Marty Haugen Strikes Again
5 bob to: The Cafeteria is Closed which informs:
Commander Craig (H/T Gladius spiritus) brings us the following Marty Haugen quote.
For twenty plus years I have been told, mainly anonymouslythrough the internet, how I have been personally responsible for destroying Roman Catholic worship. I have never responded; however, I wish to offer a few comments now.
First of all, although I am not Roman Catholic, I have a deep love and respect for and faith in the worship tradition of the Roman Catholic Church. My own hesitancy about joining the Church is not about its eucharistic theology, but rather around the unwillingness of the Church to commission, ordain and welcome all humans as Jesus did–male and female, married and unmarried, saints and sinners. I believe that the Church, God’s people and all of creation have suffered from this omission.
I do not think of my own music as central or important to Roman Catholic worship, present or future. I began writing as a parish musician; I still keep the vision that to be “catholic” is to learn and love and embrace the best of the past tradition and to welcome the “best” of what is new, as Gods [sic] speaks through all cultures and expressions (see “Lumen Gentia” [sic]). I leave it to communities and to the Holy Spirit that will (more than us, thank God) guide the future choices that will last.
I had nothing to do with the choice of “Mass of Creation” for a Papal Mass. Having said that, I believe that attacks upon Tom Stehle in his efforts to engage a congregation with what he hoped would be familiar and meaningful to them (using parts of the liturgy with currently approved texts) were unfair, un-Christian and beneath those of us who truly care about how God speaks through our Sacraments.
Gladius Spiritus has analyzed the infamous “Gather Us In” ditty.
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It occurs to me, after all these years, why are we still giving this non-Catholic aging hipster so many Catholic dollars? The songs are insipid, and comments like these… well…
Well, (with apologies to Sr. Delores Dufner) it is time to Sing a NewMusic Genre Into Being!
asimplesinner
bfhu
Fr. J.
aboriente
bounaantonio
Joel
April 14, 2008 at 6:27 pm
You know, until I read this I head no idea Marty Haugen isn’t Catholic! This makes it even more ridiculous that his songs have dominated so many hymnals for so long!!
April 14, 2008 at 7:21 pm
I found out he was not a Catholic when my choir started to change the words in the Mass of Creation, which I find quite approprite to do. Of course, if he is not a Catholic, he does not care that Catholics have verbage that we are not allowed to deviate from. What I do not understand is why (as the choir I currently sing in) some directors opt not to change the words he has written to the word expressly required by the Vatican.
April 14, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Personally I think it is well advised to consider looking into updating the hymn books. With the triple whammy of these songs sounding dated, feeling tired, and frequently being problematic, what more do we need to reconsider even using them at all anymore?
Catholics have been doing “Gather Us In” long enough, and more than a few of us are tired of it. I grew up singing it at least once (usually twice) a week in gradeschool.
Here in this church the choir is droning;
“Gather Us In” is our entrance song.
Chanted this slow, it sounds more like groaning;
I notice no one is singing along.
“Gather Us In” is sung every Sunday;
“Gather Us In” is sung every Mass.
Give us a break and sing something different,
“Gather Us In” gets old really fast.
source
April 14, 2008 at 8:05 pm
SS, your just miffed because you have to admit you are haughty. Seriously, does that word even belong in a hymn?
Joel, what words did your choir change?
Actually, I find there is nothing so wrong with a Haagen Daaz song, that it cant be fixed with changing out:
the words
the instrumentation
the Key
the rhythm
the melody
and the theological biases.
Once you do that, their songs can be almost appropriate for liturgy.
April 14, 2008 at 8:37 pm
That’s funny Fr J!
We changed
“Heaven and earth are filled with your glory” to
“Heaven and earth are full of your glory”
and the “Prince of Peace, Bread of Life” to
“Lamb of God”
Liturgical music has been a pet peeve of mine for a few years now. At the very least it needs to be theologically correct. I would not be opposed to having classic brass in the choir loft every Sunday rather than just on Easter and Christmas (but I know that can get expensive). Guitars on Sunday morning drives me up the wall! Kudoes to Pope Benedict for demanding a higher standard of excellence in that department.
April 14, 2008 at 11:49 pm
Fr. J. do you have a bias against good ice cream?
April 15, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Nan, good point, I love ice cream. I just dont like my church music to be all smooth sweet creamy and non-nutritious.
April 17, 2008 at 11:59 am
Marty’s music is in my opinion neither ’smooth sweet creamy’ nor ‘non-nutrutions’.
His gathering song ‘All are welcome’ for example, has a magnificent, memorable melody, and challenging words.
Most of his music is scripture based, and as Christ is present in the Word, this can never be non-nutritious.
Has anyone tried Marty’s communion antiphon ‘Within the reign of God?’
Let us all follow Marty’s lead and recognise that ‘Christ is truly present here’, let us ‘take his holy food, receive the body and the blood’, let us indeed recieve the ‘mighty flood’ of grace!
All are welcome in this place!
April 17, 2008 at 2:23 pm
yech
April 17, 2008 at 6:24 pm
John,
I do not object to all of Marty’s music. I think the Gloria and the Great Amen of the Mass of Creation are both good stuff. Much of the music of the Mass of Creation is worth to be sung during Mass, but I do object to music directors who use his stuff in oposition to liturgical norms (and fluffy-make-you-feel-good-Christianity, that has no place in the Catholic Church).
April 19, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Joel,
I have never used Marty’s music in opposition to liturgical norms. For example, Marty’s Lenten acclamation ‘Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ’, is very close to the words suggested in the Lectionary. (The liturgical norm for this is that we do not have to stick exactly to the Lectionary version).
Also, Marty’s setting of PS 50 (or is this 51?) follows word for word a translation approved by the Bishops’ Conferences both sides of the Pond. Surley this psalm (Have mercy on me God, in your kindness…), is a very powerful and rather uncomfortable acknowledgement of guilt - hardly ‘fluffy-make-you-feel-good.
As far as I am aware, the liturgical norm is that all that we sing in the Catholic Church should be taken from scripture and the lirurgical texts. Nearly all of Marty’s texts fit the bill!. (’Gather us in’, maybe is less scriptural, although would anyone disagree with anything in this text?. This song again is hardly ‘fluffy…’ with statements like ‘lost and forsaken’, and ‘rich and haughty’.)
Let us all, in Marty’s words: ‘[live] Lives that are holy’.
April 19, 2008 at 3:04 pm
asimplesinner
A dictionary definition of “Yech” is that this word is ‘Used to express contempt or disgust’ (The UK version is “Yuck”).
You may or may not care for Marty’s music, but how can any Catholic disagree that at communion time ‘Christ is truly present here’, and that we recieve Christ’s body and blood?
April 19, 2008 at 4:08 pm
It is a false dichotomy - that I disagree with what the Eucharist is because I don’t like his work.
It is another false dichotomy to say that so long as it is Biblical it is aesthetically pleasing.
His work is saccharine and it sounds dated. It has a feel of a sing-along and has a decidely more profane tone - to hear it, nothing of it screams of being a genre set apart. To hear Byzantine chant, Gregorian Chant, or even the changs of the Orient for non-Christian religions, one is aware of the solemnity present - techno mixes aside, these are not ways people sing for sing-alongs or dances… Likewise for traditions of robust choral singing for much of western hymnody. I would rather be singing Ein’ feste Burg ist unser Gott than Gather Us In any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
So no, I do not care for it. And as a result of not caring for it, I in no way deny “Christ is truly present here”.