| Part 1 Father Samuel Weber on Sacred Music
Institute
By Annamarie Adkins
ST. LOUIS, Missouri, 4 JULY 2008 (ZENIT)Parish music directors
—
and congregations
—
in the Archdiocese of St. Louis soon will benefit from Archbishop
Raymond Burke’s recent initiative: The Institute for Sacred Music.
Archbishop Burke, who has since been named to head the Apostolic
Signature, the Church's supreme court, appointed Benedictine Father
Samuel Weber as the first director of the new institute earlier this
year.
Father Weber is a professor in the divinity school of Wake Forest
University in North Carolina and also a monk of the St. Meinrad
Archabbey in Indiana.
In Part 1 of this interview with ZENIT, Father Weber discusses how the
Institute for Sacred Music will try to restore Gregorian chant’s “pride
of place” in the liturgy.
Part 2 of this interview will appear Sunday.
Q: Why did Archbishop Burke found the Institute for Sacred Music? What
is its mission?
Father Weber: As Archbishop Burke explained, he established the
institute to help him to cultivate more fully sacred music in the
celebration of the complete Roman Rite.
The Institute will have many activities. First, it will form programs of
sacred music, especially Gregorian chant, for parish musicians,
musicians of other archdiocesan institutions and interested individuals.
Second, it will assist parishes with the singing of the Mass in English,
for example, the entrance antiphon, the responsorial psalm and the
Communion antiphon. Third, it hopes to foster the singing the Liturgy of
the Hours.
A fourth activity of the institute is assisting parishes that wish to
develop a "schola cantorum" for singing Gregorian chant; a fifth goal is
aiding the full implementation of the English translation of the Roman
Missal in the archdiocese.
Lastly, the institute aims to give particular assistance to the programs
of sacred music at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis and at
Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
Q: Is there a difference between sacred music and religious music?
Father Weber: Although the two terms are often used interchangeably, we
can make a distinction.
Sacred music, properly speaking, is music that is united to a sacred
text —
especially psalms and other scriptural texts and texts of the Mass, such
as the Introit, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, etc., and it includes
certain traditional hymns that are
—
or have been
—
part of the official liturgical books.
The authority of the Church must confirm all the liturgical texts; these
sacred words are not to be altered in setting them to music.
All sacred music is “religious music,” obviously. But religious music
would encompass everything from classic hymns to contemporary songs with
a religious theme in a wide variety of styles and varying quality. Not
all religious music is suitable for sacred worship, certainly.
Ultimately, it is the responsibility of competent authority
—
i.e., the bishop or the Holy See
—
to determine the suitability of all religious music for sacred worship,
even though parish musicians will usually choose the music for a parish
Mass and other liturgical celebrations.
All Church musicians need to be able to make truly informed choices
about appropriate music for use in the liturgy, based on authentic
Church teaching. This is not always easy, nor is the choice simply a
matter of taste.
Q: Many complain about popular or secular forms of music creeping into
the liturgy, but this has been a perennial problem for the Church. What
causes this recurring problem, and how have the great renaissances in
sacred music such as those fostered by Palestrina and Pope St. Pius X
turned the tide?
Father Weber: Yes, you could say that the concern about secular
—
or frankly anti-Christian
—
musical styles supplanting sacred music in worship is perennial
—
though it may manifest itself differently in different cultures and
historical periods.
For example, in early centuries, all music other than chanting was
strictly forbidden by Church authorities, because use of musical
instruments had strongly pagan associations.
In the 19th century, the style of opera had so greatly influenced Church
music that Pope St. Pius X warned strongly against this “profane” music,
and forbade composing music imitating operatic styles. He initiated the
20th Century Liturgical Movement by his 1903 document, “Tra le
Sollecitudini.”
In particular he encouraged Gregorian chant, which he said in the third
paragraph of the document, “has always been regarded as the supreme
model for sacred music,” thus “it is fully legitimate to lay down the
following rule: The more closely a composition for Church approaches in
its movement, inspiration and savor the Gregorian form, the more sacred
and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that
supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple.”
