Quote of the Day: the "central issue of our culture is fidelity, not adultery or sex abuse." -Alfred McBride.
Crushing Grapes with the Turn of the Season: The Seekers and "Turn, Turn, Turn"
Pete Seeger wrote "Turn, Turn, Turn" with his Co-Author, God. The words are straight out of Ecclesiastes (no, not Ecclesiasticus or the Wisdom of Ben Sirach, one of my favorite books in the bible.) The Byrds made it wildly popular. The Seekers take us the the Barossa Valley in South Australia at wine harvest season to make it real. An absolutely beautiful version.
Jasmine Bonnin's FAB Interview [Auf Deutsch]
Jasmine Bonnin in der Sendung Dorffmann & King-Show auf FAB.
Ihre bisherige Erscheinungen: LPs: "Gelöstes Haar", "Keine Angst", "Zuhause"; CDs: "Gelöstes Haar", "best of...", "Sehn-süchtig." [Jasmine Bonnin's interview on German TV.]
Ihre bisherige Erscheinungen: LPs: "Gelöstes Haar", "Keine Angst", "Zuhause"; CDs: "Gelöstes Haar", "best of...", "Sehn-süchtig." [Jasmine Bonnin's interview on German TV.]
The Seekers - "I am Australian."
They look a little older here. This is at the Spirit of Australia Day celebration. That looks like Slim Dusty in the audience (the guy with the Akubra and the hook nose.)
If you did not know it, the Seekers are Aussies.
If you did not know it, the Seekers are Aussies.
The Seekers: "I'll Never Meet Another You"
The Seekers were a folk group during the mini "folk" boom of the '50s and '60s. When I first heard this song, I did not the antecedent of "you." Eine Schade! You can have the lyrics displayed while they sing.
"Mit siebzehn"
Jasmine Bonnin sings live on the Dorffmann & King-Show. This is a Joni Mitchell song. Very pretty. Very well done. Poignant. In german.
Noch Einmal
And then you can hear the German version "in our streets." Never in our streets of course.
Jasmine Bonnin sings a compact and powerful version in German:- "Strassen unserer Stadt." it is too easy to think this is a song about somewhere else.
The Power of Folk songs
Teller sings "The Streets of London." I have heard folksingers sing this in many a place, often changing the lyrics to reflect where we were. It is evocative, haunting.
The Mass In English
The English have a home court advantage when it comes to Shakespeare's tongue. They have stolen the march on us with the new translation of the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. They started using the new translation with this month already. We do not start until Advent, the start of the next liturgical year.
Bishop Davies also wrote his flock:
"I am also conscious we have just begun to use the new translation of The Roman Missal which unites us in worship. At the heart of Pope Benedict's visit to our country was always the Holy Eucharist celebrated with great dignity and adored with love and reverence. The Holy Father asked that the introduction of this revised English translation would be something more than simply a change of wording: "I encourage you now to seize the opportunity that the new translation offers," he asked, "for in-depth catechesis on the Eucharist and renewed devotion in the manner of its celebration." As we become more familiar with this fresh translation, I hope it will enrich our prayer and understanding, help us to recognise more clearly in the Liturgy the words and images of Scripture and, by the beauty and richness of its language, express our wonder at the mystery and reality of the Mass. I hope we will always go beyond the translated words to the reality they express at the heart of the Mass: Jesus Christ, His Sacrifice and His Real Presence with us as we come together with all the Church. "
Is Tommorrow Is Fast Day #1 In England and Wales
Meatless Fridays are back (in England at least.) Mark Davies, the Catholic Bishop of Shrewsbury, wrote his flock that:
"From Friday this week, the Bishops of England and Wales have restored the practice of abstinence from meat every Friday. We are familiar with this act of penance on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday but now it is extended to every Friday other than Feast Days like Christmas Day.
