Liturgical Music Suckage

I was wondering if you had any thoughts on the role of music–especially non-traditional–during the liturgy, or know of any writers who have addresed this. To wit: I went to Mass in a neighboring parish the other day, and all of the music was organ, choir, and a drummer. And by drummer I mean it sounded like Keith Moon was up there. I found this especially troubling during communion, when he was literally pounding on the drums like this was a rock concert, all while people were trying to pray. When the hymn was done, there was a round of applause. Now, I know that the Mass is the Mass is the Mass, but I just found this offputting, especially when afterwards my 7-year old daughter was asking me why we don’t have music like that in our church. Anyway, just wondering if you had any thoughts or could recommend some reading.

As a resident of the Soviet of Washington, I have endured my share of “Hey! Check me out! I’m a MUSIC MINISTER!” “ministry”. We all have, no doubt, our horror stories. I figure there are two basic ways to approach such matters. One is to lose your Christianity and call it “righteous anger” (a favorite approach of the anger addicts so often found in the reactionary dissent wing of the Church who snort bitterness like crystal meth and tell themselves they are thereby accomplishing some great good for the Kingdom of God). I have never seen any good–any good whatsoever–proceed from this approach. All it does is corrode and destroy the life of grace in the soul, alienate people who might otherwise have been attracted to the faith, and ensure that harried priests and music ministers who might otherwise be open to reason are frightened off by that pissed-off guy in the back pew who does nothing but murmur, grumble and complain.

My own approach, since I don’t know nuthin’ ’bout music, has been to regard my musical sufferings at the hands of the incompetent, the vain, the deliberately distracting, the Liberal Improver, and the sheerly dreadful as a very minor form of white martyrdom. In short, on the whole, this form of suffering is generally preferable to being hung upside down and slowly drowned in human excrement like the Hiroshima Martyrs. If this is the biggest problem I have facing me as a Catholic, I’m sitting pretty.

That said, of course, there is, as well, the fact that some music comes close to (and some music actually constitutes,) if not sacrilege, then at least an assault on the ears, on good theology, and on the prayers of the people (as in your case). Reactionary dissenters are often very quick to leap to ‘sacrilege’ as the charge. I’m not so convinced. Often music ministers are doing the best they know how with a willing heart of praise. To spit on their efforts too swiftly may put you in the position of spitting on the widow offering her mite: something I would not advise having on your resume at the Pearly Gates. But other times, you may really be dealing with the raw insertion of ego into the liturgy (I remember a woman in our parish who just could not refrain from jamming in a lick from Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” at the end of the (admittedly dreadful) “Sing of the Lord’s Goodness” (both are in 5/4 time).) All it did was shout “Hey! Look at me! Aren’t I witty?”

The first recommendation of the tradition to such little mustaches being painted on the Mona Lisa of the Mass is prayer. If we feel anger (and emotions will do what they do) then our task is to turn it to action, not just sit there stewing. A quiet and supportive word to the pastor–mainly emphasizing that you appreciate his hard work, while sandwiching in some positive way of directing the music toward its focus (i.e. God, and not the music ministers or our celebration of our Usness), with another slice of living bread again thanking him for his hard work and pledging what support you can give him–can go a long way. It’s more or less what you want to hear on your job, right? Do you want to hear “You suck, you incompetent moron! Do better!” or do you want to hear “I’m with you all the way. Here’s a place I think could improve the already fantastic job you are doing so that you will rock even more!”

One thing our parish did was simply: hire a fantastic liturgist, the awe-inspiring Jesson Mata. But, alas, guys like him don’t come along every day. Still, it is a hopeful sign that, if we can get people like this in the barren desert that is the Soviet of Washington, then there is hope anywhere.