The Song of Creation: Liturgy and Music
by Nathan D. Mitchell
Assembly Vol 16:5, August 1990
Rejoice, heavenly powers! Sing, choirs of angels!
Exult, all creation around God's throne!
Jesus Christ, our King, is risen!
Sound the trumpet of salvation!
Rejoice, O earth, in shining splendor,
radiant in the brightness of your King!...
Rejoice, O Mother Church! Exult in glory!
The risen Savior shines upon you!
Let this place resound with joy,
echoing the mighty song of all God's people!
--The "Exsultet" (Easter Vigil)
This familiar and beloved text, sung as the assembly gathers in vigil around the paschal candle on the holiest night of the year, is more than merely an announcement of Easter's beginning. It is a summons to all the blessed orders of creation -- from angel choirs to human voices -- to come into God's presence singing. Easter is not, however, the sole "season of glad songs" in the Christian calendar. Every Sunday, every festival that draws Christians together around God's table is a season for singing. Truly, "song befits the table of the Lord."
As any number of people have noted, "musical liturgy" is a redundancy, for, as Adain Kavanagh says, "one sings at celebrations:"
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Singing is normal when people have something to sing about. They usually do not sing about their sins, but it is hard to stop them singing about forgiveness and reconciliation, the overtures to celebration ... " (Elements of Rite; New York: Pueblo, 1982, p. 31.)
Or as Gabe Huck has recently written, "Saying 'musical liturgy' is like saying 'multicolored rainbow.' It is liturgy's nature to be sung. Our song is something without which there would be no liturgy. When we come expecting to do and not to watch, we will need our music ... Song becomes an extra, only nice or only pretty, when we come for inspiration, entertainment, obligation or education. But if we come to do, then song is central to the whole undertaking, for the task to be done can't be done except in song" (How Can I Keep From Singing? Chicago: LTP, 1989, p. 41).
So singing is not something that accompanies worship (in the way, for instance, that adoring fans accompany a rock star on a triumphant tour). No, singing is part of the liturgical act itself (as are prayer, proclamation, listening, silence, movement, eating and drinking, etc.). If there is no music at our worship, then this does not mean that the event is merely "less solemn" or "less beautiful" -- it means that we have forgotten how to do an essential part of the liturgical act. For as Gabe Huck reminds us, there are some tasks -- and the assembly's worship is one of them -- that "can't be done except in song." It is not possible, for example, to "do" the Sanctus in the eucharistic prayer without singing it. This is so not because some crazed liturgists thought it would be a good idea, but because the ritual / textual moment demands an outburst at that point, demands "elevated speech" (which is what singing basically is). Here, "less" is most certainly not "more". Not to sing means not to do that part of the liturgy. (I am reminded here of a story from episcopal visitation records found in medieval England. At one parish in his diocese, the bishop noticed there was no chalice or cup of any kind. Asked what he did when came to the point in the eucharistic prayer which speaks of taking the cup (accipiens et hunc praeclarum calicem), the pastor replied, "Haec omittimus" -- "We leave that part out!")
Perhaps times have not changed quite as much as we've imagined! In any case, the tasks confronting those who serve the assembly'ssung prayer are numerous, and daunting. In her lead essay, Rosemary Hudecheck tackles such issues as musical leadership in today's parish, the criteria used to evaluate liturgical music and the needs of music ministers for ongoing education and nurture. Nurturing the spirit is the goal of the second piece in this issue, a new (and we hope, fresh) translation of Karl Barth's famous panegyric on "Mozart the Theologian". Barth saw in Mozart the supreme example of a human being whose theology was based on hearing the fullness of creation's song rather than trying to control or explain it. In an age of overwhelming self-absorption, Barth's words about Mozart's "unselfconscious" music are particularly apt and welcome. Finally, the staff of the Center for Pastoral Liturgy offers an annotated roundup of resources that can help pastoral musicians as they work to show assemblies how "to pray by singing and to sing, praying."
