downloadTheology & History
A Roman Catholic Document: Music In Catholic Worship Part I
In 1972, a committee appointed by the Federation of Diocesan Liturgical Commissions examined post-Vatican II documents on worship and music and issued the following document, Music in Catholic Worship, a revision of the earlier document The Place of Music in Eucharistic Celebrations. This document includes a thorough discussion of theological issues related to liturgical music, along with guidelines for planning music for worship, especially for services that include the Eucharist.
The Theology of Celebration 1. We are Christians because through the Christian community we have met Jesus Christ, heard his word in invitation, and responded to him in faith. We gather at Mass that we may hear and express our faith again in this assembly and, by expressing it, renew and deepen it. 2. We do not come to meet Christ in worship as if he were absent from the rest of our lives. We come together to deepen our awareness of, and commitment to, the action of his Spirit in the whole of our lives at every moment. We come together to acknowledge the love of God poured out among us in the work of the Spirit, to stand in awe and praise. 3. We are celebrating when we involve ourselves meaningfully in the thoughts, words, songs, and gestures of the worshiping community—when everything we do is wholehearted and authentic for us—when we mean the words and want to do what is done. 4. People in love make signs of love, not only to express their love but also to deepen it. Love never expressed dies. Christians' love for Christ and for each other and Christians' faith in Christ and in one another must be expressed in signs and symbols of celebration or they will die. 5. Celebrations need not fail, even on a particular Sunday when our feelings do not match the invitation of Christ and his church to worship. Faith does not always permeate our feelings. But the sign and symbols of worship can give bodily expression to faith as we celebrate. Our own faith is stimulated. We become one with others whose faith is similarly expressed. We rise above our own feelings to respond to God in prayer. 6. Faith grows when it is well expressed in celebration. Good celebrations foster and nourish faith. Poor celebrations weaken and destroy faith. 7. To celebrate the liturgy means to do the action or perform the sign in such a way that the full meaning and impact shine forth in clear and compelling fashion. Since these signs are vehicles of communication and instruments of faith, they must be simple and comprehensible. Since they are directed to fellow human beings, they must be humanly attractive. They must be meaningful and appealing to the body of worshipers or they will fail to stir up faith and people will fail to worship the Father. 8. The signs of celebration should be short, clear, and unencumbered by useless repetition; they should be "within the people's power of comprehension and normally should not require much explanation" (Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Liturgy [CSL], No. 34). If the signs need explanation in order to communicate faith, they will often be watched instead of celebrated. 9. In true celebration each sign or sacramental action will be invested with the personal and prayerful faith, care, attention, and enthusiasm of those who carry it out. Pastoral Planning for Celebration 10. The responsibility for effective pastoral celebration in a parish community falls upon all those who exercise major roles in the liturgy. "The particular preparation for each liturgical celebration should be done in a spirit of cooperation by all parties concerned, under the guidance of the rector of the church, whether it be ritual, pastoral, or musical matters" (Congregation of Rites, Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, March 5, 1967, no. 5e; Roman Missal, General Instruction [GI], No. 73). In practice this ordinarily means an organized "planning team" or committee which meets regularly to achieve creative and coordinated worship and a good use of the liturgical and musical options of a flexible liturgy. 11. The power of a liturgical celebration to share faith will frequently depend upon its unity—a unity drawn from the liturgical feast or season or from the readings appointed in the lectionary and artistic unity flowing from the skillful and sensitive selection of options, music, and related arts. The sacred Scriptures ought to be the source and inspiration of sound planning, for it is the very nature of celebration that people hear the saving words and works of the Lord and then respond in meaningful signs and symbols. Where the readings of the lectionary possess a thematic unity the other elements ought to be so arranged as to constitute a setting for and response to the message of the Word. 12. The planning team or committee is headed by the priest (celebrant and homilist), for no congregation can experience the security of a unified celebration if that unity is not grasped by the one who presides, as well as by those who have special roles. It should include those with the knowledge and artistic skills needed in celebration: men and women trained in music, poetry, and art, and familiar with current resources in these areas; men and women sensitive to the present-day thirst of so many for the riches of Scripture, theology, and prayer. It is always good to include some members of the congregation who have not taken special roles in the celebrations so that honest evaluations can be made. 13. The planning should go beyond the choosing of options, songs, and ministers to the composition of such texts as the brief introduction, general intercessions, and other appropriate comments as provided in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. The manner of inviting the people to join in a particular song may be as important as the choice of the song itself. 