Some of us take the injunction to "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord!" with great seriousness.

Patience, Robbo -- Gregorian chant is coming back.

My parish last year sang "A mighty fortress is our Lord" and I had to chuckle as I pointed out to Mrs. C. that the author was Martin Luther. I asked her whether she knew if the Tridentine anathemas had ever been removed.

Turns out, it was just a big misunderstanding -- see section 41.

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/documents/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_31101999_cath-luth-joint-declaration_en.html

I received from the Vatican this weekend my Latin edition of the liturgy of the hours, and I have to say, if Catholics do hymns poorly, it is only because the old Latin ones were taken away from us by the "spirit of Vatican II". Warbling through Marty Haugen, Dan Schutte, et al., (who as hymn authors more properly belong under the ban than Luther), has beaten the stuffing out of just about every Catholic congregation's collective will to sing. I, for one, would rather sing patriotic anthems in a Soviet labor camp than some of the St. Louis Jesuits' numbers.

Benedict has breathed a new seriousness into the Mass with the rejuvenation of the Extraordinary rite. Music is the next step. My hope is that my old school Jesuit-educated father gets to smile in heaven as he sees me get to sing "Tantum Ergo" (Makes your hair grow!, as he and his brothers used to jest) just like they used to in the old days.

But in the meanwhile, please keep singing . . .

Yes-indeedy, "Sing out, Louise!" (what's that from?)
As you know, I can hum a few bars of the exasperation with the dreck of the '70s. Today our ragtag choir tackled a bunch of stuff, and the congregation is beginning to show a thirst for it. Mostly old standard stuff like Proulx, and the Danish Amen (gotta start with the easy stuff). This finally comes after a few years of having a music director/organist who successfully drove away all the sourpuss choir members unused to change; and a couple of years of complaints about the "pomp" and "volume" when he plays a particularly glorious piece. Now the idea of "ceremony" is slowly emerging from the fog to take its rightful place in the liturgy.
And boy, do we sing out! We're also processing in with the others, and standing smack in the front for the opening hymn and Gloria before retreating to the loft - maybe that will make more people sing out, too.
We're just now waking from our loooooong national nightmare perched "On Eagles Wings", so pray that St. Cecilia can goose us back to life!

Well, I belted out "Joy To The World" this morning. And I go to a Presbyterian (PCA) church.

I'm in my Catholic church's choir, and cantor as well.

I'm guessing you sang O Come O Come Emmanuel, Wake O Wake To Greet The New Morn, and other Advent staples.

It's a little early for Joy To The World!

Not all Catholic churches are the same when it comes to parishioners singing. Sometimes they need a good choir to lead them, and lots of encouragement.

That's just because the singing gets in the way of the liturgical dancers....

ducks

I do miss the singing of my old church, although the musical selection was often terrible. In Churches of Christ all music is sung a capella and in four part harmony, it's very different from the Catholic way.

Thought I'd throw this in . .

http://closedcafeteria.blogspot.com/2007/12/usscb-music-doc-on-chant.html

The Bishops are talking the talk . . . but are they walking the walk?

Here's an odd tidbit I got in my email today:

Cantors, organists and choir members:

After a much heated debate at our regular staff meeting yesterday, Father NNNN has requested that while he is stationed at St. Ignatius we DO NOT sing "Missa Emmanuel".

As a priest and celebrant of the mass it is with in his power to make this request and as much as Monsignor YYYYY and I tried to change his mind, we failed.

If you wish a further explanation for Father NNNN's decision, you will have to discuss it with him personally as he offered me no liturgical reason.

I am very sorry for any confusion this may cause but it is out of my hands. We will have to substitute other mass parts for his masses. We can continue to use Missa Emmanuel for Monignor YYYYY and Monsignor ZZZZZ.

Whassup wit dat? I did a little search, and found that perhaps Father objects to the "parody" form of the Proulx Missa Emmanuel (repeatedly using the tune from "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel."): http://cantatedeo.blogspot.com/2006/11/parody-masses.html

Does anyone else have any thoughts or opinions on singing familiar tunes, or whatever else this might be that's objectionable?

I go to a Catholic church here in the deeeeep South. All the new stuff (i.e. post Vatican-II) during Mass is met with near silence. The hymns that do the best for congregation participation are (not surprisingly) the ones I associate more with Lutheran or Methodist (and some Anglican), rather than "the new stuff." Sometimes they even slip in a ("Real") Catholic hymn I remember from the 50's and early 60's (pre Vatican-II). Those are met with mixed participation. (I went to Catholic school in South Jersey/Joisey from K-8th ending in '61.)