It is practically a proverb that Catholics cannot sing. This may seem like a contradictory statement coming from a church musician, but I think it is a commonly accepted fact, well known by people on both sides of the choir loft. It is also a sad commentary on the state of things because it doesn’t have to be this way. In fairness, some places it isn’t, and that proves my point.
Applying the Five Whys
One method for finding the root cause of a problem is to apply a method called “The Five Whys”. You start with the problem. Then you ask why it is the case. Then, like a child, you continue to ask “Why” until you have asked, “Why?” five times. We’ll try that approach here.
Why Can’t Catholics Sing?
If recognizing that Catholics cannot sing is the first step in turing the situation around, (or as Lucy says, “Well, as they say on TV, the mere fact that you realize you need help indicates that you are not too far gone.”1Charlie Brown Christmas) then identifying the reason for it is surely the second step.
Since I am a man, I’m also going to narrow the field a bit by focusing on the men, at least to begin with.
The First Why: Men Don’t Care to Sing
I think it is a common experience in a Catholic congregation to observe that, by and large, the men do not sing. In my opinion, Catholics cannot sing because Catholic men, in general, do not sing. So that there is no confusion, I am not talking about men who are incapable of singing due to lack of ability. I am talking about men who choose not to sing even though they could sing if they wanted to.
Some may say it is the other way around, that Catholic men do not sing because Catholics cannot sing. I disagree. If Catholic men sang, I do not think it would be an adage that Catholics cannot sing. Why do I feel this way? Because men, more than women, sing only when they are inspired to sing.
The Second Why: Lack of Inspiration
Why then won’t Catholic men sing? We answered the question in the last paragraph. Catholic men won’t sing because they are not inspired to sing. They don’t feel they have cause to sing.
The Third Why: Feminization
Why aren’t Catholic men inspired to sing. I think we are starting to get closer to the heart of the issue.
I think the lack of male participation is a symptom of the feminization of Catholic worship. How many parish choirs consist of a female leader with perhaps a male guitarist (and perhaps one or two other women) leading the congregation in modern, Protestant-sounding songs? There is very little that differentiates Catholic music from Protestant music, as sung in many places. In my opinion, the music is disconnected from the Holy Sacrifice. The average Catholic layman probably just “goes along to get along” which means he shows up … but does not sing.
The situation extends to boys who, seeing their fathers not singing while their mothers and sisters are, conclude that singing is for girls and perhaps sissies. In other words, singing is not an important, masculine skill.
If we listen to the wisdom of the “experts” we will likely be told the solution is for men to overcome their bigotry, embrace their inner femininity (whatever that means), and sing. Were men to do this, we’d all be happy “human beings” (but not men), I suppose. Actually, I think we’d have the situation we have today: a congregation of men who do not sing because they at least can recognize they are not women.
The Fourth Why: Loss of Catholic Identity
I’ve probably ruffled some feathers, but I’m not actually sorry for that. We want to turn the situation around so that it is a proverb that Catholics sing well, right? Just for the record, I am not of the opinion that a choir must be led by a man. That is not the point I’m trying to make. The point is that the music has been feminized and de-Catholicized. Don’t believe me? Here are just a few hymns from the Gather hymnal 2GIA Music:
- 607 A Mighty Fortress Is Our God – Written by Martin Luther (heretic)
- 612 Amazing Grace – Written by John Newton (Puritan) – By the way, does anyone know what is the “sound” that saved a wretch like me? I’ve always wondered about that.
- 890 America the Beautiful – Since when is singing about America an act of religion?
- 838 Eat This Bread 3Eat This Bread – (There is no mention in this hymn of the reality of the True Presence, that the Eucharist is no longer “bread” even though the author claims to have adapted John 6:35. In my opinion, there is a danger of taking the hymn literally and concluding “it’s just bread”. Contrast with Ave Verum Corpus.)
- 568 For the Beauty of the Earth – Written by Folliott Sanford Pierpoint (Anglican) 4For the Beauty of the Earth
The net effect, in my opinion, is that Catholic music is difficult to distinguish from Protestant music. Subconsciously, we get the impression one religion must be as good as the other. That is not the sort of impetus to get Catholic men inspired to sing. On top of objectionable texts and sources, some of the melodies are just plain ugly…but I digress…somewhat.
So far we have Catholics cannot sing
- because Catholic men don’t sing
- because Catholic men have no inspiration
- because singing at church has been feminized
- because the music has lost its Catholic identity
- because singing at church has been feminized
- because Catholic men have no inspiration
Why has Catholic Music Lost its Catholic Identity?
We come to the fifth why. I think I will leave this question open for the comment box. It appears to be a very good question to ask.
It Doesn’t Have to Be This Way
In a previous post, I mentioned that Catholics have some of the best music there is. It really is true. Look into the wealth of the treasury of music handed down to us over the centuries: Palestrina, Victoria, Byrd, Hildegard von Bingen, centuries of chant by unknown monks, and lyrics by saints.
A Few Anecdotes
To supplement the heavier discussion above, I have two anecdotes to relate from my personal experience.
When I was in college, I took a few music courses…mostly introductory things. One course I took was entitled “Music, Architecture and Philosophy”. The professor, who was not Catholic, marveled at how the Catholic Church had a time-tested, effective, simple, singable, and beautiful form of music for the common folk (he was referring to Gregorian Chant) and suddenly abandoned it. Contrast this with the prevalent “Catholic” idea that Gregorian Chant is outmoded and that the Church needs to eschew it in order to remain relevant in the modern world and attract converts. The non-Catholic professor’s advice was that the Church should bring it back.
When I was in junior high, I attended a Protestant school. For it’s artistic beauty (and no other apparent reason), the director of the junior high choir had us learn the Kyrie of Schubert’s Mass in G; and a Protestant classmate of mine enjoyed listening to Gregorian Chant. Yet in the local Catholic parish at the time, these very Catholic forms of music were virtually nonexistent.
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