The Musical Ladder Revisited

Like many dioceses, ours is holding a series of events to prepare the faithful for the new translation of the Roman Missal.  Those who have been following for a while know that it was a open diocesan meeting/presentation given by the Bishop of Columbus that prompted me to begin the New Translations Monday column.  This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending another diocesan meeting, this one specifically geared towards music, in particular new settings for the Mass Ordinary.  I am not involved in music ministry, but my interest in the changes to the Roman Missal piqued my interest enough to attend.

The presentation was led by the director of music and organist for St. Joseph Cathedral in the Columbus Diocese.  I cannot praise Mr. Thornock enough for a job exceptionally well done.  He was both knowledgeable and personable in his delivery.  The format was simple: look at twelve different settings, talk through them, and sing through them together.  However, the point was not simply to introduce the faithful to a wide variety of new settings from which they can choose, but rather to try, in the limited time available, to educate them on what makes a worthy setting for the Mass Ordinary and the new texts.  Two of the settings included served as “bad” examples, and Mr. Thornock went to great lengths to explain why, whether it be the lack of “sing-ability” (large interval jumps, difficult rhythms, etc.), the lack of correspondence between syllabic emphasis and musical emphasis, or even inconsistency between lyrical content and music structure (as in one piece where the text of the Gloria ascends in, “Lord God, heavenly King, O God almighty Father,” yet the tones descend to notes quite low in the register and held on the awkward syllable “-er”.)  Mr. Thornock made the point that classifying the quality of music is not simply a matter of taste, but that objective criterion can be applied to determine whether a piece of music is “good.”  Whether in private conversation his theology would have ventured further, I don’t know, but for my own part, I couldn’t help but think of the fact that beauty, as one of the transcendentals, is inherently rational and objective.  Contrary to popular cliche, beauty is not in the eye of the beholder, but instead in the objective and rational structure of the creative Word.

Beyond his obvious comments on the various selections, there was a subtle, but integral philosophy built in to the very structure of Mr. Thornock’s presentation, one that I was delighted to see and in which I was hopeful of the impression it would make on the music ministers gathered from around the diocese.  The philosophy can be best described with a term that served as a title of a previous post: “Climbing the Musical Ladder.”  Those who have read ecclesial writing on the nature of liturgical music are no doubt familiar with the preeminence that Gregorian Chant enjoys.  Dating back perhaps farther than we know, the Gregorian repertoire is the official music of the Roman Catholic Church.  Virtually every Pope and Council (including Vatican II) that has spoken on liturgical music has reiterated that Gregorian Chant holds pride of place among the Church’s music.  As such, all things being equal, it should be used.  John Paul II remarked that the closer a piece comes in style to Gregorian Chant, the more suitable it is for use in the liturgy, and the farther it gets, the less suitable it becomes.  In other words, the Gregorian selections are to serve as the standard by which all liturgical music is to be judged.  Therefore, those who have prudent reasons to select a piece outside the Gregorian repertoire should do so by keeping the chant as both the model and eventual goal.  When I wrote “Climbing the Musical Ladder” I was speaking mostly about the Proper chants and describing how a music liturgist might use (for instance) the Gregorian Introit as a model for selecting an entrance piece.  We begin at the top with the Gregorian piece itself.  Directly underneath would be either simpler chant settings of the Latin text or even a polyphonic piece based on the same lyrics.  Underneath that would be chant in the vernacular, either melodies that match the Gregorian melodies or simpler tones.  At the bottom of the ladder would be high quality hymns that are based on the Gregorian texts.  Using this model, the music ministers can begin to see both how to use Gregorian Chant to guide music selection and how the eventual goal is to climb the ladder towards the ideal.  Simultaneously it also offers a path of climbing.

Mr. Thornock, without specifically mentioning this concept, employed it with perfection.  Keeping in mind that the entire workshop was dedicated to settings of the Ordinary for the new Mass texts, yet the very first setting we looked at was none other than a Gregorian selection (from the Missa Simplex).  Mr. Thornock gave an introduction to setting and had the attendees sing through it accompanied.  He also gave a brief plug to the idea of chant, particularly when it comes to the new texts, which are not so easily (especially in the case of the Gloria) organized in 4/4 time.  Chant, he said, is particularly suitable to worship because God exists outside of time.  As such, we should employ music that exists outside of time, i.e. outside of a strict meter.  Chant of course, still has an internal rhythm (after all, God is a God of rationality), but it lacks the incessant marching pulse of a hymn.  Where a hymn gives the impression of marching through time towards a conclusion, chant (and here I would also include sacred polyphony) gives the impression of resting in eternity, not eternity in the sense of endless time (which would be more like a hymn that never ends), but one that exists apart form time.  Mr. Thornock also gave some advice on performing chant, including techniques of singing the texts (emphasizing the correct syllables and trailing off at the ends of words and phrases), but also advice regarding accompaniment.  More properly, his advice was on the lack of accompaniment; in his experience, congregations do much better with chant if there is not an organ drowning out the text.  He also warned against singing the chant too slow, for nothing is worse than an exquisite Gregorian melody turned funeral dirge.  Finally, he made the point that the congregations at the Cathedral, with whom he has enjoyed much success in singing chant, are no different than any other parish.  In fact, it has been his general experience that we give far too little credit to the faithful and their singing capabilities.  Thus, Mr. Thornock insisted that Gregorian Chant not be simply regulated to the cathedral.

The next setting (at least for the Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei) was the very same Gregorian melody set with vernacular texts.  After that we looked at a vernacular setting done with a simple Psalm tone (published by The Collegeville Composers Group) called the Psallite Mass.  Using Psalm tones allows the melodies to be kept in the general style of chant so that the text can remain primary.  Only after these Psalm settings did Mr. Thornock make his way into other settings.  I say this not to take anything away from these settings, for the ones selected were of the highest quality and would be a vast improvement over what many people experience every Sunday.  (The only exceptions being the two pieces he selected as examples of “bad” settings.)  Rather, I say this to emphasize the point of the “Musical Ladder.”  With any luck, people will understand that what makes these selections of high quality is precisely that they are in some way motivated by the Gregorian melodies and texts, and that they point upwards towards that ideal.

The more I experience congregational response to chant, the more I come to realize that there are some places that are simply not ready for a whole-sale adoption of Gregorian pieces.  It doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be attempted every now and then, and in some cases congregations will welcome them during particular times of the year (almost as if seeing an “end in sight” makes the whole thing bearable).  It simply means that a mechanism is needed for working up towards the ideal.  Even if high quality pieces are being selected over the traditional chant, if the Gregorian repertoire is serving as a inspiration, then “pride of place” is at the very least finding a place in the musical life of a parish.

Kudos to the Diocese of Columbus, and kudos to Paul Thornock.  Hopefully those in attendance will take to heart his message.  For my own parish, while we already employ the Missa Simplex during Lent, I noticed that we cut the organ accompaniment and sped up the tempo on Sunday, the day after the workshop.  The difference was striking, and I can only presume it was in response to the presentation.  On that note, kudos to our parish music director.