Massive Church Music

 Massive Church Music

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 Church Music as Massiveness

The idol of massiveness is seen in our attempts to impress with sheer size, numbers and volume. It crops up in our concern for the big choir, the large organ, in our one-upmanship as to who has the largest church music program, in fascination with the big effect. None of us is exempt from this kind of idolatry.

One problem with placing an inordinate emphasis on size and numbers is that there are few parishes where that is a realistic possibility. Most parishes are small, and most church music programs of necessity work with modest musical resources. Are these by definition situations whose only hope for making a significant contribution to the worship life of God’s people lies in recruiting more members to the choir or in installing a newer and larger organ? Instead of espousing the idea that "Big is beautiful," perhaps we need to learn that "Small is salutary" or "Small is seemly" -- seemly in the sense of being "agreeably fashioned, suited to the purpose"; salutary in the sense of "promoting health, and of beneficial effect." To think in such terms, however, will require -- for many -- a reorientation of priorities.

While one recognizes the important role of large parishes with large church music programs, it needs to be said that it is often easier to work where the resources are abundant. It is precisely where the resources are more modest that the ingenuity, flexibility and creativeness of the church musician are most crucial. Resourcefulness is required when the choir is made up of eight or ten singers, none of whom can read music, and the accompanying instrument is the wrong size for the building, ineffective, and in need of repair. Perhaps we need to recognize that when the smaller parish does not seek to imitate the larger church down the block but rather builds on its own strengths, fashioning a worship style and church music program suited to its resources, we will be on the road to a more meaningful, realisticand effective church music style geared to the situations in which most parishes find themselves.