Thursday, May 19, 2005
On metaphors, junk, the challenge to parish musicians, etc.
Commenter Susan takes up a challenge in the thread below.
I don't want to be told in a hymn, for example, that "all are welcome, all are welcome here."
However good or poor the lyrics may be, as lyrics they include the use of metaphor and are not intended to concretely cover every potential circumstance. The murderer is at the door intending to do harm. No sensible person welcomes that person in. Does the song need to cover that exigency? I don't think so.
At every Mass we pray, "Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy ..." We're not praying to a fluffy barnyard animal, we're using a metaphor to get underneath the surface meaning of the words to express a complex and profound reality (sacrifice, intercession, mercy, salvation, union, peace, etc.) that would take a few paragraphs (or more) to explain literally.
"All Are Welcome" speaks of "end(ing) divisions," and by singing it, one presumes the people mean to work against the more usual divisions in a parish: the school parents vs the empty nesters, blue collar vs white collar, stay-at-home moms vs employed moms, Anglo vs Spanish, the cool vs the geeks, etc.. Not murderers and victims. Even if an individual isn't singing it, the parish as a whole is praying and singing it, and even the silent ones have been coopted into the challenge: believe and act on what they are singing or not.
A side note: This song is criticized for being too horizontal, when in fact "God" references balance "us" or "we" eleven to seven. And five of those seven "usses" are the set-up for each verse. The song's not my favorite, and I probably wouldn't teach it to a parish that didn't know it, but there's nothing particularly problematic about it either, theologically speaking.
Another side note: many people find they "cannot" sing, for whatever reason. That does not abrogate the person in question from opening up the hymnal and praying the words. The point is not to sing and mean everything literally; the point is to unify the assembly with the intent to celebrate the Eucharist. Not being able or not wanting to sing does not excuse anyone at Mass from making the effort to pray.
Also, though I cannot play music myself, I know drippy tunes when I hear them.
Yes. Sometimes it's the tune. Often it's the arrangement or the way less skilled musicians play them. I recognize this is partly a repertoire issue, but it's also a skill issue.
You know good music from bad. Don't give us junk, even if you think we'll like it. We're a lot shrewder than you think.
Fair enough. Church musicians, are you listening?
