Sacred Music

Jeffrey Tucker from Dappled Things posts about the state of Catholic music today. Not pretty. From the article:

If I were to pick one word to describe the present state of music in the Catholic world, I would choose tedium. Nothing new ever happens. The repertoire is mostly from the 1970s, with some 1980s elaborations, but in a style that is dreadfully dated by popular standards. It is particularly pathetic that much of this music depends heavily on the sound and feel of people who want to be inspired by the “groove”—yet the music demonstrates a chilling lack of inspiration. Most of this material does not play itself; it sounds unusually boring in the hands of bored musicians.

The hymns are chosen before Mass from the usual standbys, as if there were nothing more to Catholic music than flipping pages and pointing.

Do read it all. He has suggestions that would go a long way to remedying the situation. I am very grateful to the small band of chanters in our parish who are bringing back the sacredness to Sacred Music.