Gripes about Gregorian Chant

One of the things I often hear about music that is used for liturgy these days is that the music is “boring”, the lyrics “lame” or “heretical”. Of course I’m referring to those who prefer hymns in Latin, or those who want to promote the use of Gregorian Chants in liturgy. That’s something I’ve been thinking about… and I’ve had lots of time to think during these past two weeks of in-camp training, which is why I didn’t update this blog much in this time.

What is the purpose of using Gregorian Chant in liturgy? If the purpose of Gregorian Chant is simply to instill an aura of sacredness, will it matter to the congregation if the song sung is “Asperes me Domine”, or “When A Man Loves A Woman”, so long as it is in Gregorian Chant? Of course it matters. So using the right words do matter.

In that case, why do proponents for Gregorian Chant prefer to use Latin (which the majority of the congregation does not understand) instead of English (or Mandarin, or Tamil, or whatever is the most common language of the congregation)?

For a congregation that does not understand Latin, organizers of a Latin liturgy will prepare English translations. But, as a good friend says, “I might as well attend a Mass in Tamil and have English subtitles.” (I’ve actually attended a Mass in Tamil with no subtitles before, but that’s a story for another time.)

Put it this way, if one is to truly enjoy the Gregorian Chants, we would have to put aside the English translations and just enjoy the music like it was a performance. If we are to have our English translations before us, we can’t really enjoy the music, because we would be trying to follow the songs while trying to translate the words according to the lyrics we have before us.

Of course there is another way of truly enjoying the Gregorian Chants, which would be to learn the Latin language… but unfortunately, that’s a luxury reserved for the well-educated with a lot of time on their hands, which probably excludes some 95% of the Catholics in Singapore.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that the use of Gregorian Chant for liturgy in a country where Latin is not a language that is used turns the liturgy into a performance.

Even so, Gregorian Chant remains the official liturgical music of the Catholic Church, and that’s something I’ve got to accept, even if I don’t like it. So what am I going to do now? Guess it’s back to the thinking pad for me. But I think the next time I encounter Gregorian Chant in liturgy, I’m going to put down my English translation and just enjoy the performance. And maybe, just maybe, I might start to like it.