. . . Hymns.
Obviously, my favorite “Catholic” hymns are the ones from my Methodist childhood, and my Baptist-tinged teenage years. And those with a decent melody: for some reason, our local parish features a choir that is easily bored, and they “churn” the hymns at a fast clip. As soon as they master one, they move on to the next, leaving those of us who are poor readers of music at sea for a week or two until we learn the melodies of these sometimes not-so-melodious compositions.
If it were up to me, we’d sing the same ten songs every week, and everyone else would be miserable. But I’d happily sing away—sometimes even on key.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, thanks a lot. Now I’ll never be able to hear “Here I am, Lord” (which we sing ALL THE TIME) without hearing “Here I am, Lord, Is it I, Lord? Who was bringing up three very lovely girls….”
There are hymns in our “Wonder, Love & Praise” book (ugh) that are such a combination of boring chords and sappy words that they’d be annoying as a commercial jingle, and getting through them is a real exercise in mortification and humility. I keep having to remember that it’s not about gratifying my musical taste. It’s hard, though, and I wonder whether the music in the service should be so much like having to eat bugs.
I know what you mean. Sometimes a musically talented choir is a curse. They get bored and have to do something different. We in the pews barely get a feel for the rythm of a hymn by the third verse- if they get that far, and then we never hear it again. Better a Sister Margaret Mary who can pound out the basic melody, with a good enough voice to follow, and a limited but solid reperatory.
It’s supposed to be about participation, not a chance for the talented to be admired! The emphasis is on the altar, not the musicians. (Which is why they belong in the choir loft and not spotlighted at the front of the church.)
And I won’t be able to hear “Wind, wind, set me free. . .” without thinking “B-I-N-G-O” either.