I samme gate som min post i går om sang og musikk i messen, kan jeg nå referere til en artikkel på www.chiesa om pave Benedikt og musikk i messen, mer bestemt i sist søndags messe i Stefansdomen i Wien.
Det påstås at det er første komplette flerstemte pavemesse siden 1963, og man sang sist søndag Haydens «Mariazeller Messe» fra 1782. Les videre:
Among the many things Benedict XVI said and did during his early September visits to Loreto and Austria, there are two that distinguish his pontificate in an unmistakable way. Both have to do with the Church’s visibility, with its ability to communicate: and not about itself, but about «the things that are above.»
In Loreto, at the vigil on Saturday, September 1, the pope demonstrated how he intends to make himself visible and audible to the world, and in particular to the world of the young.
In Austria, with the Mass in the cathedral of Vienna on Sunday, September 9, Benedict XVI made it clear how he wants the Church to appear to men at the moment when it is most recognizable, the celebration of the Eucharist. ….
With the Mass celebrated in the cathedral of Saint Stephen on Sunday, September 9, Benedict XVI revived a musical and liturgical tradition that had been interrupted for many decades.
Within living memory, in fact, the last papal celebration accompanied by the complete performance – Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei – of a great polyphonic Mass dates all the way back to 1963. That Mass was celebrated in Saint Peter’s, and the composer selected was Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the dean of Roman polyphony in the sixteenth century.
This time, the Mass was celebrated in Vienna, and the composer was, rightly, Austria’s Franz Joseph Haydn and his stupendous «Mariazeller Messe» of 1782, for chorus, soloists, and orchestra.
Gregorian chant also made an important return appearance in the papal Mass on September 9. During communion, the choir repeatedly sang the antiphon «Vovete,» from the propers for that Sunday in the missal of the ancient rite, in alternation with verses from Psalm 76, also sung in Latin: «Make and keep vows to the Lord your God. May all present bring gifts to this awesome God, who checks the pride of princes, inspires awe among the kings of earth.»
A musical critic would have given his highest praise to the splendid performance, conducted by Markus Landerer, the choirmaster at the cathedral of Vienna. But this was a Mass, and not a concert. And Benedict XVI imparted a clear lesson in this regard, on two successive occasions that Sunday.
At the Angelus, a few minutes after the end of the Mass, he began this way:
«It was a particularly beautiful experience this morning to celebrate the Lord’s Day with all of you in such a dignified and solemn manner, in the magnificent cathedral of Saint Stephen. The celebration of the Eucharist, carried out with due dignity, helps us to realize the immense grandeur of God’s gift to us in the Holy Mass, and fills us with deep joy. It is precisely in this way that we draw near to each other as well, and experience the joy of God. So I thank all those who, by their active contribution to the preparation of the liturgy or by their recollected participation in the sacred mysteries, created an atmosphere in which we truly felt God’s presence.
Musicae Sacrae revisited!
Pave Pius X fastslo at det er gregoriansk sang og polyfoni som skal være messens musikk.
Her gjør paven akkurat det den ca hundre år gamle encyklika så sterkt tilretteviser at man skal gjøre.