"For a number of years we have been asked to choose our own act of self-denial on Fridays to mark the day on which Our Lord gave His life for us. But we know this obligation has in practice been often forgotten. So abstinence from meat each Friday (and for those who do not eat meat, abstinence from some other food) will become a weekly reminder that we are a people called to penance and to conversion of life together. It will become a small but significant weekly witness to our Catholic life and identity. And so I wish us to embrace this in a positive way despite the practical difficulties we may encounter. The very fact this will be an act of penance shared by all Catholics will be a witness to our faith in the midst of our working and family lives. "
"The times they are a changin'" as Mr. Dylan once told us. The letter can be read in Zenit.
Feast of the Holy Name of Mary
Today is the Feast of the Holy Name of Mary. Since the decree of Pius X, it commemorates the great Polish Hero, John Sobieski [1629-1696], who raised siege of Vienna on September 12, 1683. Mark Alessio provides the background and more.
Links to Chants
You can find chants and music for Sundays and feasts at:
Jogueschant.org
There are links for both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite.
Jogueschant.org
There are links for both the Ordinary and the Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite.
I cited Johnny Hixson's quotation of Pius XII on Facebook in the previous post. I seemed to have elicited some hot responses. I apologize for having thrown lighter fuel on the fire. My previous posting was a little more nuanced than my Facebook response.
My dislike for low masses is personal not something I would like to impose. And I would, of course, make exceptions for private masses and extraordinary circumstances. A Chinese priest hoping to say mass before the commissar caught him might, like our Irish and English ancestors, want to be quick and quiet about it. (Think of Tom Day’s Why Catholics Can’t Sing.) I would also like to ban all high masses that are not chanted even though it means no Byrd, no Tallis, no Palestrina, and no, sigh, Mozart. I can love them in the concert hall and on CD, but there is no room for the congregation when the mass becomes a concert.
I still have bitter memories of 15 minute speed masses from the fifties. I am not saying all masses were that way, but a mass production mentality was too easy a temptation. (Sorry about the pun.) When I see younger clergy like Fr. Lies or Bishop James Conley celebrating the liturgy using the Missal of John XXIII with a spirituality nurtured by the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, I can understand how that spirituality then animates their celebration of the Ordinary Form. It is a reflection of the human condition that we needed forty years in the liturgical desert before we were able to rediscover the Roman Rite with fresh eyes and hear it as we chant a new song.
There is no reason why, with a modern, educated laity, that all masses can’t be chanted with the congregation chanting the Gloria, the Credo, the Pater Noster, the responses, etc. whether using the Missal of John XXIII (1962) or that of Paul VI (1970). Indeed the new English Missal will even facilitate the congregation’s chanting the Propers in English! I prefer Latin, of course. There will be no excuse for Marty Haugen or the St. Louis Jesuits, not that I expect to see them banned unfortunately.
My dislike for low masses is personal not something I would like to impose. And I would, of course, make exceptions for private masses and extraordinary circumstances. A Chinese priest hoping to say mass before the commissar caught him might, like our Irish and English ancestors, want to be quick and quiet about it. (Think of Tom Day’s Why Catholics Can’t Sing.) I would also like to ban all high masses that are not chanted even though it means no Byrd, no Tallis, no Palestrina, and no, sigh, Mozart. I can love them in the concert hall and on CD, but there is no room for the congregation when the mass becomes a concert.
I still have bitter memories of 15 minute speed masses from the fifties. I am not saying all masses were that way, but a mass production mentality was too easy a temptation. (Sorry about the pun.) When I see younger clergy like Fr. Lies or Bishop James Conley celebrating the liturgy using the Missal of John XXIII with a spirituality nurtured by the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, I can understand how that spirituality then animates their celebration of the Ordinary Form. It is a reflection of the human condition that we needed forty years in the liturgical desert before we were able to rediscover the Roman Rite with fresh eyes and hear it as we chant a new song.
There is no reason why, with a modern, educated laity, that all masses can’t be chanted with the congregation chanting the Gloria, the Credo, the Pater Noster, the responses, etc. whether using the Missal of John XXIII (1962) or that of Paul VI (1970). Indeed the new English Missal will even facilitate the congregation’s chanting the Propers in English! I prefer Latin, of course. There will be no excuse for Marty Haugen or the St. Louis Jesuits, not that I expect to see them banned unfortunately.
