Liturgical music

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Liturgical music is a form of church music that is characterized by special functions within the liturgy of the church. Most religions use music to shape their liturgical processes.

In the Catholic understanding, the term was largely coined by the Second Vatican Council , which declares the close connection to the liturgy to be the main characteristic of church music: "Therefore, church music becomes more sacred the more closely it is linked to the liturgical act."

This orientation of liturgical music results in various requirements:

On the one hand, the music has to be functional, so it has to fit into the framework of the worship service . Extensive mass settings such as Beethoven's Missa solemnis are therefore hardly more tangible than liturgical music, but belong to the broader field of church music.

A second important requirement that the Second Vatican Council repeatedly emphasizes is the principle of Participatio actuosa, i.e. H. the “active participation” of the believers in the worship service. This can be ensured primarily by the parish chorale or the Missa cum populo . However, it is also possible for individuals to make music on behalf of the community, for example by a choir , organist or instrumental musician .

In terms of active participation, it must also be taken into account that the music should be understandable and transparent for the average listener so that he can follow it carefully. This affects the text on the one hand, but also the musical language on the other: liturgical music stands between historical roots and modern needs, between simplicity and qualitative appropriateness. In this context, the composer Harald Heilmann speaks of “the fine line in sacred music between absurdity and banality”.

In terms of content, liturgical music also has to be oriented towards the liturgy. Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that it has to orient itself primarily to the word of God . By this he means not only the orientation towards the Bible and the setting of biblical texts, but also the word of God as logos : Music must lead people beyond the word, integrate them into the cosmic praise of Sanctus and lift their hearts to God. The music must become a symbol for the Passover mystery , for the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ .

The best known forms of music in the liturgy of the Catholic Church and in Protestantism are:

Another specifically Catholic phenomenon is the Requiem (funeral mass). The Anglican Communion uses the term service for liturgical music .

Often times, music in the liturgy has given rise to forms that were later adopted by secular music . The oratorio , in particular , which became the musical model for opera , quickly freed itself from the liturgical realm, while the motet , for example , remained ecclesiastical for a long time.

The nature of liturgical music was discussed again and again before the Second Vatican Council set a very liberal end point in the Catholic area. In most cases, the focus was on the question of whether the mixing of the texts considered sacred with the tonal presentation corresponded to the religious goals, since speech intelligibility suffered especially with the development of polyphonic music. Important restrictive regulations were met here. a. the Council of Trent . During this time Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina created an exemplary combination of polyphonic music and speech intelligibility; his Missa Papae Marcelli earned him the title "Savior of Polyphony " in the 19th century and elevated him to the stylistic model of Cecilianism .

literature

  • Bretschneider, Wolfgang: Keep the sky open. Music in the liturgy - indispensable or just a nice accessory? In: Music in the liturgy. Development of church music from Gregorian chant to Bach to the New Spiritual Song. Edith Harmsen and Bernd Willmes. Petersberg: Michael Imhof [approx. 2002], pp. 9-18.
  • The fair. A church music manual. Edited by Harald Schützeichel. Düsseldorf: Patmos, 1991
  • Gerhards, Albert: “Holy Game” - Church Music and Liturgy as Rivals or Allies? In: Church music in the 20th century. Heritage and Mission. Edited by Albert Gerhards. Münster: Lit-Verlag, 2005 (= Aesthetics - Theology - Liturgy, Volume 31), pp. 29–38.
  • Gerhards, Albert: liturgical - spiritual. Changes and developments in the perception of church music in the 20th century. In: Kirchenmusikalisches Jahrbuch 75 (1991), pp. 3–10.
  • Hucke, Helmut: What actually is church music? The relationship between church music and liturgy. In: Musica sacra 99 (1979), pp. 193-199.
  • Kurzschenkel, Winfried: The theological determination of music. Newer contributions to the interpretation and valuation of music-making in the Christian life. Trier: Paulinus-Verlag, 1971.
  • Ratzinger, Joseph Cardinal: A new song for the Lord. Faith in Christ and the Liturgy in the Present. Freiburg: Herder, 1995.
  • Second Vatican Council: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy “Sacrosanctum Concilium” (December 4, 1964). In: The documents of the Second Vatican Council: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations. Edited by Peter Hünermann. Freiburg: Herder, 2004 (= Herder's theological commentary on the Second Vatican Council, Volume 1), pp. 3–56.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Second Vatican Council: Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy “Sacrosanctum Concilium” (December 4, 1964). In: The documents of the Second Vatican Council: Constitutions, Decrees, Declarations. Edited by Peter Hünermann. Freiburg: Herder, 2004, p. 47
  2. ↑ Heilmann, Harald: The fine line of sacred music between absurdity and banality. In: Ders .: Music walking a fine line between absurdity and banality. A collection of lectures and magazine articles. Berlin: Astoria, 2000, pp. 1-5.
  3. ↑ Cf. Ratzinger, Joseph Kardinal: “In the face of the angels I will sing to you”. Regensburg tradition and liturgical reform. In: Ders .: A new song for the Lord. Faith in Christ and the Liturgy in the Present. Freiburg: Herder, 1995, pp. 165-186.