Neuhaus on the Nationals Park Mass: "For Benedict, aesthetics is never mere aesthetics"

Fr. Richard J. Neuhaus caused quite a ruckus with his "somewhat critical" remarks about the way Mass was celebrated at Washington National's Park on EWTN. In "Benedict and Beauty" (First Things' "On the Square" April 25, 2008) he responds to his critics:

Where to begin? The matter of taste—or, if you will, aesthetics—enters into it, no doubt. But the problem with the way the liturgy and music was handled is that it focused attention on the gathered people and the performers rather than on what Christ is doing in the Eucharist. It was a display of preening multiculturalism that proclaimed, “Look at us wonderfully diverse people exhibiting our wonderfully diverse talents!” I should add that this was the impression more powerfully conveyed on television, which was what I saw from the broadcast studio. Some people who were in the stadium and participating in the Mass tell me they hardly noticed the sundry musical performances, except as a vague background noise. They were the fortunate ones.

No doubt there are many parishes where people regularly suffer worse than what was perpetrated at Nationals Park. For the most part it was bad music competently performed. But one expects better, one expects much better, at a papal Mass. Especially when the pope is one who has been so very explicit in his views on liturgical and musical practices. ...

To those who dismiss his remarks as a merely aesthetic dispute, Neuhaus cites a strikingly applicable excerpt from Ratzinger's Feast of Faith. He concludes:

I do not wish to be too hard on those who planned the celebration at Nationals Park. It was, sad to say, not unrepresentative of much Catholic worship in our time. The planners and the performers no doubt meant well, but it is worthy of remark that at a papal Mass there was so much that reflected an ignorance of, or defiance of, the very considered views of the pope.

Amy Welborn on Benedict's attachment to "tradition" & Vatican II

Et Cum Spiritu Tuo, by Amy Welborn ("A Papal Discussion") - Amy Welborn gives the New York Times a brief lesson on Benedict's understanding of the liturgy and continuity:

The popular way of characterizing Benedict’s support of these elements in liturgy is some rather undefined attachment to “tradition,” leaving the impression that it’s all about taste, aesthetics or a fear of the new.

But that doesn’t even come close to what Benedict’s program is about.

As a Vatican II Baby (born in 1960, totally post-Vatican II formation), I can tell you that the religious sensibility of the time in which I was catechized was totally about the “new.” The Church had dispensed with all the nonsense of most of the past 2,000 years as culturally bound, confining accretions, and it was time to move on. Wasn’t that what Vatican II was all about?

[...]

Benedict is all about saying: “Wait. Maybe not.”

The best and briefest synthesis of Benedict’s thinking on this can be found in the letter accompanying his “Motu Proprio” loosening restrictions on the pre-Vatican II Mass (not the “Latin Mass” for the root text of even the post-Vatican II missal is Latin).

In it, he wrote: “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.”

There is a lot more to say about this — for example, practical reasons that every Catholic should be familiar with the Latin text of the Mass — why, in a multicultural church, should mixed congregations either have to be subject to the cultural imperialism of one ethnic group’s language (aka. English) or cut at the symbolism of the unity we share by using a number of different languages? Isn’t it more powerful to have all of praying in a shared, ancient language with a sacred resonance?

As Amy goes on to admit, "although I am very supportive of the Pope’s action “freeing” the Extraordinary Form (pre-Vatican II Mass), that form of the Mass is not something I am entirely comfortable with" -- but the more she reads of Pope Benedict's thought on the liturgy, she is "resting less easy with my dismissal of that form." Being a convert and one solely accustomed to the Novus Ordo ("New Mass"), and only recently discovering the riches of centuries prior, I can relate.

Washington Post on the "Liturgy Wars" and the Benedict Generation

"Between Medieval And Folk, Two Mass Audiences" Hank Stuever of the Washington Post takes a look at the "liturgical music wars":

Imagine a bizarro world where all the 25-year-olds want Mozart and all the 60-year-olds want adult-contemporary. The kids think the adults are too wild. The backlash against "Kumbaya Catholicism" has anyone under 40 allegedly clamoring for the Tridentine Mass in Latin, while the old folks are most sentimental about Casual Sunday (even more rockin', the Saturday vigil Mass), and still cling to what's evolved from the lite-rock guitar liturgies of the 1970s. The result, for most parishes, has been decades of Masses in which no one is entirely satisfied, and very few enjoy the music enough to sing along.

"The great majority [of Catholics] are totally inert at Mass," says Thomas Day, 65, a humanities and music professor at Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. Day wrote a book called "Why Catholics Can't Sing: The Culture of Catholicism and the Triumph of Bad Taste," which is often cited by those who'd like to see a return to Mass music that is to them more sacred. "Most Catholics have either forgotten or never knew traditional music," Day says.

The great enemy in the Benedict era? Why, somehow, it's Sister and her guitar.

