Quotable Quote 14
Pope Benedict XVI after attending a concert in his honour said, "Sacred polyphony is a legacy that must be carefully conserved, maintained alive and made known ... [It will] benefit not only to scholars and enthusiasts, but to the ecclesial community as a whole, for which it represents an inestimable spiritual, artistic and cultural heritage ... An authentic updating of sacred music cannot occur except in line with the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian Chant, and of sacred polyphony."
The Holy Father's comment prompts one to ask if what is played in Churches today is sacred music and here I am not making any judgment upon the songs per se but rather a lexical or linguistic enquiry. Or to put it another way, does any and all music performed in Church for ecclesial and liturgical purposes constitute sacred music? If so, then it is difficult to comprehend how most contemporary pieces are in keeping with the great tradition of the past. If not, then it is equally difficult to comprehend why it is being played.
PS I have nothing against pieces by JM Neale, the Wesleys and Moody & Sankey, for which one can actually identify a link with the Church's musical heritage.
The Holy Father's comment prompts one to ask if what is played in Churches today is sacred music and here I am not making any judgment upon the songs per se but rather a lexical or linguistic enquiry. Or to put it another way, does any and all music performed in Church for ecclesial and liturgical purposes constitute sacred music? If so, then it is difficult to comprehend how most contemporary pieces are in keeping with the great tradition of the past. If not, then it is equally difficult to comprehend why it is being played.
PS I have nothing against pieces by JM Neale, the Wesleys and Moody & Sankey, for which one can actually identify a link with the Church's musical heritage.
posted by Lactantius at
3:38 pm
