Friday, August 8, 2008

Stuff Catholics Like

Folk Music vs Choir Music -

(I know I'm going to get in trouble with this one, but I'm going on vacation for a week tomorrow so I don't really care about anything else right now.)

A good way to start up a conversation/debate/cat-fight is to bring up the topic of what's better; folk music or the more traditional choir music.

Our church has both. There is a folk group that plays at the Saturday evening vigil Mass. There is also another folk group that alternates the 10am Sunday Mass with the choir.

Some people like the Choir. Robed-singers with choir director and an organ accompanying the older standard hymns. Lyrically you get better songs with this group. The songs tend to be older, more reverent and better written while the folk songs are mainly from the 60's and 70's, have banal lyrics and can be almost sacrilegious (think Beethoven and Mozart vs. Haugen and Haas or the Ave Maria vs City of God).

A traditional choir can at times be painful to listen to also. Especially if the choir is small, the organist is bad or the song selection is poor.

Folk music was especially cool in the 70's when you had pantsuit wearing 'nuns' shaking their booty along to the music...heaven help us.

You don't see that these days (there is a God). But some of the churches still have things like bongo's, hand-clapping congregations, electric guitars and basses and other abominations.

Personally I prefer our 8am Mass that has no music or a nice Gregorian Chant Latin Mass, but we almost always go to the 10am Mass. So my choice at that would be the choir. Mainly because it sounds like 'church' music and because the lyrics aren't trite.

I'm not a folk music hater, I own over 30 Bob Dylan albums, I just don't like it during church.



PS - all you folkies out there...I still love you.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

dude, when i went to church i hated any and all music... aint got time for that... couldnt STAND hymmns and definitely couldnt stand sittin around with a GEETAR trying to be all bouncy happy ish... ugh

i have been to some baptism at some hippie churches (not my fault, its where the people went) and they had that happy, hippie, hawaiian shirt folky stuff... uh uh... no sir... pack it up and get it out. if want to listen to that garbage i will find some hari chrishnas down at the inner harbor and punch them in the face...

whoo... chill DONK chill!!!

ban any and all music from church and i might go back... ;) all i need is a good strong sermon...

oh yeah, one more thing... no more of this turn to your nieghbor in the pew and start saying HI and shaking hands/hugging...

hippies!!! ;)

Rebecca Frech said...

Rob,
I think you hang out with riff-raff. First he says bad words on your blog, then he admits to being a church-avoiding heathen who can't spell hymns. You need to find better people to hang with...unless he's fun and cool and you really like him. Then you need to whack him on the head and drag his...behind...to Church.

He is right about that whole "share the peace" thing. It's gotta go.

Maurisa said...

Gotta agree with you, Rob. I sometimes have a hard time choking out the lyrics to the folk stuff. We love 8 am too, it is so quiet and reverent and peaceful. You should drag "the donk" to that one!

Rob said...

The Mom and Mau - You don't want to know what would happen if The Donk came into a Church. It could be the end of the world as we know it.

Plus his hooves would scratch up the pews

Kristi said...

I took my kids to a protestant church where they were singing and clapping their hands. Totally freaked my one year old son out. He just looked around then got really close to me:)

momto5minnies said...

I guess I am a traditional kind of gal when it comes to church music.

MUSIC is a big part of me and I like all kinds, but I don't need that at church.

Anonymous said...

Donk-now you did it...see you Sunday!!! +JMJ+