Senseless Antiquarianism
Anachronism in the reform of liturgy is no virtue.
Organic development is no vice.
Johnny Hixson quotes Pius XII on Facebook:
"Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive table form; were he to want black excluded as a color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer's body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See."
-Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, November 20, 1947
A few observations:
I have not checked the accuracy of the translation, but"straying from the straight path" sounds too much like a Maoism. Pius forgive me (or is it your translator?)
In paragraph 64, Pius XII rejects "senseless antiquarianism." I agree. Mr. Hixson's quote is from Paragraph 62 and should be read in this context. Benedict has explained this with great theological insight both now and before his papacy. Renewing the liturgy is central to renewing the church. Wrecking the liturgy to reconstruct some scholar's mistaken imagining of how the primitive church must have performed the liturgy is not renewal.
In the context of all three paragraphs of Mediator Dei, Pius rejects those who attack as inauthentic any development of the liturgy after that of the primitive church, i.e., as reconstructed in the mind models of scholars. He himself reformed the Holy Week liturgy which is how it came to its form in the Missal of John XXIII: the 1962 Missal commonly used as the missal in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
Personally I believe that the idea the altar should be a Renaissance dinner table is anachronistic. Whether the table is like Michelangelo's Last Supper or Luther's Tisch, it is neither like what Christ sat at nor like the altar in the Jewish Temple. Both are Renaissance projections back to the first century: "senseless antiquarianism."
Personally I love sacred polyphony, but prefer chant in mass and think every mass should be chanted. I would eliminate low masses other than private masses and under extraordinary circumstances. Music after Praetorius, even that of divine Mozart, robs the congregation of its rightful role. This is a tragedy of the reductionist reforms of Trent. It is even true even of my beloved Renaissance polyphony. Am I throwing the baby out with the bath water? Tallis forgive me!
Organic development is no vice.
Johnny Hixson quotes Pius XII on Facebook:
"Thus, to cite some instances, one would be straying from the straight path were he to wish the altar restored to its primitive table form; were he to want black excluded as a color for the liturgical vestments; were he to forbid the use of sacred images and statues in Churches; were he to order the crucifix so designed that the divine Redeemer's body shows no trace of His cruel sufferings; and lastly were he to disdain and reject polyphonic music or singing in parts, even where it conforms to regulations issued by the Holy See."
-Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei, November 20, 1947
A few observations:
I have not checked the accuracy of the translation, but"straying from the straight path" sounds too much like a Maoism. Pius forgive me (or is it your translator?)
In paragraph 64, Pius XII rejects "senseless antiquarianism." I agree. Mr. Hixson's quote is from Paragraph 62 and should be read in this context. Benedict has explained this with great theological insight both now and before his papacy. Renewing the liturgy is central to renewing the church. Wrecking the liturgy to reconstruct some scholar's mistaken imagining of how the primitive church must have performed the liturgy is not renewal.
In the context of all three paragraphs of Mediator Dei, Pius rejects those who attack as inauthentic any development of the liturgy after that of the primitive church, i.e., as reconstructed in the mind models of scholars. He himself reformed the Holy Week liturgy which is how it came to its form in the Missal of John XXIII: the 1962 Missal commonly used as the missal in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.
Personally I believe that the idea the altar should be a Renaissance dinner table is anachronistic. Whether the table is like Michelangelo's Last Supper or Luther's Tisch, it is neither like what Christ sat at nor like the altar in the Jewish Temple. Both are Renaissance projections back to the first century: "senseless antiquarianism."
Personally I love sacred polyphony, but prefer chant in mass and think every mass should be chanted. I would eliminate low masses other than private masses and under extraordinary circumstances. Music after Praetorius, even that of divine Mozart, robs the congregation of its rightful role. This is a tragedy of the reductionist reforms of Trent. It is even true even of my beloved Renaissance polyphony. Am I throwing the baby out with the bath water? Tallis forgive me!
