One more idea why Catholics don’t sing

Schoenberg’s preferred term for what we call atonality was “pantonality” (or whatever the German equivalent of the term is). He wanted people to see his music as “covering all tonalities”; instead, we perceive it as eschewing all sense of tonality altogether.

Pantheism may be considered a form of atheism: if all things are divine, then the term “divine” ceases to refer to anything in particular, which effectively makes it cease to exist.

I do not accept the premise that the only reason someone would decide not to sing at Mass is that they are unwilling to make the sacrifice to God of their discomfort with singing. For a lot of people, I do think that’s the case, but not all.

Many lament that congregations do not understand the idea that their singing fulfills a liturgical role. I propose that one reason for this is that we ask them to sing everything, which reduces the “specialness” of their role as singers in the same way that pantheism “reduces” to atheism, and pantonality to atonality.

I wish we could try this: make the Ordinary and the acclamations the only congregational music, and give the processional songs/chants to music ministers alone. Just to see what happens when the people see that there are times when they sing, and there are times when they don’t sing.

In my own experience, some of the heartiest singing is with responsorial Psalms. Could it be because there is a clear distinction here between what is congregational music (the response) and what is ministerial music (the verses)?