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To sing or not to sing: That is often hotly debated among Catholics. Some Catholics want to hear a full choir and multiple musicians perform classical works, while others enjoy singing with the congregation.

LouAnn Cleary, pastoral associate for liturgy and music ministry at Christ the King Church in Guilderland, said there is room in the Church for both groups.

"You can have balance between the two," she asserted.

That exchange, apparently, stems from an old notion that Catholics can't carry a tune or open a hymnal. Thomas Day's 1990 book, "Why Catholics Can't Sing," provoked many church musicians but also expressed a long-standing frustration: He wrote that the majority of Catholics "rarely or barely sing any of the music" at Mass.

In the Albany Diocese today, discussion more likely swirls around the issue of who - the congregation or the choir - sings and when.

Ms. Cleary, for 10 years the president of the Albany chapter of the National Association of Pastoral Musicians, said that pastoral musicians might choose certain times when the choir can showcase their talents.

The songs they choose must be something that will enhance the prayer at Mass. These times might include Easter, Christmas or a special parish celebration, or even parts of an ordinary weekend Mass.

Susan Kokernak, a parishioner of St. Anthony's Church in Schenectady and an accomplished musician and woodwind teacher, said that communion meditation is a good time for more complex musical selections.

Some parish choirs will do a prelude prior to the beginning of Mass, she said: "I like a prelude. I like listening at that time. That can be a good time for reflection."

Ms. Cleary said that music at Mass is a form of prayer not a performance or entertainment.

"As a people, as a nation, we want to be entertained," Ms. Cleary noted. "It's not my belief that we need to be entertaining at Mass."

All tongues called
According to "Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship," the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' statement on music ministry, all Catholics are called to song during Mass.

That document states: "Christ always invites us to enter into song, to rise above our own preoccupations, and to give our entire selves to the hymn of his Paschal Sacrifice for the honor and glory of the Most Blessed Trinity."

The document goes on to say that all are called to participate by listening reflectively during the parts of the Mass sung by the choir.

According to Ms. Cleary, one of the challenges of selecting music for Mass is finding music that all parishioners are able to learn and sing.

"I might do the same communion song five or six weeks in a row at every Mass," she said. "I might be bored playing it over and over, but the congregation can sing it and it's become their prayer."

Ms. Cleary said that people often compare the singing at Catholic churches to that at Protestant churches. In the comparison, Catholics come up short when it comes to singing.

Many Protestant denominations, she explained, have had the same hymnal for 50 to 75 years. A person could grow up in one of these churches and be able to know all of the songs.

But many Catholic parishes don't have the same hardcover hymnals as their Protestant counterparts, she continued. When a parish purchases a hymnal, they often find it out of date within a year of purchase be-cause of additions and changes by the publisher: "We're led by the publishers," she said.

Paid or not
Another difference between the denominations is the value placed on music. Mrs. Kokernak has been hired to play at religious ceremonies is various Protestant churches in the Northeast, but said it is not common to be paid at a Catholic church.

Ms. Cleary said the lack of financial resources can affect the music at Catholic parishes.

In rural areas, she said, small parishes often don't have the money to pay a trained organist or music minister; these parishes rely on volunteers who may not have much time to devote to practicing.

Ms. Cleary also noted that playing the piano for your own pleasure is different than playing the piano to lead a congregation.

Rev. Patrick Gallagher, OFM Conv., pastor at St. Cecilia's parish in Fonda and Sacred Heart in Tribes Hill, told The Evangelist that he leads the music at both parishes. "I love music," he said.

He has an organist who is frequently available; however, there are times there is no accompaniment.

Father Gallagher said it can take time for people to become comfortable with lifting up their voices.

"It took a bit," he observed. "But it's amazing how well people do sing."

(Readers of The Evangelist's Facebook page were asked to provide questions for seminarians who may contribute to The Evangelist. Sally Secci Scuderi wanted to know of the future priests, "How are you going to get the people in the pews to sing?" The question was also put to parishes in the Albany Diocese.)

(06/17/10) [[In-content Ad]]

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