Newspaper Page Text
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C. A. PELOQUIN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1964 GEORGIA BULLETIN PAGE 7
English In Mass Said
To Complicate Music
BY JOSEPH D. McLELLAN
(N.C.W.C. NEWS SERVICE)
BOSTON—Summing up the
current Church music situation,
C, Alexander Peloquin obser
ved: “For the people in the
vernacular movement, the
vernacular movement, the bat
tle is won; for usliturgists, it*s
just beginning,*’
Peloquin, a teacher, com
poser and conductor who might
be called the Leonard Bernstein
of Catholic music in the United
States, interrupted one of the
busiest schedules borne by any
musician on this continent for
a brief interview here.
WITH THE advent of the Mass
in English (an event that Pelo-
quin’s music ushered in re
soundingly at the recent Li
turgical Week in St. Louis)
musicians face an overwhelm
ing task. Briefly, everything
has to be done over again, made
new. Not only must music be
made for the new liturgical lan
guage, but its forms must be
revised to accomodate a new
element—the participating con
gregation.
Ail oi a sudden, diction be
comes an overwhelming con
cern, not only to the choir but
to the composer, because the
liturgy will be in the language
of the people. A false accent,
a lengthening of the wrong syl
lable, a musical line that does
not really suit the sense of the
words, a muddling of parts that
obscures the text, might have
been borne in Latin, because
most people in the congrega
tion were not quite sure what
was being sung. Now, with Eng
lish texts, these things will
stand out like a sore thumb.
The new liturgy will force an
improvement in Church music.
SETTING music to English
words requires a treatment dif
ferent from Latin, Peloquin no
ted. The style has to be syl-
at all. Even when they are (just
barely) possible, English vo
wels will not bear the kind of
elaboration that is possible in
Latin or Italian, Peloquin re-
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marked. There are also strong
ly - marked stress - accents
which must be accommodated,
and often ambiquous syllabic
quantities which can lead an
unwary composer into pitfalls.
Music written for one lan
guage can be accomodated to an
other, but it usually “feels
wrong.*' Peloquin has already
been asked to adapt his most
popular Mass, the “Missa
Christus Rex** for an English
text, but wonders whether it will
not need too many changes.
*This does not mean that
English is an unsingable lan
guage,*’ Peloquin said, “mere
ly that it must be sung in its
own way. Nobody can tell me
that Shakespeare’s language is
unmusical.*’
The vistas opened for com
posers by the new English li
turgy are almost unbounded,
he noted.
“With a Latin liturgy, there
was not much room for new
compositions — an occasional
motet and, of course, Masses.
But now, there is room for
everything — all the Propers,
for example, ” Peloquin said,
and his eyes gleamed at the
prospect of all those English
words waiting for new music.
THE GROWING participation
of congregations in the Mass
reached an epitome at the Li
turgical Week, where Mr. Pelo
quin conducted a choic of 400
and a congregation of 12,000
in the first Latin Rite Mass
sung in English in the United
States. One thing that this Mass
proved, he said, is that con
gregations can be taught to join
in the misic of the Mass.
‘The effect in sight and sound
was indescribable," said Pelo
quin 'These vast canyons of
humanity hurling to heaven a
Joyous sound—with a great de
gree of precision.*
The inspiration of a congre
gation singing with all its heart,
enjoying it and making it a pray
er does not just happen, of
course. It is the result of hard
work by a composer who has
produced a melodic line easily
learned but attractive and cap
able of development. And this
is only part of it, for the con-
JAN
FEIN
m
APA
gregation and its music must
be integrated with other ele
ments in an effective form—the
choir, celebrant and accompa
niment must all contribute to
a total effect.
The accompaniement, by the
way, is usually an organ, but
Peloquin would like to see more
use of brass, percussion and
other instruments, where they
are appropriate. One of his re-
ceKf compositions, a Magnificat
for the jubilee of Mother An
gela, abbess of Mount St. Mary
Trappistine abbey, Wrentham,
Mass., includes oboes, clari
nets, horns, bassoon, string
bass and tympani.
