The Chant Café…

…only began June 14 – five weeks ago – but it’s already taken off in a big way. Any time a new blog about liturgy and music launches, we’re curious what it’s about.

The contributors at the Chant Café are listed as William Mahrt, Arlene Oost-Zinner, Adam Bartlett, Nick Gale, Charles Culbreth, Scott Turkington, Jeffrey Tucker, and Fr. Christopher Smith – lots of well-known and respected authorities in the field of sacred music. You’ve seen many of them chime in here at PrayTell.

I think I already know what the café is about. It’s a pretty devious plot, a rather insidious manner of promoting chant: the café is unfailing positive, even joyful; charitable; even-handed and constructive. If this continues, people are going to start having all sorts of dangerously good associations for chant, maybe even start to see it as a treasure to promote. This could really get out of hand. I’m glad I’ve unmasked their crafty ploy early on.

A few days ago someone alerted me to a comment at the café that PrayTell is anti-Catholic – did I want to ask them to remove it? Before I could get to it, the comment was already gone. Very shrewd, very sneaky.

You’re forewarned.

awr

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Katharine E. Harmon, Ph.D., edits the blog, Pray Tell: Worship, Wit & Wisdom.

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Comments

28 responses to “The Chant Café…”

  1. Jeffrey Tucker

    We been discovered! But you left out Phase Two. Once chant has good associations and starts to become part of parish life again, all singers are then required to obey the ictus, to get a tonsure, and the Inquisition is free to return in all its glory, presided over by clerics wearing the cappa magna!

    Reply
    1. Cody C. Unterseher

      “Ictus?” asked the Anglican trained in semiological interpretation. “What’s that? I always thought it was the technical term for the motion of a thurible.”

      Reply
  2. Jeffrey Herbert

    Good one Jeffrey! Heh…heh.. uhh (nervous laughter…)

    Reply
  3. John Quinn

    comment removed

    Reply
  4. Michael O'Connor

    Don’t worry, the first cappas will be made of polyester so that people won’t be too shocked! Seriously, thank you Fr Ruff. Liturgical chant is the purest form of musical prayer and goes beyond simple “music”. The Muslims have the right idea when they say that their chant is not “music” at all, but then saying that all music that approaches the style of Koranic chanting is the highest form of the art.

    Reply
  5. Chris Owens

    Oh, you liturgical musicians and your sense of humour… haha.

    I’m sitting in the airport on the way to the Bosco Conference at Franciscan University… last year there was very little in the way of bringing worship and catechesis together. This year, though it’s not on the schedule I received, I have it on good authority that Fr. Martis of the Liturgical Institute will be on hand to specifically talk about catechesis and the implementation of the new missal… it should be very interesting.

    Now, if only we could get catechesis and liturgy integrated a bit more…

    Reply
    1. Jeffrey Pinyan

      Chris – I heard about that conference recently. I can’t make it, but it sure sounded interesting. If you wouldn’t mind, could you contact me by email to tell me about your experience at the conference? My address can be found by clicking my name.

      Reply
  6. Sebastian Pollock

    The Chant Café is a blog where comments that do not toe the party line are not censored but completely removed. I am aware of critical opinions, even constructive ones, that simply vanished without any trace that they had ever been there. No wonder it always seems a happy place!

    Reply
    1. F C Bauerschmidt

      Hmmm. . . what do you see as the “party line” of the Cafe?

      Reply
    2. Todd Flowerday

      On the other hand, they’ve only lost one of my posts, and I can be very difficult to swallow in blog doses.

      Many bloggers do not want their sites to get bogged down off-issue. While I can absolutely endorse the use of plainsong, I deviate from the party line by criticizing the TLM, certain well-regarded theologians. They let me know it, and I temper what I write in turn. So far, so good.

      Reply
  7. Michael O'Connor

    I’ve found Jeff to be pretty fair about moderating. If he has deleted posts, it was due their incendiary natures, not for contradictory ideas. Those of us who promote a revival of the Church’s acknowledged music, really do want to hear the arguments for replacing it with something else.

    Reply
  8. Jack Rakosky

    As someone who likes both chant and Latin, but who is not a musician, I have been disappointed in Chant Café. Perhaps the authors and editors need to consider extending their intended audience beyond musicians to music lovers.

    It seems so heavily musician oriented that I would never think of commenting there. I would feel very uncomfortable as a music lover. But I feel very comfortable commenting here as a liturgy lover.

    Is it only for people who like the EF? I am for the Latin OF but not the EF. I would never comment on an EF website. I am very comfortable with EF people on this website because I agree with a lot of their criticism of the current practice of the OF. The OF seems to be the focus of this site, even though people are free to advocate for the EF.

    Besides Latin, I like Eastern, Anglican and contemporary liturgical music. I have a lot of “liberal” friends who have the same tastes.

