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“Sacred music, being a complementary part of the solemn liturgy, participates in the general scope of the liturgy, which is the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful.” – Tra le sollecitudini, Pope St. Pius X[1]
Among the various styles of music that have gained prominence in the post-Vatican II era, the traditional style, which is least vulnerable to the great innovations of this period and shows the greatest continuity with past musical tradition, has shown the strongest adherence to the general instructions of the Vatican throughout the past century. Traditional hymns such as Lift High the Cross, Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones, and Holy God We Praise Thy Name, drawn from repertoires decades old, are relatively immune to the folk and populist influences so common in newer church music and can be justifiably qualified as sacred and edifying. However, the music which should have “pride of place”- Gregorian chant- is relatively rare in Catholic churches.
As suggested by Pope Pius X’s seminal motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini, Gregorian chant must be used as the standard against which all sacred music is compared. Insofar as most traditional hymns are not overtly anthropocentric- perhaps one of the greatest flaws of post-Vatican II music- and are lyrically directed to divine worship, these compositions are praiseworthy. Being composed in older, more classically-oriented styles, traditional hymns preclude the congregation from excessive participation and innovation.
However, the implementation of Gregorian chant in the traditional sphere, with the exception of its use during solemn seasons, has been at best condescending in that it is widely considered as an exceptional embellishment of Masses where newer music otherwise predominates. In the May 1998 edition of the New Oxford Review, author William J Abbott described the new trends of the Catholic Church as follows: “The Church seems to be choosing to represent herself to the world - and to her worried children like me - as in decline not just artistically, but liturgically and inspirationally. The Catholic Church - for the first time in history - seems to have gone tone-deaf.”[2] While Gregorian chant is very much rooted in Scripture, even traditional hymns are mainly traditional poems or the acclamatory praises of individuals set to music. As such, they may not be as effective in edifying the faithful through scriptural exposure than would be chant.
Objections aside, compared to the widespread folk and ethnically-oriented music typical of the post-Vatican II era, the hymns and chants of decades past are perhaps the last remaining anchors to the greater tradition of sacred music that can be found, with the major exception of Gregorian chant.
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