It was Pope Pius X, also, who coined the phrase “active participation”
of the people. And he also said in paragraph five of the document that
“modern music is also admitted to the Church, since it, too, furnishes
compositions of such excellence, sobriety and gravity, that they are in
no way unworthy of the liturgical functions.”
After the Second Vatican Council it was the pop and folk style music of
the late 1960s and 1970s that dominated newly composed music for worship
—
Catholic and Protestant. Despite the Constitution on the Liturgy’s
emphasis on the “pride of place” for Gregorian chant in the liturgy, the
council’s teaching was ignored, and chant virtually disappeared.
The reasons for this are many and complex. But one major element was
plain confusion and misunderstanding. The liturgical reform following
the Council was astoundingly rapid, and serious upheavals in the secular
world of those times also affected the anti-authoritarian mood within
the Church.
This was played out dramatically in the liturgy. Changes were made
precipitously with too little consultation with the bishops.
During the papacy of Pope John Paul II, we began to see a sober
reassessment of the post-conciliar liturgical changes, culminating in
his last encyclical, “Ecclesia de Eucharistia.”
The present “renaissance” in liturgical music we are now seeing is in
large part due to Pope Benedict XVI and his many scholarly works on the
subject even before he became pope.
The historic heritage of sacred music, then, always serves as an
indispensable teacher and model of what best serves the celebration of
sacred worship, and leads worshipers to greater holiness.
Part 2
Father Samuel Weber on Sacred Music Institute
By Annamarie Adkins
ST. LOUIS, Missouri, 6 JULY 2008 (ZENIT)
Although learning Gregorian Chant might imply a little effort from
parishioners, the end result is worth it, says the director of the
Institute for Sacred Music in St. Louis.
Archbishop Burke, who has since been named to head the Apostolic
Signature, the Church's supreme court, appointed Benedictine Father
Samuel Weber as the first director of the new institute earlier this
year.
Father Weber is a professor in the divinity school of Wake Forest
University in North Carolina and also a monk of the St. Meinrad
Archabbey in Indiana.
In Part 2 of this interview with ZENIT, Father Weber discusses why he
thinks chant is "the song that [God] wants to hear from our lips and our
hearts."
Part 1 of this interview appeared Friday.
Q: Why did the Second Vatican Council state that Gregorian chant
should be given "pride of place" in the Church's liturgy?
Father Weber: The Second Vatican Council's constitution on the
liturgy, "Sacrosanctum Concilium," as well as numerous statements of the
Popes and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal [GIRM], teach us
that Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony
—
that is, sacred music sung in harmony
—
such as compositions of Palestrina, are to enjoy "pride of place" in
sacred worship.
This means that chant is not only to be in common use in the liturgy,
but it is also to provide examples and inspirations for new
compositions.
The reason for this is to assure a genuine organic development in the
sacred music Catholics experience in worship
—
in continuity with the Church's history, and transcending limitations of
time and cultures.
Understanding and appreciating this universality in Catholic music
for worship might be seen as one facet of the obedience of faith.
We need to remember, of course, that the Council teaches under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. God is telling us both how he wants to
be worshiped, and what best serves the religious needs of those gathered
for sacred rites.
Before all else, worship is about God. It is the duty of the creature
to know, love and serve the Creator, and to render to God the service of
prayer, praise and thanksgiving that is his due.
Worship is about us, the creatures, only insofar as we desire with
all our hearts to serve God as he tells us he wants to be served.
Historically, Gregorian chant is in direct, organic development with
ancient cantilation
—
chanting —
patterns of the psalms in temple and synagogue. This was the background
and experience of the first Christians. So our chanting today is in
direct relationship with theirs.
One can see, then, that when we sing the chant, we are truly "in
connection" with our fathers and mothers in the faith.
Jesus, Mary and Joseph heard and sang many of these patterns of
sacred chant in synagogue and temple worship. The apostles, the martyrs,
the great saints whose witness continues to inspire us today, were all
nourished on these traditions of sacred chanting.
Even the saints and blesseds of our own day
—
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, St. Gianna Beretta
Molla, for example
—
all sang, heard and knew the chant and the traditions of sacred music
inspired by the chant.
They were formed in this "school of sacred music" that is the chant,
and, to borrow a phrase from St. Athanasius, the "gymnasium of spiritual
exercises" that is the Psalter
—
the Psalms of David.
