Are folk groups acolytes of the Dark Lord?

I would like to start this post by clarifying exactly what I mean by folk groups. I am not referring to folk musicians who are professionals. I am, however, referring to music groups who play in church.  I am also throwing into this pit of despond choirs. Church choirs span a huge spectrum of ability and talent. These range from the virtually professional choirs through to those where they are the only people in the parish community who would do it but don’t really have the vocal ability to do the job.

I can hear some of you reaching for your keyboards with steam coming from your ears. You are probably saying something along the lines of ‘Stop downplaying the importance of these people. They contribute greatly to the spiritual life of the community’.

I do not deny the faith or otherwise of these people merely their musical talent. Those of you who read these pages  occasionally will know that I am Catholic with Buddhist tendencies. Within the Catholic church folk groups and parish choirs really started to appear in the 1970s. My sister played in one. Billy Connolly used to refer to the people who played as ‘having Czechoslovakian guitars’.  When I lived in Huddersfield there was one Mass I dreaded going to. It was the Sunday evening Mass known locally as the ‘happy clappy’. We were always led to believe that the folk groups and choirs were there to aid the liturgical process and lead the singing. This particular folk group seemed to think that this involved the following:-

1       1.      Playing songs that weren’t in the hymnal

2       2.      Playing songs that were in the hymnal but to tunes that nobody else knew

3       3.      Generally taking over proceedings to the extent that not even the priest joined in

They acted like they were a rock band on stage the only thing missing from the performance were shouts “Huddersfield you’ve been a fantastic audience and we’ll see you soon!!” These groups blithely assume that people wish to worship in the way that they dictate.

In the same parish there was a director of music who spent a great deal of time and energy creating a choir which aided the liturgy. Within the Catholic church though there is a current trend to sing everything. I am sure they would sing the newsletter if they thought anybody would listen. This gets away from the beauty of what is the ‘Low Mass’.

I am not now , never have been and in all likelihood, never will be a happy clappy type. I don’t like being told that I should clap during prayer. I like simplicity. The other problem with choirs and folk groups is that they discourage universality. If you have the misfortune to stumble upon a Mass in a church which you have never visited before you probably won’t know what the hell is going on if you get one of these groups.

In an episode of the television series Babylon 5 called ‘And The Rock Cried No Hiding Place’ a group of religious leaders meet together on the station. A Pentecostal leader delivers the line ‘Make a joyful noise to the Lord’. One of his contemporaries retorts ‘I’ve heard you sing. It is anything but joyful’.

If you are going to join a choir it should at least be a basic standard that you can carry a note. If you can then fine because as the group develops a place will be found for your voice. The church where I grew up applied this principle. They had a very good musician leading the group who over time took the group and developed them and that development has continued. Whilst it was not of the calibre of the group in Huddersfield at least it is better than what we have in my current parish which is an excellent organist and half a dozen people with weak voices. In addition they are not conifdent singers which adds to the pain.

When done well these groups can add to the spiritual experience of the community but too often they are more caught up in proclaiming ‘Look at me’ and turning people off. One of the nicest Masses I have attended recently was in my old hometown. I arrived and picked up a hymnal and was told ‘You won’t need that it’s too early for singing’.

Singing in church

Greetings fellow travellers. This weeks rant is all about singing in church and universality. This morning when we got to church the priest came round and handed out a new version of the Gloria. I say new, I was aware of this version, but it was new to our church. Here in wonderful Cleckhuddersfaxwaite we are in the Diocese of Leeds. The bishop, I make it clear that I am not a fan of his, decreed some years ago that the Mass should be, where possible, entirely sung.

When this decree came round it was greeted with enthusiasm by the priest and deacon at the church which we attended at the time. The Bishop in his infinite wisdom decided to shut that church down and merge it into one of two 'super-parishes'. We went up the valley to the most far flung of the parishes. I was at the time in a state of flux with my faith and was on the verge of becoming a Buddhist. As it stands thanks to the priest at this far flung outpost and the attitude of the congregation there, my departure was somewhat delayed. They held the liturgy, by and large, in the same way that I had grown up with it in the 1970s and 1980s before the rise of the laity and the now ubiquitous folk group with their Czechoslovakian guitars. The liturgy was spoken and was simple.

Unfortunately due to illness, this priest was retired on health grounds and the new parish priest, yes you've guessed the one from the old church, has wasted no time in trying to drag our little corner of the parish kicking and screaming into the new world order as decreed by the bish. The beauty and simplicity of the spoken liturgy when a prayer is said and spoken with meaning has now been replaced by musicians and countless unnecessary variations on a theme.

The move to have the Mass in the vernacular following Vatican 2 meant that now unless you actually spoke the local language you struggle to follow the Mass when you go abroad. It has allowed for folk groups and other such abominations and the Mass is no longer universal and, by definition, neither is the church. Local variations now add to the confusion. In some places where you would stand in others you would kneel.

The Church would do well to consider a reconnection with its liturgical past but unfortunately that would seem to be a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has not only bolted but run out of the yard down the lane and hurdled a couple of fences.

The Catholic church has never had much of a grasp of simplicity and the beauty that comes with it. Why do you need to sing Amen seven times and not mean it when it would be better if you spoke it once and meant it with your whole heart.

In Catholic terms this 'puritanical' approach to liturgy sets me at odds with the majority of the church which is generally anything but. However, if you believe in the rightness of your cause you must stand up for it and rail against 'Colours of Day' and 'Kum Ba Yah' and Taize chants and remind everyone of the simplicity of the fact that your relationship with God is simple and all you need to do is speak with him ( or her) in simple terms and he will understand.

Go forth and find your connection with God and the universe on a simple level and remember most of the rules of the Church were created long after Jesus died and rose again and he didn't get much of a say in them. Also the church is notoriously inconsistent and slow to recognise simple facts.

Goodnight and may your God go with you.