PELOQUIN said the Church
music composer's structural
problem falls into two broad
divisions. 1. He must write
the different kinds of music
appropriate for all his varied
performers, trained and un
trained, vocal and instrumental,
2. He must tie them together so
that they form a single, living
piece of music. (The key word,
perhaps, is 'living." "A lot of
Church music is dead even be
fore it is written,’* Peloquin
said—and thousands of weary
c o n g regations and
choirs agree.)
Besides structure, naturally,
there is the problem of quality.
It must be good music, attrac
tive both to the performer and
to the listener. And, being re
ligious music, it must also
have the quality of reverence.
Using sacred texts, it must
clarify the word and reinforce
its meaning, the composer no
ted.
In his psalm—settings for the
Mass at the Liturgical Week,
Peloquin exemplified how these
requirements can be harmoniz
ed. Each setting has a refrain
(or antiphon) which may occur
as many as 20 times—a simple
melody for the congregation,
encompassing an octave or less,
in range and usually proceeding
step-fashion, so that there are
no awkward skips for the voice.
(In one antiphon, for Psalm
9-B, there are skips of a third,
which should be easily negoti
able to anyone able to sing
'Twinkle, twinkle, little star.")
Alternating with the refrain are
more elaborate verses for the
chorus, in which the composer
usually includes some thematic
material that recalls and deve
lops a motif in the refrain, thus
FATHER Richard Leary, C.P., principal of Drexel High presides over installation of new officers
of the Student Council. Kurt Hill was master of ceremonies. Officers are: Diane Comer, president;
George Terrell, vice-president; Michelle Smith, secretary; Bonnie Bohannon, corresponding sec
retary; Robert Harris, treasurer. Class, team and organization officers compose the rest of the
Council.
unifying the two separate ele
ments. One setting (Psalm 9-A)
uses semi - choruses for the
most complex sections and has
the full chorus sing the refrain
with enriched harmonies, alter
nating with the congregation.
In Psalm 33, the final appear
ance of the refrain has the cho
rus adding new elements to the
congregation's familiar melody.
ANOTHER way to achieve
unity within variety is to make
the congregation’s basic melody
“grow,*’ changing it slightly
at each new appearance so that,
the congregation learns as it
sings, Peloquin said.
All of these possibilities
should be explored in a spirit
of freedom tempered with re
verence, Peloquin said.
ONE RESULT of the explora
tion now beginning should be
development of a distinctly
American Church music, Pelo
quin said—a music will have
“the flexibility of Gregorian
Chant, the strength and general
appeal of our popular music.’’
One disadvantage of this de
velopment, and of the use of
English texts in the Mass, may
be a loss of internationality.
With the new liturgy, few Eu
ropean choirs will be using-
American compositions. This
is not a problem for most
composers, who have been ig
nored in Europe anyway. For
Peloquin, who has had 65 works
published, it represents some
loss, but it is far outweighed
by the new opportunities made
available.
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YOU CAN HELP unfortunate children such as these little
Korean youngsters by contributing clothing to the annual
Thanksgiving Clothing Collection to be conducted in all U.S.
Catholic parishes during November by Catholic Relief Serv-
ices-National Catholic Welfare Conference. In more than 70
countries, CRS-NCWC -distributes clothing according to
need, regardless of race, creed or color.
Let New Churches
Fit New Liturgy
DUBLIN (RNS) —New Catho
lic churches should be built
“not for the past, but for the
future” to help promote the
Church's reforms in the lit
urgy, a Congress on Sacred
Art and Architecture was told
here.
Father Urban Rapp, O.S.B.,
lecturer on Christian art, his
tory and archeology at Wurtz-
burg University in Germany,
said the Church was “at the
threshold of a new art in li
turgical development.*'
“CHURCHES as they have
been planned hitherto will not
be able to meet the demand of
the renewed liturgy as it is
beginning to develop, *' he said.