I think, too, of my grandparents and parents, so many beloved family
members, teachers and friends, who have gone before us "marked with the
sign of faith."
How they loved the sacred chants, and passed them on to me with
piety, devotion and reverence. What an opportunity to participate in the
Communion of Saints. What could be richer or more spiritually
satisfying?
Gregorian chant serves the word of God. It has no other purpose than
to draw us to the sacred text, especially the Psalms, and to enable us
to treasure God's word ever more deeply in our hearts.
It is entirely free of anything that is contrary to the faith, free
of purely human agendas or experiences that lead us away from God's will
and plan for us. To use the language of our computer age: The chant is
"safe and secure." No viruses can enter.
Q: Benedict XVI has given a number of speeches discussing the
importance of preserving the Church's heritage of sacred music, and a
number of documents have been issued by the Holy See calling the
universal Church back to that grand tradition, yet little seems to have
changed on the ground. Why is there resistance to what should be seen as
a form of Vatican II's concept of "ressourcement," that is, return to
the sources?
Father Weber: Perhaps it is not so much resistance as a lack of
communication and ineffective teaching that stalled things.
Pope Benedict is tireless in his teaching
—
even before he became Pope
—
for example, "A New Song for the Lord." An accomplished musician
himself, he fully understands the power of music on the human heart,
thus the central role of music in the liturgy.
Clearly, part of our task is to help "get the word out." I think we
can already see many positive results of the recent actions of the Holy
See concerning the liturgy.
For one thing, there is a growing interest among Catholic people in
reviving their immensely rich heritage of music and art, and a real
desire for greater beauty, reverence and solemnity in worship.
But when there is actual resistance? In the end, I believe that this
comes down to the perpetual struggle between good and evil. God is
constantly giving us all the grace we need to know, love and serve him.
But we are tempted by the devil, and suffer under the effects of
original sin, so we sometimes make choices that, sadly, draw us away
from God our Creator, and even extinguish the fire of love in our
hearts.
It is the duty of all the pastors
—
that God in his love has given us
—
to call people back to that which will bring us true peace and
blessedness. With great wisdom, over the centuries the popes, the
Councils, have understood the importance of sacred music, art,
architecture and ritual in the spiritual formation of the human person.
As a result, they have never ceased to teach us about the care that
must be exercised in cultivating all sacred arts that serve divine
worship.
Now it is our job to receive this teaching and implement it in our
lives for our spiritual good.
Q: The book "Why Catholics Can't Sing" highlighted the abysmal state
of congregational singing present in most American parishes. Why do you
think parishes will be able to handle Gregorian chant? Isn't that harder
to sing?
Father Weber: The author, Thomas Day, suggested
—
among other things
—
that people don't sing because the music they often encounter at Mass is
not really worth the effort. Silence is one response to music that is
inappropriate
—
whether from the standpoint of aesthetics or theology.
Another factor is the disappearance of choirs from parishes, since
choirs can effectively lead and encourage congregational singing.
It's encouraging to know that many people who are discovering chant
for the first time are so strongly attracted by its beauty and solemnity
that they want to become a part of its revival.
Speaking from experience, I would agree that Gregorian chant may
require a greater discipline, more attention and sacrifice of time and
energy in order to "make it happen" in our parishes.
But difficulty is not a real impediment.
In our American society we greatly value sports. I'm a Green Bay
Packers fan myself, rabid, actually. I'm really grateful to the Packers
for all the hours they spend in practice and preparation for their
games. All the sacrifices they make. It's worth it.
The payoff is really something awesome. We, the fans, would settle
for no less. Doesn't this same expectation apply to the things of God?
It really isn't that hard to understand, is it?
St. Augustine taught the people of Hippo: "Cantare amantis est."
Singing is characteristic of a lover. If the supreme love is, as we
believe, between Christ, the Bridegroom, and the Church, his Bride
—
can any effort be spared to express this love in true beauty? Is any
sacrifice too much?
We don't have to guess at the song. This tremendous Lover of ours
tells us the song that he wants to hear from our lips and our hearts.
This is our Catholic faith. What more need be said? Let us begin!
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