Repertoire and Renewal
Don't Do Strange Songs in the Holidays or at Christmas and Easter
By Anthony Young
How can we have full, active and conscious participation in sung worship if we do not have music in common? How do we have community without common song?
Through the influence of the Living Parish Hymnal, Catholics from the 1960s and 1970s can sing hymns such as Soul of My Saviour, Hail Redeemer and Praise to the Lord from memory. Similarly the Our Father in plainchant can still be sung by many Catholics. Those who went to Catholic schools and churches in the 1980s can probably manage large portions of Sing to the Mountains, Sing a New Song, Be Not Afraid and Though the Mountains May Fall, together with Australian compositions such as Brian Boniwell's The Lord is My Shepherd and Frank Anderson's Strong and Constant.
This, of course, was a period when Catholic churchgoing was far more regular and widespread, and when church music was largely moderated by religious sisters and brothers. Therefore, for many years, Australian Catholic repertoire was quite uniform and widely-known.
- Do you have a list of the repertoire, including Mass settings, that every parishioner at every Mass can sing together at major parish events?
- Do you have a list of repertoire for your diocese that everyone at every Mass can sing at major diocesan events?
- Do we have a list of repertoire that all Australian Catholics can sing at major national church events?
Through the influence of the Living Parish Hymnal, Catholics from the 1960s and 1970s can sing hymns such as Soul of My Saviour, Hail Redeemer and Praise to the Lord from memory. Similarly the Our Father in plainchant can still be sung by many Catholics. Those who went to Catholic schools and churches in the 1980s can probably manage large portions of Sing to the Mountains, Sing a New Song, Be Not Afraid and Though the Mountains May Fall, together with Australian compositions such as Brian Boniwell's The Lord is My Shepherd and Frank Anderson's Strong and Constant.
This, of course, was a period when Catholic churchgoing was far more regular and widespread, and when church music was largely moderated by religious sisters and brothers. Therefore, for many years, Australian Catholic repertoire was quite uniform and widely-known.
Times have changed. Church musicians are no longer restricted to hymnals as many churches have replaced them with data projectors or hymns printed in the church newsletter. This is facilitated by convenient copyright licensing. (Interestingly, reports of copyright usage might provide hard data on what our national repertoire actually is.)
At the same time, it has become much easier for composers to publish their music and there is a huge amount of new liturgical music available. However, while the range of liturgical music has developed rapidly, regular churchgoing has declined. This has serious implications for congregational participation.
New music needs to be taught. This is not a novel concept. The 1968 introduction to the Living Parish Hymnal advocated 'teaching antiphons or tunes to the congregation before the ceremony begins' and added 'on occasions, a word of encouragement will stimulate the participation'.
However, we can no longer assume that, once a piece has been taught before Mass, it has become part of the parish repertoire. On any given Sunday, a good number of the congregation may well be absent or attending another parish. Even regular attendees need sufficient exposure to new music for it to become familiar and a joy to sing. We all want the assembly to grow musically by learning the best music from contemporary composers; we also want to replace music that has not fared well with repeated use; but the reality of less regular Mass attendance suggests that the renewal process must be slower now than it might have been in the past.
At the same time, it has become much easier for composers to publish their music and there is a huge amount of new liturgical music available. However, while the range of liturgical music has developed rapidly, regular churchgoing has declined. This has serious implications for congregational participation.
New music needs to be taught. This is not a novel concept. The 1968 introduction to the Living Parish Hymnal advocated 'teaching antiphons or tunes to the congregation before the ceremony begins' and added 'on occasions, a word of encouragement will stimulate the participation'.
However, we can no longer assume that, once a piece has been taught before Mass, it has become part of the parish repertoire. On any given Sunday, a good number of the congregation may well be absent or attending another parish. Even regular attendees need sufficient exposure to new music for it to become familiar and a joy to sing. We all want the assembly to grow musically by learning the best music from contemporary composers; we also want to replace music that has not fared well with repeated use; but the reality of less regular Mass attendance suggests that the renewal process must be slower now than it might have been in the past.
The challenge is particularly acute at Easter and Christmas when many regular parishioners and musicians might be away on holidays and when many churches swell with visitors or the Catholics who come to church biannually. It is poor hospitality on these occasions to foist new repertoire on unwitting participants. In fact making people feel ostracised in this way may contribute to their continued absence from church. If we want people who aren't in church regularly to come back, we need to minister to them, which may include the comfort of familiar music.
Accordingly, the best time to introduce new repertoire is during Ordinary Time. New pieces can be taught between peak holiday and feast times so that the regular assembly becomes familiar with the music when people are at Mass together. This newer music can, when liturgically appropriate, be used sparingly at major feasts, on the understanding that there will be enough regular Mass attendees to carry the singing. (It is assumed here that the parish has vibrant congregational singing as a starting point!)
In my view, it is not a problem to sing basically the same liturgical music for a number of years on major feasts. Gradual growth can occur with some minor variation and addition. After all, we gladly sing Happy Birthday each year without change, so why do we need the music for church feasts to change every year? In holiday periods, it is best to use the most well-known settings of the Mass.
Of course we need a balance between familiarity and innovation, but poorly executed innovation destroys community. We church musicians need to remember that our ministry is one of service. Sometimes the piece of music that we are heartily sick of playing - or which we never liked in the first place - is exactly what a congregation loves to sing. Music arises as a prayer from the heart more easily when the assembly is not struggling with unfamiliar rhythms and melodies.
Of course we need a balance between familiarity and innovation, but poorly executed innovation destroys community. We church musicians need to remember that our ministry is one of service. Sometimes the piece of music that we are heartily sick of playing - or which we never liked in the first place - is exactly what a congregation loves to sing. Music arises as a prayer from the heart more easily when the assembly is not struggling with unfamiliar rhythms and melodies.
Anthony Young is the Assistant Head of Faculty – Music at St Laurence’s College, Brisbane and the Director of Music at St Ignatius’ Parish, Toowong
See original article in Liturgy News Vol 49(2).
Images from Unsplash and Pixabay. Used under license/with permission.
Images from Unsplash and Pixabay. Used under license/with permission.