    For us music lovers we need much less talk, rants about what people like and dislike and MUCH, MUCH MUCH more music! I visit TLM mainly for its pictures. I would like to visit Chant Café for its music.

    Like how about the Propers for Ordinary Time? Perhaps both in Latin and in English? Something like Meinrad has for Advent on one of their CDs. Tucker says all this music should be for free. Come on, why should we do these in our parishes without hearing them first on the web. Let us hear the music! Show us what you think we are missing!

    Reply
    1. Peter Kim

      It is a misconception that Chant Cafe is based on EF vs. OF dichotomy. Gregorian chant and polyphony are for both forms of Masses. You don’t have to be EF lover to love chant. OF Mass can arrange GC and polyphony for Mass setting, as much as some EF Masses had endorsed banal music even before the second Vatican Council.

      And please click on Chabanel Psalms http://chabanelpsalms.org/ at the right side bar of Chant Café. You can download and listen to MP3 & scores of propers, ordinaries, and polyphonies for all year around liturgical seasons for both OF (Latin and English) and EF (Latin). They are all free.

      Reply
      1. Peter Kim

        What I meant by “banal music” here is widespread practice of four-hymns singing at EF low Masses.

      2. Jack Rakosky

        Peter,

        Thanks very much for the link. I visited the website site sometime in the past, but I only remember the Mass parts. Since I already have a lot of CDs with them (that are actually much better) I didn’t return. Perhaps the Propers were not there yet, or maybe I just did not click around enough to find them.

        The sound quality for the Propers is better, and I particularly appreciate having the one page print outs of the Gregorian Missal which fit better both on the screen as well as on a piece of paper.

  9. Michael O'Connor

    Jack, you are welcome at the Chant Cafe. Yeah, there are a lot musicians there, but I don’t get the idea that the EF is the form of choice. I know just about all the bloggers and they are good, kind and thoughtful people. Some commenters might not be, but you get that everywhere. You must remember one thing, though, that the blog does have an agenda. Your love of contemporary (pop style I am assuming) music will not find many friends there. The goal is promote chant and art music to what we believe is its proper place. I love hamburgers, but if Jesus came to my house I wouldn’t serve him hamburgers. I would give him the best food I could prepare out of respect Him as my God and Savior.

    Reply
  10. Charles Culbreth

    Dear Sebastion, I can assure you that there has never been any communication to contributors regarding maintaining “the party line” mentality at CC. Frankly, I was stunned (probably as were many others) that Jeffrey invited my participation. I am, yes, a member and devotee of all things CMAA. But I’m also a practicing DM of forty consecutive years’ tenure in the RCC, and a pragmatist. I very much appreciate the barbs and needles that Todd, AWR and others occasionally place in the comboxes, for the simple reason that their perspectives assist me in forming and reforming my own.
    Jack, I think we’re getting to your concerns slowly. I don’t think the Café was intended to be such a media hub as is Musica Sacra and CCWatershed. But JT posted the music for this Sunday’s Communio with a lovely analysis just this morning.

    Reply
  11. Michael O'Connor

    Without offering another direct response, I will go back to the original thread idea. Mr. Tucker has given me the honor of adding my voice to the blog roll at Chant Cafe and I thank him very much. As I said before, I know everyone but Nick personally and can attest that they are all children of Christ. I think some may read our blog or Music Sacra and get the impression that externals are all we care about. They just happen to be what we talk about on these forums. Why? Well, there are a good number of people who have asked themselves why the sheer beauty of the Catholic liturgy has been forgotten and in some cases suppressed. The radical reassessment of the arts in the 1960s and 70s had a profound effect on weekly worship. An ethos of simplicity (noble? maybe) and austerity bordering on Calvinistic principles seems to have taken hold and now some 40 years on, there is a movement to reclaim the beauty and, yes, some of the complexity that developed over the centuries in response to the multiple layers of mystery and truth that the Spirit revealed to the Church. There are those of us who are frankly embarrassed when confronted with what we perceive as cheap music that does represent the best of what man has to offer and the informality applied to the ritual (which is why people get bored) along with lowest-common denominator homilies. Where is the room for growth? Sure there is personal prayer life, but there should be room in the the public worship as well.

    Reply
    1. Todd Flowerday

      Speaking for myself: I welcome the presence of Chant Cafe to the internet. As is true here, there are voices there that also inhabit the fringes of civilized blog discourse. They may not be listed on the sidebar, but any blog with open commentary is marked for good or for ill by its comboxes.

      As for Michael’s comments about recent history, as ever, a caveat: chant advocates do excellently (as do we all) when they post about what they know and love. When they criticize what they do not understand, use a grain, maybe many grains, of salt.

