Thesis submission ID 928 | created
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Mary Pedder Daly , The effectiveness and relevance of post-Vatican II Irish liturgical works in the context of Musicam Sacram in twenty-first century Irish Catholic liturgy
Volumes, pp.: 1 vol (viii, 267 pp.)
Supervisor(s): Denise Neary
Repository (online): https://www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/110409
Repository (hard copy): Royal Irish Academy of Music Library
General specialism: Musicology: Performance Studies
Historical timeframe: 1960-present
Key terms, persons: Fintan O'Carroll; Margaret Daly-Denton; Liam Lawton; Bernard Sexton
Key terms, institutions: Irish Catholic Church; Church Assemblies
Key terms, genres, instruments: Church music; Sacrosanctum Concilium; Musicam Sacram; Choral music, Mass, Sacred music
Summary:
The relevance of Musicam Sacram in Catholic Church Liturgies will be researched in the context of the prevailing attitudes towards standards, attendance and participation of assemblies. It will discuss the instructions on the use of music, its qualities, and its impact on liturgy.
Abstract:
Musicam Sacram and its effects on twenty-first-century Irish Catholic Church liturgies are discussed with particular reference to Irish liturgical works composed after Vatican II by Fintan P. O’Carroll, Margaret Daly-Denton, Liam Lawton and Bernard Sexton. This study discusses the absence of congregational participation in the liturgy through singing despite accessible liturgical works by these composers. Congregational singing was one of the aspirations in the guidelines and instructions of Musicam Sacram that would encourage active participation of the assembly. This aspiration has not succeeded as most congregations do not sing and liturgies are robotic and lifeless when they should be awe-inspiring, uplifting and joyful.
Documents on church music from Pope Pius X to Pope Francis and hymnals used in Irish Catholic churches before and after Vatican II give an insight into the prevailing attitudes of Popes and the hymns that were sung by choirs. After Vatican II new settings of Masses in the vernacular were composed for the Irish church by Irish composers resulting in the overexposure of one or two to the detriment of others. This corpus has been dominated by male composers and, although females contribute more than their male counterparts in every area of church life, as composers they are in the minority. As women constitute the majority of the membership of church choirs and are the main conduit through which composers perform their works, this study shines a light on their diminished status both as church members and composers.
While choirs play their part in the liturgy the constituents of this elusive solution for non-engagement of congregations lie within the Catholic Church community where from the home to the school to the parish, incremental faith and liturgical formation of clergy and laity must be on-going. In line with this sentiment, this study examines the musical content of the religious programme ‘Grow in Love’ designed for National Schools that aims to facilitate an inter-generational progression towards active participation for young and old alike. It has to be properly taught and must be embraced by the three islands of the school, the home and the parish for it to work successfully.
To discuss this objective of Musicam Sacram specific works and their accessibility are examined from the perspective of preparation and performance by choir and congregation and addresses the subject of how active participation of the assembly can be achieved. This study contributes new insights and knowledge of these selected works that are specifically composed for congregational participation from an analytical, critical and pedagogical perspective. This constitutes the core of this work that is undertaken with optimism and hope that it can inspire and add to the body of knowledge already in existence on this subject.
Mary Pedder Daly , The effectiveness and relevance of post-Vatican II Irish liturgical works in the context of Musicam Sacram in twenty-first century Irish Catholic liturgy
DMusPerf, Royal Irish Academy of Music, 2024
Volumes, pp.: 1 vol (viii, 267 pp.)
Supervisor(s): Denise Neary
Repository (online): https://www.tara.tcd.ie/handle/2262/110409
Repository (hard copy): Royal Irish Academy of Music Library
General specialism: Musicology: Performance Studies
Historical timeframe: 1960-present
Key terms, persons: Fintan O'Carroll; Margaret Daly-Denton; Liam Lawton; Bernard Sexton
Key terms, institutions: Irish Catholic Church; Church Assemblies
Key terms, genres, instruments: Church music; Sacrosanctum Concilium; Musicam Sacram; Choral music, Mass, Sacred music
Summary:
The relevance of Musicam Sacram in Catholic Church Liturgies will be researched in the context of the prevailing attitudes towards standards, attendance and participation of assemblies. It will discuss the instructions on the use of music, its qualities, and its impact on liturgy.
Abstract:
Musicam Sacram and its effects on twenty-first-century Irish Catholic Church liturgies are discussed with particular reference to Irish liturgical works composed after Vatican II by Fintan P. O’Carroll, Margaret Daly-Denton, Liam Lawton and Bernard Sexton. This study discusses the absence of congregational participation in the liturgy through singing despite accessible liturgical works by these composers. Congregational singing was one of the aspirations in the guidelines and instructions of Musicam Sacram that would encourage active participation of the assembly. This aspiration has not succeeded as most congregations do not sing and liturgies are robotic and lifeless when they should be awe-inspiring, uplifting and joyful.
Documents on church music from Pope Pius X to Pope Francis and hymnals used in Irish Catholic churches before and after Vatican II give an insight into the prevailing attitudes of Popes and the hymns that were sung by choirs. After Vatican II new settings of Masses in the vernacular were composed for the Irish church by Irish composers resulting in the overexposure of one or two to the detriment of others. This corpus has been dominated by male composers and, although females contribute more than their male counterparts in every area of church life, as composers they are in the minority. As women constitute the majority of the membership of church choirs and are the main conduit through which composers perform their works, this study shines a light on their diminished status both as church members and composers.
While choirs play their part in the liturgy the constituents of this elusive solution for non-engagement of congregations lie within the Catholic Church community where from the home to the school to the parish, incremental faith and liturgical formation of clergy and laity must be on-going. In line with this sentiment, this study examines the musical content of the religious programme ‘Grow in Love’ designed for National Schools that aims to facilitate an inter-generational progression towards active participation for young and old alike. It has to be properly taught and must be embraced by the three islands of the school, the home and the parish for it to work successfully.
To discuss this objective of Musicam Sacram specific works and their accessibility are examined from the perspective of preparation and performance by choir and congregation and addresses the subject of how active participation of the assembly can be achieved. This study contributes new insights and knowledge of these selected works that are specifically composed for congregational participation from an analytical, critical and pedagogical perspective. This constitutes the core of this work that is undertaken with optimism and hope that it can inspire and add to the body of knowledge already in existence on this subject.
Thesis submission ID 928