Benedict XVI & Music

Beautiful (and apparently spontaneous) words about choral singing from the Holy Father:

"Training in singing, in singing in choir, is not only an exercise of the
external hearing and voice; it is also an education of interior hearing, the
hearing of the heart, an exercise and a education in life and peace," the Holy
Father said in his improvised remarks."Singing together in choir and with other
choirs together, demands attention to the other, attention to the composer,
attention to the conductor, attention to this totality that we call music and
culture. And," he added, "in this way singing in choir is a training in life, a
training in peace, a walking together." (Zenit News Agency, HT NPM listserv)

The Pope has taken a lot of flak from the same NPM user-group that called my attention to this article. It's nice to see that some positive opinions are out there, too.

Bulletin Blurb #3

for St. Jude's July 29 bulletin

How Can I Keep from Singing?
The song during the Preparation of the Gifts this weekend was written by Robert Wadsworth Lowry (1826-1899). Lowry was a 19th Century Baptist preacher who ministered at churches in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and served as chancellor of the University of Lewisburg (now Bucknell University).
He wrote hundreds of Gospel hymns, including “How Can I Keep from Singing” and “Shall We Gather at the River”. Ironically, he’s still renowned today for his music, though he would have preferred to be remembered as a preacher, having once said, “Music, with me has been a side issue... I would rather preach a gospel sermon to an appreciative audience than write a hymn. I have always looked upon myself as a preacher and felt a sort of depreciation when I began to be known more as a composer."

Adapted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Wadsworth_Lowry

My name is Greg & I'm a recovering NPM member...

I didn't miss the NPM National Convention in Indianapolis last week...I guess I'm showing my age. I had intended to go to a Choir Director's Institute to try and develop some choral leading and conducting skills, but it was canceled, so now there's really no excuse for getting all the filing and clean-up done this summer.
Amy Welborn cites 2 bloggers whose observations about the NPM convention resonate with me like a classic 'Before' and 'After' study.
Before: 'Overall the convention was great. I got to personally meet and talk to David Haas, Fr. John Foley, SJ, Fr. Roc O'Connor, SJ, Fr. Bob Dufford, SJ, Steve Angrisano, and Tom Booth! Totally awesome to get to discuss liturgy and music with the guys that are composing our church's music...Yes I know... I am Ben Story and I'm a Catholic music junkie.' Ben...you're not alone.
'As for the sessions themselves, they were generally good although most of mine turned into marketing seminars of sorts for the artists involved.' Methinks young Ben is on to something here.
After: 'Steven Warner’s opening address. Ok, much of it was good, but at one point he glorified the guitar Mass (enh...), talked about how we need a full implementation of Vatican II (yes...), and then turned and stated, “We do not need a reform of the reform!” (Applause ensued.) Whoa there, Wilbur! Many of us were feeling a mite uncomfortable, even unwelcome, after that - and this at a convention whose theme ostensibly was, “that all may be one”...Ricky Manalo’s plenum, all about multicultural issues, failed to mention even once the single most unifying element of our liturgy: the Latin language.' The Steven Warner remark about reform is a little scary, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt to the lack of context. In case you're unsure, I'd recommend you to what the Holy Father has written on the subject, or to what the servant of God John Paul II had to say about the same.

UPDATE - Here's the missing context (and it does soften the statement a bit) with a link to the entire Warner address (that also has some other provocative observations), courtesy of Todd Flowerday.

Chant 101

Why chant? What should be chanted? What settings are most effective?

Jeffrey Tucker at The New Liturgical Movement starts what looks to be an awesome series of posts that teaches about chant in terms that even an old rocker like me can understand.

Not that he needs them, but he also gets bonus points for the accuracy of his description of Catholic musician conversations and discussion boards.