Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-08-19

desire to further it; the other
is the sense of urgency and
the backing given him by the
famous "Motu Proprio" of
Pope Plus x. and the related
documents of his two success
sors to the papacy. Two flfths
of the book is devoted to re-
printing official Catholic docu-
ments concerning music, and
extensive quotations from the
popes' esSages appear
throughout Mr.. Hume's text.
To understand the wishes Of
the author of the "Motu Pro-
prio" and to do what he can
to bring them to pass is Mr..
Hume's chief aim.
Position Is Sound One
Mr.. Hume's position is a
sound one, for if one were to
judge by the evidence garnered
from Catholic Church Music"
previous effort has centered on
determining whe Their the
"Motu Proprio" is in fact sol-
emn law. binding Roman
Catholics to obedience. The
documents author was clear
on the point, saying: 1--WE will
with the fullnesS of Our Apos-
tolic Authority that the force
of law be given, and We do by
Our present handwriting i'm
pose the Scrupulous observance
on ALL" This was in 1903.
Twenty-Five years later Plus
XII wrote on the subject: LEST
anyone in the future should
invent easy excuses for ex-
empting himself from obedi-
ence to the law of the Church
-; finally, last Christmas,
on what Mr.. Hume calls IAN
everlastingly happy day." Plus
XII issued an encyclical in
which he spoke of the "Motu
Proprio" as the legal code of
sacred music"
Meanwhile, however, the
validity of the "Motu Proprio"
had already been confirmed.
One of the most fascinating
chapters of Mr.. Hume's book
is a document by Juan Ma
varro, a Mexican priest, en-
titled "IS the Motu Proprio of
Blessed Plus Tenth On Sacred
Music Binding In Conscience?"
Father Navarro finds that it
is. and that failure to observe
some of the laws of the "Motu
Proprio" is a grievous sin;
while neglect Of other pre-
scriptions is not grave in itself.
Mr.. Hume'S book has as its
foundation the "Motu Proprio,"
a document which I hesitate to
summarize. feeling that the
reader interested in the argu-
ment of this article will want
to study the "Motu Proprio"
in its entirety.
Pope Plus x said that the
'Motu Proprio" will eliminate
all vagueness from the inter-
probation of the laws concern
ing church music, but not
everyone will agree that he has
been successful in his laud-
able attempt. Catholic church
music must have the qualities
of "sanctity," goodness of
form" universally" and must
be true art" Alas. there is
not unanimity of opinion about
these matters. The Pope cites
Gregorian chant and 10th CEN
fury classical polyphony, and
says that certain modern
music is permitted and en-
couraged, but no examples
are given as a guide. Music
later than the 10th century
must be free of all secular
faint, although many of the
pieces of the 18th century
school. approved by the "Motu
Proprio." were frankly based
on secular tunes. What is the
distinction?
A KnOtty Problem
Mr.. Hume does not discuss
the problem. which is certainly
a knotty one. My wife, trained
by the Sacred Heart, suggests
that secular tunes are ell
right if none Of the singers or
members of the congregation
recognizes the source-a plau-
sible explanation. Does the
"Motu Proprio," with its ban
on wind music. except by spe-
cial permission, disown the
great works of Gabriel and
Lotti. for example? These COM
posers are considered glories
of Catholic church music, as
are Haydn and Mozart, now
generally (but perhaps mac
curately) considered to be
unacceptable.
Are the works Of Roman
Catholic composers only ac-
ceptable? One can find no hint
of the answer. unless the fact
that only singers of known
piety and uprightness are suit
able for choirs is considered
opposite. Exactly what does
Plus x want in addition to
Gregorian and 18th century
polyphony. That good church
music - music acceptable to
the "Motu Proprio"-may not
bear a trace Of secularism. may
not be fashioned even in Its
external patterns on the move
ment Of profane pieces. is be-
wildering. to say the least,
for there has never been any
really first rate church music
that did not show the effect Of
its secular artistic environ
ment. Only second-rate COM
posers write "churchy" mu-
sic. Apart from unimportant
eXternals such as language and