A Maestro’s Observations… The Problem Of Sacred Music In Today’s Church

By ALBERTO CAROSA

ROME — As is widely known, the almost universal “great narrative” of today’s liturgists is that we are now experiencing the outcome of the liturgical reforms stemming from Vatican II. But most of the liturgies celebrated around the world are actually not in line with Vatican II reforms and teachings.
This problem is the result of arbitrary interpretations that over time have spread in the Church, and not only in liturgy, but also in sacred music, which has to be considered an integral and essential component of these very liturgical rites.
The basic assumption of these interpretations is that you can do whatever you want and sing whatever you like — but this is not correct. For example, even if one likes symphonic music, the fact remains that it is not suitable for the liturgy, although in the last decades people have been led to believe that everything is possible and acceptable.
This is also the opinion of Italian composer, conductor, organist, and maestro Aurelio Porfiri, a 1999 graduate in choral music from the Conservatorio of San Pietro a Maiella in Naples. Earlier, he specialized in Renaissance polyphony and polyphonic musical forms in his studies with Domenico Cardinal Bartolucci (1917-2013), the late director of the Sistine Chapel Choir.
After a stint as substitute organist of the Vatican City Vicariate in St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as positions in many notable churches in Italy, Maestro Porfiri ended up being appointed in 2008 as associate professor of music and coordinator of the music programs at St. Joseph University in Macau (China), formerly Macau Inter University Institute.
His past and present music engagements around the world include the following: visiting conductor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music Education Department; director of music at the Church of Santa Susanna, the American church in Rome; director of choral activities for Santa Rosa de Lima English Secondary School (Macau); honorary master and organist of the Church of Santa Maria dell’Orto (Rome) and St. Joseph Seminary (Macau).
Besides regularly contributing to influential blogs about music and liturgy, he has also lectured at several workshops around the world. He has published 19 books and numerous articles in several languages. His music is published in China, Italy, France, Germany, and the United States.
Maestro Porfiri kindly agreed to answer a few questions.
Q. Maestro Porfiri, can you briefly tell us what is “the state of sacred music” in the Church today?
A. Sacred music, as it is today, is really not what the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium was asking for: Latin, Gregorian chant, choirs, polyphony — everything promoted there is de facto opposed nowadays in the name of a wrong idea of participation. They have removed precious treasures of the liturgy to allow people to “participate” by using sloppy songs.
Is it this for the people or against the people? Let me ask you this: If I invite you into my home and remove all my elegant furniture because I think you are too ignorant to appreciate it, what would you think? Basically the idea of “people” that indirectly derives from what has been done, is that they are too ignorant to appreciate true sacred art, to have good taste and a sense of beauty.
And this behavior is indeed killing the sense of all these things in people, in favor of bad quality repertoires. People certainly have to be educated in matters of taste, but the dogma today is: “Let us give them what they have already, let us leave them where they are!”
This is the situation and if you dare challenge this dogma, anathema sit.
Q. And in your opinion, why did all this come about?
A. Because there were some people who were just waiting for an occasion to implement their personal ideas of reform, and they had their great occasion with Vatican II. One should explain why after the council everything that was considered good before disappeared — and for what? For pop songs with liturgical text, in the best situations (in the worst situations, both the text and the music are awful).
The main problem for me is not about chant or Latin, it is about the dignity of the liturgy. If the liturgy is our most precious treasure, we cannot accept the same liturgy being marred, or even desecrated, by music that has nothing to do with its spirit.
And let us just remember: The great victim of this is the People of God, deprived of a precious nourishment for their souls. On some occasions I had the chance to talk with people who were involved in Vatican II, often in important positions regarding the work of the liturgical reform. Even if they support the reform, nonetheless all of them recognize that what we have today was not what the [Second Vatican] Council was asking. We need solid nourishment, not the second-place stuff that we are mostly given today.
Q. But is this a generalized situation?
A. Yes, you’re right, with a few exceptions. And also these few exceptions are sort of happy islands that courageous bishops, priests, and laypeople must protect against vociferous opponents. As we all know, when you start to question the status quo you are out, attacked with all the classical accusations of looking at the past, having a heart of stone, being out of touch with contemporary life and so on. And these are the nicest ones!
However dismal it may be, even in Rome, the Eternal City, the city of the Successor of the Apostle Peter, sacred music seems to be is in a state of endless decadence. You just go to a normal parish and listen to what kind of music they perform. I am not even asking for chant, but for good-quality vernacular compositions, text and music. And what do you have? The most boorish sentimentality.
When I go to Mass, I try to select churches where there is no music, so as not to have to endure the anguish caused by the low standards of what usually is sung.
Q. But are dissatisfied faithful making their voices heard about this situation? And what can be done by people in influential positions like yourself?
A. As far as I know, there are people who are really up in arms against all of this, but the power we have is very limited and we must not forget about fear.
Let me give you an example: With a like-minded colleague from the U.S., I have prepared a petition on the upcoming anniversary of the last important document on sacred music, Musicam Sacram.
Happily, we are collecting hundreds of signatures, including signatures from bishops, priests, organists, composers, academics — but I am also receiving so many answers from people who privately agree with the document, but are afraid of retaliation, just because they agree on a document that reaffirms what Vatican II has originally called for!
Moreover, I have decided to create a newly launched magazine for liturgy and sacred music, Altare Dei, for it to be a bridge between the Italian/European liturgical and intellectual world and the Anglophone one. I want to offer solid articles on liturgy and sacred music so that Europeans may appreciate more about what is produced in the Anglophone world and vice-versa.
It is not an easy task, so it is a big effort for me. The magazine is sold at the moment only digitally, by logging onto my publisher’s website: www.choralife.com. The first issue had readers in Italy, Germany, the United States, Canada, Nigeria, Australia, Brazil, and other countries. Hopefully, it will grow over time.
To sum it all up, this is the situation and there is little hope. There is also a terrible atmosphere, and I am myself an object of defamation from time to time, from the same people who should be on my side. So, no reason to be an optimist.
But we know that God has a much bigger perspective than ours, so we can just hope that things will somehow change for the better in the near future. Even if humanly I cannot see this coming about, nevertheless I try not to forget that nothing is impossible to God!