14. In planning pastoral celebrations, the congregation, the occasion, and the celebrant must be taken into consideration. The Congregation 15. "The pastoral effectiveness of a celebration depends in great measure on choosing readings, prayers, and songs which correspond to the needs, spiritual preparation, and attitudes of the participants" (GI, No. 313). A type of celebration suitable for a youth group may not fit in a retirement home; a more formal style effective in a parish church may be inappropriate in a home liturgy. The music used should be within the competence of most of the worshipers. It should suit their age level, cultural background, and level of faith. 16. Variation in level of faith raises special problems. Liturgical celebration presupposes a minimum of biblical knowledge and a deep commitment of living faith. Lacking these conditions, the liturgy may be forced to become a tool of evangelization. Greater liberty in the choice of music and style of celebration may be required as the participants are led toward that day when they can share their growing faith as members of the Christian community. Songs like the Psalms may create rather than solve problems where faith is weak. Music, chosen with care, can serve as a bridge to faith as well as an expression of it. 17. The diversity of people present at a parish liturgy gives rise to a further problem. Can the same parish liturgy be an authentic expression for a grade-school girl, her college-age brother, their married sister with her young family, their parents and grandparents? Can it satisfy the theologically and musically educated along with those lacking in training? Can it please those who seek a more informal style of celebration? The planning team must consider the general makeup of the total community. Each Christian must keep in mind that to live and worship in community often demands a personal sacrifice. All must be willing to share likes and dislikes with those whose ideas and experience may be quite unlike their own. 18. Often the problem of diversity can be mitigated by supplementing the parish Sunday celebration with special celebrations for smaller homogeneous groups. "The need of the faithful of a particular cultural background or of a particular age level may often be met by a music that can serve as a congenial, liturgically oriented expression of prayer" (Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy [BCL], April 18, 1966). The music and other options may then be more easily suited to the particular group celebrating. Celebration in such groups, "in which the genuine sense of community is more readily experienced, can contribute significantly to growth in awareness of the parish as community, especially when all the faithful participate in the parish Mass on the Lord's day" (BCL, February 17, 1967). Nevertheless, it would be out of harmony with the Lord's wish for unity in his Church if believers were to worship only in such homogeneous groupings. (Congregation for Divine Worship [CDW], Instruction on Mass for Special Gatherings, May 15, 1969.) The Occasion 19. The same congregation will want to celebrate in a variety of ways. During the course of the year the different mysteries of redemption are celebrated at Mass so that in some way they are made present (GI, No. 1; cf. CSL, No. 102). Each feast and season has its own spirit and its own music. The penitential occasions demand more restraint. The great feasts demand more solemnity. Solemnity, however, depends less on the ornateness of song and the magnificence of ceremony than on worthy and religious celebration (Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, No. 11.) 20. Generally a congregation or choir will want to sing more on the great feasts like Christmas and Easter and less in the season through the year. Important events in family and parish life will suggest fuller programs of song. Sundays will be celebrated with variety but always as befits the day of the Lord. All liturgies, from the very simple to the most ornate, must be truly pastoral and prayerful. The Celebrant 21. No other single factor affects the liturgy as much as the attitude, style, and bearing of the celebrant: his sincere faith and warmth as he welcomes the worshiping community; his human naturalness combined with dignity and seriousness as he breaks the Bread of Word and Eucharist. 22. The style and pattern of song ought to facilitate the effectiveness of a good celebrant. His role is enhanced when he is capable of rendering some of his parts in song and he should be encouraged to do so. What he cannot sing well and effectively, he ought to recite. If capable of singing, he ought, for the sake of the people, to rehearse carefully the sung parts that contribute to their celebration (Ibid., No. 8). The Place of Music in the Celebration Music Serves the Expression of Faith 23. Among the many signs and symbols used by the church to celebrate its faith, music is of preeminent importance. As sacred song united to the words, it forms an integral part of solemn liturgy (cf. CSL, No. 112). Yet the function of music is ministerial; it must serve and never dominate. Music should assist the assembled believers to express and share the gift of faith that is within them and to nourish and strengthen their interior commitment of faith. It should heighten the texts so that they speak more fully and more effectively. The quality of joy and enthusiasm that music adds to community worship cannot be gained in any other way. It imparts a sense a unity to the congregation and sets the appropriate tone for a particular celebration. 