I've been meaning to write about how beauty promotes vocations (particularly beautiful liturgies). Until then a hat tip to New Liturgical Movement for finding and posting this video.
Eight young men in a schola (Farther Along Octet) singing Palestrina's "Adoramus Te, Christe" - eight men - and listen to how beautiful it is! You can not tell me that if we heard and saw this in our churches more often that there would not be many more young men hearing God's call to the priesthood. No, music won't in and of itself create priests, but in today's world this is so clearly prayerful and sacred that upon hearing it more young men might incline their ears to something other than the drumbeat of the world. Unfortunately what they get instead is weekly doses of the most banal music possible, or worse. (My not so humble opinion of course.)
Watch, listen, and enjoy! If you like it, watch their other videos on YouTube which will appear at the end of the video.
Update: I had to post one more on here... Palestrina's Sanctus & Benedictus
Thank you for this!
ReplyDeleteI had to post a link to this on the blog I participate on...
http://blog.ancient-future.net/2007/08/men-folk-sing.html
It was a rather timely post for me... Yesterday I attended Mass at a great parish. The music at the Mass was good - not of the "Glory & Praise" variety I grew up with in parochial school (blech!) BUT here was my problem - I simply could not sing along. The two or three female cantors leading the music were alto-sopranos.
so, what do you think would happen if those eight young men, dressed as they are, would happen to be in a, say, shopping mall, and break out in Palestrina?
ReplyDeleteSimple Sinner,
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. At a recent event (how's that for intentionally vague)we had a selection of Haugen/Haas that seemed to require a Doctorate in music theory to sing. It was simply unsingable. Of course it was filled with potential heresy that made it equally unsingable, but from a moral standpoint.
Fr. Kyle,
I think it would stop people in their tracks. It would be great! Even better, get it on film. Guerilla attacks of beautiful sacred msuic! Reminds me of a trip I took with some youth to NYC. Unbeknownst to me the kids had planned to sing a song on the subway. The part that was great is that they spread out all over the car as if they weren't together, but came together singing. Surprisingly, for New Yorkers, it received applause. Of course when it started I panicked wondering "oh no, what are they doing...?"
Brad, you just made me wonder what this would sound like in the subway.
ReplyDeleteI have been to NYC many times and heard some amazing things in subway stations before taking the A train back to the hotel to sleep off what I had done - which was not exactly the sleep of the just. Lord have mercy.
But my issue remains - give the men folk something we can sing like manly men in praise of the God who took flesh to become man.
This is one of the most beautiful things I have heard in a long time. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteIf you like this, you'll love the Suspicious Cheese Lords! They just did an amazing concert at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis last Friday!!
ReplyDeletewww.youtube.com/SuspiciousCheeseLord
and
www.myspace.com/suspiciouscheeselords