New York's papal events feature Pope's German classical favorites

The Journal News' Georgette Gouveia profiles Jennifer Pascual, St. Patrick cathedral's music director and supervisor of music for the papal visit in New York city. The article begins with a description of what is an unfortunately all too common sight at contemporary Catholic parishes:

It's got to be the bane of any church organist-music director's existence - the faithful beating a hasty retreat to the parking lot before the final hymn. But Jennifer Pascual - who has a devilish sense of humor for one who works in sacred music - isn't worried about that happening when she conducts the music for Masses at St. Patrick's Cathedral and Yankee Stadium on April 19 and 20, respectively. Both services are, after all, being held in honor of Pope Benedict XVI.

"There'll be no cutting out after Communion," she says. . . .

The musical program devised by Pascal includes a good number of the Holy Father's favorite classical composers:

In selecting the music for the pope's visit, Pascual worked closely with her current boss, Egan.

"Because this is a papal visit, and the pope is from Germany, we wanted to target German-speaking composers," she says. "At the same time, we've tried to make it people-friendly."

The result is a mix of classical and contemporary favorites as well as lesser-known German works. At the cathedral, the faithful will recognize Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's poignant "Ave Verum" - the last work he wrote - and that rousing closer "Holy God, We Praise Thy Name" ("Grosser Gott, wir loben Dich"). But they will also hear selections from Josef Rheinberger's "Mass in C major." The Yankee Stadium Mass features Charles Gounod's "Hymnus Pontificius," the Vatican anthem; the paschal hymn "Jesus Is Risen," sung in English and Spanish; "How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place," from Johannes Brahms' "Ein deutsches Requiem"; and selections from Ludwig van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9 in D minor," including the stirring finale that inspired the hymn "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee," which will also close the liturgy.

St. Joseph's of Yorkville has the Johann Sebastian Bach motet "Lobet den Herrn, alle Heiden," along with the crowd-pleasing "Now Thank We All Our God" ("Nun danket alle Gott").

For the prayer meeting with disabled youths at St. Joseph's Seminary, the Cathedral of St. Patrick Young Singers will perform François Couperin's motet "Christo resurgenti" as well as "Take Lord, Receive," which the New York Archdiocesan Deaf Choir will sign. The outdoor rally will have a contemporary flavor with such post-Vatican II staples as "City of God" and "One Bread, One Body," along with Kelly Clarkson's appearance.

"A mostly wonderful list", says Jeffrey Tucker @ The New Liturgical Movement, reviewing the complete roster of the music being performed at the various events.

Related

• Jennifer Pascual page at EastWestOrganists.com

No! Not Marty Haugen! -- Say it isn't so!

Sanctus for the Pope's Mass: Haugen's Mass of Creation The New Liturgical Movement March 16, 2008 - Jeffrey Tucker has a bone to pick regarding the music selection for the Pope's Mass in Washington:

The music in New York and at Vespers in Washington at the Shrine is forward looking and impressive. It seems impossible that at the Pope's April 17th Mass in Washington, D.C., that anyone could possibly schedule The Mass of Creation by Marty Haugen,: the Sanctus, the "Great Amen," and Agnus Dei. Composed in 1984 (I think), with obvious Broadway influence and overdone melodrama, it has been an unrelenting presence in parishes all over the country. In fact, it is legendarily over used, in every season, again and again and again, so much so that these parts of the Mass sometimes seems like the movie Groundhog Day.

[...]

"God of Power, God of Might." "Jesus, Lamb of God." The text departs not only from the Latin but even from the ICEL translation approved for English use. In this sense--and it is a small thing with big symbolic importance--how could it be possible that this setting would be used at a Mass celebrated by the Pope?

[...]

Surely, organizers would not shun this for Benedict XVI and surely they would not bypass this in favor of what might be the most embarrassing aspect of American liturgy? What signal would the organizers be sending to the Pope by scheduling the Mass of Creation by Marty Haugen? That America is stuck in the past, refuses to update itself, refuses the aesthetic leadership of the Vatican, refuses even the approved texts of the Mass, refuses to get passed the confused times of the postconciliar era and embrace the new times, and refuses to make the larger tradition of our faith a living presence in our lives?

[...] So who is responsible? The name that keeps coming up is Thomas V. Stehle, who directs music at Our Lady of Mercy, in Potomac, Maryland. (He is also available to be hired as a consultant on architecture.) The diocesan paper announced that he would be organizing the music for the Pope's visit, and here is what he said is guiding him when it comes to making musical choices:

"The most important thing to me is that everyone present is fully engaged," he said. "The music is aimed at allowing the assembly to take up its role and not just be spectators, but full participants in the celebration, no matter where they are sitting."