      As long as any of us refuses to diagnose accurately, the only reform we can hope to participate in is our own. (and even that, sometimes, might be in doubt.) I don’t recognize many of the caricatures offered on the Chant Cafe, NLM, and other sites. But I don’t doubt some Catholic musicians have had bad subjective experiences. Not to minimize those experiences, but not all of us have shared them.

      I think we do better to transcend the hermeneutic of complaint and offer constructive ways to reform. I’m not interested in hearing from a 354911th Catholic telling me what’s wrong with the Church. More interested to know what someone’s going to do about it.

      Reply
  12. Charles Culbreth

    I think we do better to transcend the hermeneutic of complaint and offer constructive ways to reform. I’m not interested in hearing from a 354911th Catholic telling me what’s wrong with the Church. More interested to know what someone’s going to do about it.

    Hear, hear, Todd! Good on ya, mate.
    And great news, MOC!

    Reply
  13. Sebastian Pollock

    I’m very happy to believe that in theory posts are not removed and that contributors are not told that everyone must toe the party line, but perhaps you should tell Nick Gale that, too. He does appear a little, shall we say, defensive.

    My purpose in posting was simply to point out that, at least in its earliest days, removal of critical posts did happen. Perhaps things have settled down now.

    Reply
  14. Ian Williams

    My purpose in posting was simply to point out that, at least in its earliest days, removal of critical posts did happen.

    A distinction should be made between the removal of abusive posts and those that disagree with the ethos of the place, or make arguable criticism of its editorial policy. I would suggest that the fact that I can see most of Todd Flowerday’s comments at Chant Cafe, while John Quinn’s are frequently removed (as they are elsewhere) speaks well of its liberal credentials (don’t get me wrong – I think Todd’s opinions are sadly wrong in so many ways, but I’ll fight to the death etc).

    Reply
  15. Todd Flowerday

    Thanks, Ian. Please keep in mind that compared to many liturgy-minded Catholics I’m a relative pussycat. My colleagues can be brutal and vicious in their conversations about the liturgically-uneducated who pontificate on worship matters.

    My comments at Chant Cafe are difficult to swallow, but they are backed up with a knowledge and experience of liturgy I don’t think exists among the contributors there. I’d gladly sing in any of their chant scholae, and I’d happily learn a lot. However, I wouldn’t turn most of them loose on the Roman Rite if I could avoid it. And if I were to send any of my students to a CMAA Colloquium, I’d have to advise them to absorb everything they could on music, but for the full picture of chant with good liturgy … go to Collegeville.

    Reply
  16. Michael O'Connor

    Todd, I’m flabbergasted that you could claim this. Just about everyone I’ve met at Colloquium knows the liturgy very well. So, you are saying that the Canons of St John Cantius could not teach your students something about the Roman liturgy. This is hubris, my friend.

    Reply
  17. Todd Flowerday

    Michael, I’ve read the commentary in posts and on threads at Chant Cafe by some of the contributors. I’ve also heard portions of some of the liturgies. While I can appreciate a dissatisfaction with the Roman Missal, I don’t take license to alter or change the liturgy as was done in Pittsburgh. CMAA doesn’t claim to be CLAA. And while I realize Chant Cafe isn’t congruent to CMAA, its contributors represent the organization and reflect on it. You can’t separate liturgy out of liturgical music.

    For the record, there are certain campus ministry organizations that have an equally impoverished sensibility toward liturgy. So don’t misunderstand I’m singling out any one organization. If you don’t trust my testimony, ask any of the PrayTell contributors.

    Reply
  18. Adam Bartlett

    I should note here that the Chant Cafe is not as homogeneous as is represented here. For example I have never actually attended the CMAA colloquium, and I don’t believe that Nick Gale has either. There’s certainly no place for judgment as is being done here by one of the Cafe’s most prolific and tiresome commentors.

    Reply
  19. Ian Williams

    Actually, Todd, your serial accusatios are on thin ground. They have largely consisted of admonition without justification. Just lately you have turned to a part of the US translation of the GIRM for that justification, but notably refused to engage in conversation about the nature of the document, its relation to the wider tradition, and the extent to which it supports your case. I for one am happy to see the contra view stated, assuming it’s reasonably argued, but I’m afraid your latest Jeremiad falls short of that standard.

    Reply
  20. Charles Culbreth

    My comments at Chant Cafe are difficult to swallow, but they are backed up with a knowledge and experience of liturgy I don’t think exists among the contributors there… I wouldn’t turn most of them loose on the Roman Rite if I could avoid it. And if I were to send any of my students to a CMAA Colloquium, I’d have to advise them to absorb everything they could on music…I don’t take license to alter or change the liturgy as was done in Pittsburgh.
    Just when one hopes…..
    Only out of curiosity I wonder if such self-declared egotism, omniscience tempered with myopia, and cynicism ever conflicts with job-related issues?
    Nevermind.

    Reply

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