24. In addition to expressing texts, music can also unveil a dimension of meaning and feeling, a communication of ideas and intuitions which words alone cannot yield. This dimension is integral to the human personality and growth in faith. It cannot be ignored if the signs of worship are to speak to the whole person. Ideally, every communal celebration of faith, including funerals and the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, penance, anointing and matrimony, should include music and singing. Where it is possible to celebrate the Liturgy of the Hours in a community, it, too, should include music. 25. To determine the value of a given musical element in a liturgical celebration a threefold judgment must be made: musical, liturgical, and pastoral. The Musical Judgment 26. Is the music technically, aesthetically, and expressively good? This judgment is basic and primary and should be made by competent musicians. Only artistically sound music will be effective in the long run. To admit the cheap, the trite, the musical cliché often found in popular songs for the purpose of "instant liturgy" is to cheapen the liturgy, to expose it to ridicule, and to invite failure. 27. Musicians must search for and create music of quality for worship, especially the new musical settings for the new liturgical texts. They must also do the research needed to find new uses for the best of the old music. They must explore the repertory of good music used in other communions. They must find practical means of preserving and using our rich heritage of Latin chants and motets (cf. CSL, No. 114). In the meantime, however, the words of St. Augustine should not be forgotten: "Do not allow yourselves to be offended by the imperfect while you strive for the perfect." 28. We do a disservice to musical values, however, when we confuse the judgment of music with the judgment of musical style. Style and value are two distinct judgments. Good music of new styles is finding a happy home in the celebrations of today. To chant and polyphony we have effectively added the chorale hymn, restored responsorial singing to some extent, and employed many styles of contemporary composition. Music in folk idiom is finding acceptance in eucharistic celebrations. We must judge value within each style. "In modern times the Church has consistently recognized and freely admitted the use of various styles of music as an aid to liturgical worship. Since the promulgation of the Constitution on the Liturgy, and more especially since the introduction of vernacular languages into the liturgy, there has arisen a more pressing need for musical compositions in idioms that can be sung by the congregation and thus further communal participation" (BCL, April 18, 1966). 29. The musician has every right to insist that the music be good. But although all liturgical music should be good music, not all good music is suitable to the liturgy. The musical judgment is basic but not final. There remains the liturgical and pastoral judgments. The Liturgical Judgment 30. The nature of the liturgy itself will help to determine what kind of music is called for, what parts are to be preferred for singing and who is to sing them. Structural Requirements 31. The choice of sung parts, the balance between them and the style of musical setting used should reflect the relative importance of the parts of the Mass (or other service) and the nature of each part. Thus elaborate settings of the Entrance song, "Lord have Mercy" and "Glory to God" may make the proclamation of the word seem unimportant; and an overly elaborate offertory song with a spoken "Holy, Holy, Holy Lord" may make the eucharistic prayer seem less important. Textual Requirements 32. Does the music express and interpret the text correctly and make it more meaningful? Is the form of the text respected? In making these judgments, the principal classes of texts must be kept in mind: proclamations, acclamations, psalms and hymns, and prayers. Each has a specific function which must be served by the music chosen for a text. In most instances there is an official liturgical text approved by the episcopal conference. "Vernacular texts set to music composed in earlier periods," however, "may be used in liturgical texts" (National Conference of Catholic Bishops [NCCB], November 1967). As noted elsewhere, criteria have been provided for the texts which may replace the processional chants of Mass. In these cases and in the choice of all supplementary music, the texts "must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine; indeed they should be drawn chiefly from holy Scripture and from liturgical sources" (CSL, No. 121). Role Differentiation 33. "In liturgical celebrations each person, minister or layperson, who has an office to perform, should do all of, but only, those parts which pertain to that office by the nature of the rite and the principles of liturgy" (CSL, No. 28). Special musical concern must be given to the roles of the congregation, the cantor, the choir and the instrumentalists. The Congregation 34. Music for the congregation must be within its members' performance capability. The congregation must be comfortable and secure with what