Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-03-20
NICOLA A. MONTANA
On Church Music Past and Present

CHURCH music is now In one of its
- periodic states of Transformation. in the
opinion of Nicola 4. Nontani, conductor OF
the l'alestrina choir and organist and choir
master at st. Johns Church.
"Church music said Mr.. Montan, 'is
now in one of its half way periods, and
believe is struggling to find n better express
centuries. The first real decadence of church
music began about the time Of Orlando di
Lasso. or even earlier, when music of all
kinds became so surfeited with counterpoint
for its own sake that there was little Of any
thing else left In It.
''The whole question is u matter Of cycles.
and we nre having the same reaction now
which has been gone through many times
before. In the classic pOlyDhonic period
composers had exhausted the technical
resources Of the art and in trying to
find new vehicle OF expression resortcd to
the unjustifed plan of using the popular
songs OF their day as cantus firmus. and
even went to the length OF adopting ribald
drinking songs as q basic element of ecclc.
siastical composition.
Csed Even the Words
AT times they even interpnlated the very
words Of the street songs In connection with
the Latin text. These exccsses led almost
10 the abolition of music in the church by
the ecclesiastical authorities.
Fortunately. through the works of Pal
estrina, church music was rescued from such
q deplorable state, and in the next cycl" II
repossessed itself of its original typical
cleSia stical nature. and this was the age Of
absolute purity in the church. music style.
This state Of affairs continued until til" re-
currencc Of the next secular cycle, and in
the time of Haydn and Mozart music in the
church again took on the manner of the
operate style in vogue at that time. and this
might be called the Niennesc period.
What Sebastian Bach Did
Then in Protestant music cam" Johann
Sebastian Bach, and that great genius de-
vcloped the congregational element and
raised and maintained the artistic standard
to II superlative degree In an ecclesiastical
style fitting to the Protestant service.
"But the retrogression in church music
came in the greatest degree from the efforts
of poorly equipped composers, who attempted
to copy the religious works and style of
Haydn, Mozart and Schubert without the
genius of those great men. Most of the
religious music Of Beethoven was written
more for concert purposes, especially those
In the more elaborate forms. such as the
Mass in ID minor, and the physical charac-
teristics of his larger works make 1t i'm :
possible to use them for liturgical purposes.
1.-THE poor imitators of Haydn, Mozart
and Schubert deluged the world with made
Quate copies of master works-cOmpositOns
In which the real spirit OF these great men
| was missing. while the works retained the
outward forms. In the Catholic Church this
led to the order issued BY Pope Plus Y with
regard to the proper use of music in the
church. And. coupled with this weak music,
was the ludicrous repetition of the text to
such IN extent that many of these works
seem to have no relation to the liturgical
services.
operate Music Used Again
This led 70 greater evils, for II il no,
uncommon to hear in some churches populnr
songs Of the day used with sacred words.
Even some operate numbers have been fur.
nished with religious words and sung.
| music undoubtedly excellent as music alone
| but having no place In the church. Amonp
| these might be mentioned the scxtct from
Lucia tho quartet from 'Rigoletto' and
/ others, with all their theatrical and mclo
| dramatic atmosphere. There is somcthnp
artistically wrong in the transference "I
operate music TO the church, to say nothinn
| OF the affront to religious sensibiltics.
''Thc best of the modern composers bov,
! differentiated between the secular and th,
church style, and this Ia especially the case
| With the great Russians, Tschaikovsky
Yachmanlnof aud the othsrs. Their work,
fsr the church are entirely different q nan,
ytays from their concert comrositions. Ans