Nothing Without You: Chandelier of Stars
Great country song by John Williamson: Chandelier of Stars. All rights belong to him. If you would like to buy it: http://bigpondmusic.com/Album/John-Williamson/Chandelier-Of-Stars2.aspx?searc...
I Am Australian
This is a song written by Bruce Woodley (him you see here starting to sing the song) and Dobe Newton and should warm the cockles any Aussie's heart where every he or she might be.
Some Straight Men Are Too Straight
Your Aussie a bit rusty? Here's an Australian TV mob reacting to one of their number's trying to tell a joke to the Dalai Lama:
Thanks to Carl McColman via Jim Graf:
http://anamchara.com/2011/06/14/what-not-to-say-to-the-dalai-lama/
Thanks to Carl McColman via Jim Graf:
http://anamchara.com/2011/06/14/what-not-to-say-to-the-dalai-lama/
One Smart, Determined Lady
Why?
“'I just knew I’d be happiest doing this,'” she said." So much for stereotypes!
She is now that rare soul, an increasingly successful woman trainer in a man's world of racing.
How did she do it?
"In 2003 she joined trainer Todd Pletcher as an assistant and soon was handling strings in Kentucky, Florida, and Delaware. During this time she rode and helped train champions Ashado and English Channel in addition to many other stakes winners." Jacqueline Duke is writing about her on BloodHorse.com, the web site for Blood Horse magazine a trade publication in the thoroughbred horse industry. Todd Pletcher might be thought of as the IBM of horse training, commanding many of the best as well as many of the less classy horses. To manage horses in various parts of the country requires management skills as well as hands-on horse training. Duke tells us, Nihei "learned important lessons about organization and consistency." There's more to being a trainer than just handling the horses.
When it comes to determination, do not underestimate this lady. Remember that riding three quarters of a ton horses in not quite a safe profession. As an exercise rider for Pletcher, a filly filliped over on her, breaking "her tibia and tore all the supporting structures in a knee."
Duke tells us, "As paramedics loaded her into the ambulance, one of them told her, 'You’ll be lucky if you ever walk again. You will never ride again.'"
Did that daunt her? Heck no! She told them, "'Watch me. Even if you cut this thing off, I will ride again.'”
Leigh Hornbeck, a writer for the Saratoga Times Union, puts it in perspective after she interviewed Nihei: "She’s an exceptional person – if she wasn’t so gracious you might hate her – smart, pretty, incredibly fit."
What Really Happened When They Reformed the Liturgy?
Nicola Giampietro: "They have all the best intentions, but with this mentality they have only been able to demolish and not to restore." (192)
The Rev. Dr Alcuin Reid, one of the most sensible liturgists in the Catholic world, reviews Nicola Giampietro, The Development of the Liturgical Reform: As Seen by Cardinal Ferdinando Antonelli from 1948-197 (Fort Collins CO: Roman Catholic Books, 2009 xx + 347 pages. Paperback. $33.75 in Antiphon, the journal of liturgical renewal.
Giampietro was there when it all happened. He was heavily involved in the liturgical Movement. He was the secretary to the second Vatican council's work on Sacrosanctum Consilium, its constitution on the liturgy. You can read his review on the New Liturgical Movement.
The Rev. Dr Alcuin Reid, one of the most sensible liturgists in the Catholic world, reviews Nicola Giampietro, The Development of the Liturgical Reform: As Seen by Cardinal Ferdinando Antonelli from 1948-197 (Fort Collins CO: Roman Catholic Books, 2009 xx + 347 pages. Paperback. $33.75 in Antiphon, the journal of liturgical renewal.
Giampietro was there when it all happened. He was heavily involved in the liturgical Movement. He was the secretary to the second Vatican council's work on Sacrosanctum Consilium, its constitution on the liturgy. You can read his review on the New Liturgical Movement.