Well, it so happens that Cardinal Ratzinger wrote an entire book, The Spirit of the Liturgy, to explode this anthropocentric, community-obsessed view of liturgy. In his writings, he actually said of this perspective, that liturgy is all about maximizing the singing of the congregation, is "insipid pedagogic rationalism."

Do the organizers of this Mass care at all about the cause to which this Pope is so obviously dedicated? Are they seeking to say: your cause is not our cause?

This isn't responsible liturgical planning. This is an insult. American Catholics should be deeply embarrassed and outraged.

Perhaps it's high time to introduce the Holy Father (and Thomas Stehle) to the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of Marty Haugen and David Haas?

(100+ comments and counting - join the debate!)

New Revised List for New York Liturgical Events

Pope2008.com (maintained by Tim Drake of the National Catholic Register) has published a revised list of the music for the New York liturgical events during the Pope's visit provided him by Dr. Jennifer Pascal, who says:

Throughout the three days of Pope Benedict’s visit to New York, there will be a lot of music accompanying the Papal ceremonies and liturgies.

For our German Pontiff, primarily German music will be featured at the Ecumenical service at St. Joseph’s Parish on the Upper East Side, which was originally a German parish.

Young musicians of our Archdiocese will be providing music for the events at St. Joseph's Seminary, both inside the chapel and outdoors on seminary grounds. Music that is more contemporary and familiar to youth will be featured.

For the Mass at the Cathedral of St. Patrick and Yankee Stadium, an eclectic spectrum of styles is the goal. Gregorian chant - the most revered form of music in the Church, Renaissance music, music of the master composers such as Victoria, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Rheinberger, and Perosi will be featured as well as traditional and contemporary hymnody to encourade full and active participation in the liturgies as mandated by the documents of the Church. With an increasing Spanish-speaking population in the Archdiocese and throughout the United States, the use of bilingual hymnody, the norm at our Cathedral, will also be utilized at both Masses. Talented composers and arrangers from around the country and Canada are contributing to this visitation by composing new works and arranging existing works for orchestra.

St. are contributing musically to this visitation by composing new works and arranging existing works for orchestra.

The Yankee Stadium Mass music will be led by a 200-voice mass choir and 58-piece orchestra that will be situated behind home plate.

Click here for the list of the exact musical selections, composers and arrangers that will be used for each event or liturgy, and the music personnel involved.

Samuel Weber to compose original chants for Papal Visit / Private Mass

WFU professor writes chants for Pope's U.S. visit - Wake Forest University Divinity School profiles Samuel Weber, associate professor of early Christianity and spiritual formation and composer of original chants for Benedict's visit to Washington DC:

The chants will be sung during Evening Prayer at 5:30 p.m. April 16 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception with Pope Benedict XVI presiding, and during a private mass with the Holy Father at the Apostolic Nunciature (Papal Embassy) the following morning.

"I am deeply honored to have a small part to play in the preparation of this vesper service,” says Weber. He composed original chant melodies for the antiphons, which are scriptural verses sung before and after the Psalms and Canticles of Vespers. Peter Latona, Basilica director of music, invited Weber to compose the chants and has created polyphonic settings based on Weber’s chants. During the service, the antiphons will be sung by the 24-member Choir of the Basilica in plain chant before the Psalms and Canticles of Vespers, and then repeated afterward in full harmony.

Weber, a Roman Catholic priest and Benedictine monk, says the decision to use chant melodies reflects the aesthetic and tradition at the heart of prayer life in the Roman Catholic Church. “Historically, sacred compositions were based on the chant melodies which formed the core of liturgical music.”

• Samuel F. Weber Faculty Homepage

Tom Stehle, "D.C.'s Music Man"

Tim Drake of the National Catholic Register catches up with Tom Stehle, the pastoral associate for liturgy and music at Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church in Potomac, MD -- and currently serving as the director of music for the Papal Mass in Washington, DC.

Meet Thomas Stehle . . .

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles Thomas Stehle, music director for the papal mass in Washington:

When Pope Benedict XVI celebrates Mass for 45,000 people at the new ballpark in Washington, D.C., a musician from Western Pennsylvania will lead the hallelujahs.

Thomas Stehle, a Butler native, will oversee a 250-voice choir, a gospel choir, a multicultural choir, a children's choir and an orchestra at the April 17 Mass. He's in sensitive negotiations with yet-to-be-identified famous singers. This is on top of his duties as director of music at a parish in Potomac, Md.

The papal post came as a surprise to Mr. Stehle, who hadn't applied. He expected it to go to a director at the cathedral or the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

"When I first heard that the pope was coming, there was a little sense of relief that I wasn't in a position where I would necessarily be called to do this," he said. "It's a wonderful honor, but the responsibility is tremendous."

He was prepared for it, he said, by years of service at parishes in the Pittsburgh area. . . . [More]

Related

• Thomas Stehle named director of music for upcoming Papal Liturgy in Washington Catholic Standard January 23, 2008.