
the sins of the world,
Grant them eternal rest.
Lamb of God, who takes away
the sins of the world,
grant them eternal rest forever.
Let eternal light shine on them, Lord,
as with Your saints in eternity,
because You are merciful.
Grant them eternal rest, Lord,
and let perpetual light shine on them,
as with Your saints in eternity,
because You are merciful.
The Credo (Creed) is a standard text used in worship by Christians around the world in many traditions. One of the most admired settings of the Credo ever is the one that appears in "Missa Solemnis" (Solemn Mass), a choral work by a certain Catholic composer named Ludwig van Beethoven.
Credo
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy universal and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
I appreciate very much what you are doing, Jay. I meant my remarks to be read in an equally playful–if definitely teasing–way.
As heavy hitters in the Catholic lineup I mentioned Mozart, Palestrina and Gregorian chant "for starters." Given the purpose of this blog, it's probably worth adding another detail. Two of those three bodies of work, Palestrina's compositions and Gregorian chant, are typically performed a capella.
I mentioned earlier the profound influence of Catholic music. It is no exaggeration to say that if you set yourself the task of removing all Catholic influence from the CoC, you'd have to throw out all the hymnals the CoC uses and quit singing all the hymns those books contain.
If you have ever sung soprano, alto ,tenor or bass…
If you have ever sung from notation using lines and spaces…
If you have ever sung from notation using sharps and flats and black spots and stems and bar lines…
If you have ever taught yourself music using "do-re-mi" syllables…
If you have ever sung in a major key or a minor key…
… you have a Catholic musician to thank.
In all likelihood a monk.
I don't think that really counts. Its impossible to use in a worship service. I can't even understand what the people are saying.
Franz Joseph Haydn
Oratorio: "The Creation"
Haydn uses the orchestra to represent created things. The speechless orchestra represents the world, creation. He uses human voices here to represent the narrators (angels, divine messengers) who tell us the story. You hear the angels describe what happens, and as they tell you this, you hear it happen in the "world" of the orchestra.
A five-minute orchestral introduction–wordless–portrays the world in a state of "waste and void." The curious can hear the introduction here.
The moment ends quietly. Then we hear a voice sing for the first time. This video starts at this moment.
Here is the translation 0:00 to 2:45
The sung language is German. I think you will find the text familiar…
Baritone solo:
In the beginning God (Gott) created the heavens and the earth (Himmel und Erde)
[instrumental world]
And the earth (Erde) was without form and void.
[instrumental world]
And darkness was upon the face of the deep.
[Music brightens, begins moving.]
Choir [hushed]:
And the Spirit of God moved
upon the face of the water (Wasser)
[instruments ripple, stop expectantly]
And God said
[world listens]
"Let there be light." (Licht)
[punctuation mark]
And there was light.
[response]
Tenor solo:
And God saw the light (Licht)
that it was good (Gut war)
and God separated the light from the darkness.
The video:
A Requiem IS a worship service, Ray. It's a funeral service. People have used music of this kind in worship many times. Clearly, then, it is not "impossible" at all.
So let's be precise. What you are telling us is that you find it impossible to *imagine* this music in worship. You have no category for it based on the experience of worship you have known.
I believe you. I have no doubt at all that you are telling the truth about what you cannot imagine.
It depends on the meaning of worship. If you jetison Paul's requirement that everyone be able to understand what is being said ( can't understand a word of what they are saying) and if you view worship as something not done by the congregation but by a group of performers on behalf of the congregation, then I suppose you can call it worship.
Anyone can understand what the singers are saying, rey. You were shown the text. So you already know.
And in a society where a Requiem is a standard text that everyone knows (like Mozart's), everyone is already there. And, of course, there's nothing to stop anyone from singing the text in the vernacular rather than Latin if that works better for everyone. That's in fact what many people would do today. John Rutter's Requiem, for example, is in English.
As for "performing"–do you not, in the services you are comfortable with, have one person word a prayer on behalf of everyone else? At the communion table, perhaps? A singer singing a prayer is no different. It works the same way.
It's not hard to understand.
Relax Louis. I didn't say you are going to hell for it. Do whatever you want so long as it isn't immoral. But I still just don't see it as worship. Its too chanty and it makes me think of Darth Maul waving his lightsaber around.
No problem, rey. Rest assured that I'm relaxed and unconcerned about what you think others will go to hell for.
You think of Darth Maul because John Williams draws on the musical language of Mozart and other composers to make his cartoon soundtracks. You don't know the originals, but you know the cartoons, so you think of the cartoon first when you hear certain cues. Such is the nature of pop culture conditioning.
It's a common malady of our times. There are tourists who see European castles and measure their worth by a landmark at Disney World. I know a man who is married to a gourmet cook; he turns up his nose when his wife tries to serve him filet mignon because it isn't enough like the Scrapple his mother used to cook up.
It's sad to see someone starve himself at a banquet. But it happens.
The original point about Catholic sacred music stands. That's a powerful lineup up heavy hitters and cultural landmarks.