“We should not, therefore,
build churches for the past,
but for the future."
Speakg on the Vatican Coun
cil’s Constitution on the Li
turgy, Father Rapp cited a sen
tence from the document: “And
when churches are built let
great care be taken that they
are suitable for the celebration
of liturgical services and for the
active participation of the faith
ful."
ALTHOUGH this sentence is
today “taken for granted every
where," the priest commented,
"it is good to remember that
no Prince of the Church of the
Baroque period, no bishop of
the Gothic period and no abbot
of the Romanesque period would
have said or written such a sen
tence to his mastei>builder.
"It presupposes not only li
turgical awareness but an
awareness of modem principles
of architecture."
IN A keynote address, Pearse
Parents’ Dinner
The Parents’ Association of
Christ The King School will
meet Monday evening. October
19th. at 7;30 p.m. in the Cath
edral Center. The Guest Speak
ers will be Mr. Jim O’Callag
han and Congressman Charles
Weltner. A Scoial Hour will
follow the meeting.
English Masses
COVINGTON, Ky. (NC)--Eng-
lish was used in the Mass for
the first time in the state of
Kentucky during the annual
teachers* institute (Oct. 15 and
16) sponsored by the Coving
ton Diocesan Educational As
sociation. Bishop Richard H.
Ackerman gave permission for
the two Masses—a low Mass
and a high Mass—prior to the
general use of the vernacular
Mass scheduled to begin here
Nov. 29, as a means of in
structing diocesan teachers in
the new liturgy.
ANSWER TO
LAST WEEK’S PUZZLE
McKenna, president of the Royal
Institute of the Architects of
Ireland, noted that the congress
was being held to promote better
communciation among the cler
gy, laity and artists.
"We have felt that there has
been a lack of understanding be
tween these groups and this
is our effort to bring this en
counter to a head,”
counter to a head,’’ he said.
Prof. Patrick Quinn, an ex
pert on architecture from the
university of California in
Berkeley, said that through sa
cred music church members
could develop more profound
religious convictions. He said
the responsibility rested with
architects to design churches
conducive to the revitalization
of the sung liturgy.
’Therefore," he added, “the
building is not just a nice con
tainer giving a promise of nicer
things inside. It is an extension
pf tje jotirgu/"
of the liturgy.’’
Sacred Heart’s
Mission Sunday
Sermons ecumenical in na.
ture will feature the Mission
to be held at the Sacred
Heart Church, Ivy at Peach
tree, beginning October 25,
it has been announced by the
pastor, Father TTiomas J. Ros-
hetke.
The mission will be direct
ed by Father Walter Sulli
van, C. S. P. The missioner
is superior of the Paulist Mis
sion House at Detroit. He
will preach at all the Masses
on the opening Sunday. Mem
bers of all faiths have been in
vited. There will be a brief
talk on problems of “happy
and useful living*’ after each
mission Mass.
St Joseph
Glee Club
St. Joseph now has it’s own
all around Glee Club. Over 100
girls tried out during the week of
Oct. 5. Sister Ellen Yvonneejud
judged not only their singing,
but also their dancing and read
ing ability.
Purposes of the club, accord
ing to Sister Ellen Yvonne are
“to grow in womanliness and
spread joy." Club members will
be divided into groups that will
sing in hospitals and orphan
ages, They will lead the school
in hymns during First Friday
Masses. The Glee Club plans a
Christmas Program and
Spring Festival in which there
will be interpretive dancing and
choral speaking to supplement
the program.
Medical Center
ST. LOUIS (NC)—Plans to re
build and renovate the medical
center of St. Louis University
at a cost of $16,500,000 were
ap|f\)ved at a meeting of the
medical center council and lay
board of trustees of the Jesuit
operated institution.
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