they are doing in order to celebrate well. The Cantor 35. While there is no place in the liturgy for display of virtuosity for its own sake, artistry is valued, and an individual singer can effectively lead the assembly, attractively proclaim the Word of God in the psalm sung between the readings, and take his or her part in other responsorial singing. "Provision should be made for at least one or two properly trained singers, especially where there is no possibility of setting up even a small choir." The singer will present some simpler musical setting, with the people taking part, and can lead and support the faithful as far as is needed. The presence of such a singer is desirable even in churches which have a choir for those celebrations in which the choir cannot take part, but which may fittingly be performed with some solemnity and therefore with singing" (Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, No. 21). Although a cantor "cannot enhance the service of worship in the same way as a choir, a trained and competent cantor can perform an important ministry by leading the congregation in common sacred song and in responsorial singing" (BCL, April 18, 1966). The Choir 36. A well-trained choir adds beauty and solemnity to the liturgy and also assists and encourages the singing of the congregation. The Second Vatican Council, in speaking of the choir, stated emphatically: "Choirs must be diligently promoted," provided that "the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs" (CSL, No. 114). "At times the choir, within the congregation of the faithful and as part of it, will assume the role of leadership, while at other times it will retain its own distinctive ministry. This means that the choir will lead the people in sung prayer, by alternating or reinforcing the sacred song of the congregation, or by enhancing it with the addition of a musical elaboration. At other times in the course of liturgical celebration, the choir alone will sing works whose musical demands enlist and challenge its competence" (BCL, April 18, 1966). The Organist and Other Instrumentalists 37. Singing is not the only kind of music suitable for liturgical celebration. Music performed on the organ and other instruments can stimulate feelings of joy and contemplation at appropriate times. (Cf. CSL, No. 120; Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, Nos. 63–65; CDW Third Instruction, September 5, 1970, No. 3c.) This can be done effectively at the following points: an instrumental prelude, a soft background to a spoken psalm, at the preparation of the gifts in place of singing, during portions of the Communion rite, and the recessional. In the dioceses of the United States, "musical instruments other than the organ may be used in liturgical services, provided they are played in a manner that is suitable to public worship" (NCCB, November 1967; cf. CSL, No. 120). This decision deliberately refrains from singling out specific instruments. Their use depends on circumstances, the nature of the congregation, etc. 38. The proper placing of the organ and choir according to the arrangement and acoustics of the church will facilitate celebration. Practically speaking, the choir must be near the director and the organ (both console and sound). The choir ought to be able to perform without too much distraction; the acoustics ought to give a lively presence of sound in the choir area and allow both tone and word to reach the congregation with clarity. Visually it is desirable that the choir appear to be part of the worshiping community, yet a part which serves in a unique way. Locating the organ console too far from the congregation causes a time lag, which tends to make the singing drag unless the organist is trained to cope with it. A location near the front pews will facilitate congregational singing. The Pastoral Judgment 39. The pastoral judgment governs the use and function of every element of celebration. Ideally this judgment is made by the planning team or committee. It is the judgment that must be made in this particular situation, in these concrete circumstances. Does music in the celebration enable these people to express their faith, in this place, in this age, in this culture? 40. The instruction of the Congregation for Divine Worship, issued September 5, 1971, encourages episcopal conferences to consider not only liturgical music's suitability to the time and circumstances of the celebration, "but also the needs of the faithful who will sing them. All means must be used to promote singing by the people. New forms should be used, which are adapted to the different mentalities and to modern tastes." The document adds that the music and the instruments "should correspond to the sacred character of the celebration and the place of worship." 41. A musician may judge that a certain composition or style of composition is good music, but this musical judgment really says nothing about whether and how this music is to be used in this celebration. The signs of the celebration must be accepted and received as meaningful for a genuinely human faith experience for these specific worshipers. This pastoral judgment can be aided by sociological studies of the people who make up the congregation: their age, culture, and education. These factors influence the effectiveness of the liturgical signs, including music. No set of rubrics or regulations of itself will ever achieve a truly pastoral celebration of the sacramental rites. Such regulations must always be applied with a pastoral concern for the given worshiping community.