The Bugnini-Liturgy and the Reform of the Reform - MusicaSacra

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pers in actual liturgical celebration will know how immensely the traditional structure contributed to the effectiveness of the Hour, which was guided by liturgical sensitivity to the exigencies of real life, and not by a mechanical system. This order, which was animated by the spirit of prayer and can only be understood and judged in its life-functions, came into existence through the concatenation of logical, theological, psychological and artistic forces. The high point of these three Hours was the canticle from the Gospels, whose dignity derived from its position in the New Testament, but whose text originated in the world of the psalms. Apart from the antiphon, it is exactly the uplifting force of the hymns which assisted the community in singing these words in their full brilliance, at the climax of the celebration. From the midpoint of the Hours, i.e., from the capitulum onwards there emerges a "block" (consisting of chapter, responsory hymn and canticle) equivalent to the "block" of psalmody in time and significance but, in contrast to the smooth course of the psalmody, characterized by a steadily increasing intensity. In opposition to the first section of the Hour which is primarily accommodated to the Old Testament (and only in its application, to the New Testament), the second section reveals the consummation in the New Testament more directly. The liturgical truth of this structure is even more transparent in the Vespers of the feasts. This Hour commences with the tranquillity of the psalms which contain antiphons enough to attune the hearts to the feast and to lend intellectual-musical emphasis to the psalmody. The chapter takes only one sentence from the Scriptures and calls attention to it through its very conciseness (as well as through the related visual elements). After this sentence, a climax is reached: the responsory (in fact, prolixum!) raises us out of the world of the psalmody. The hymn which follows, lends wings to the Hour in every respect: its five to eight verses provide an excellent framework within which the Church speaks in direct terms about the feast, and not merely through the words of the Bible. The form and the poetic mode of expression differentiate this unit from the rest of the liturgy in a characteristic way. The versicle separating the hymn from the canticle seems to be well-nigh a composed rest, but it represents as much a momentary relaxation, as does the "letting back" before the climax of the great musical compositions. The emotional and thought content accumulated in the hymn then breaks forth in the canticle, which though always textually identical, is always interpreted anew under the influence of the hymn. 16
In themselves, the contents of the canticle are rather general in comparison with those of the hymn, which assumes here almost the function of the introductory tropes, thereby lending particular stress to the most important thing: the one continuous praise of the Lord. The antiphon of the canticle is not sufficient to fulfill this function; it is, however, adequate for maintaining the notion of the feast and linking it with the canticle. Let us recall too that following the accumulation of these poetic and festive thoughts in the verses of the hymn, the fire of the evening burnt offering is being brought in during the singing of its last verse of praise, and the versicle is being sung while the priest imposes incense upon the glowing embers so that its smoke and scent should also render visibly present the canticle's general praise of the Lord as the climax of the Hour. It is evident that this construction of the Hour is basically dynamic and that its progressive structure varies completely from that of the little Hours. Only a dull rationalism could take pleasure in reducing all the Hours to the same pattern. The argument in favor of the introduction of the Bugnini breviary, which alleges that the hymn must indicate the part of the day and the feast at the beginning of the Hour, is not convincing either. Every person singing the Office will know whether it is sunset or dawn, while the thought of the feast is sufficiently expressed by the antiphons. The fact that this thought is first expressed more enigmatically, deduced from the psalm, and then more and more explicitly, reflects the spirituality of the Hour. Even if we accept this speculative argument, we would still feel that the evacuation of the middle section of the Hour and the loss of its characteristic spiritual and psychological structure are too high a price to pay for the alleged practical advantages. The compilers of the Bugnini liturgy must also have felt that by shifting the hymn to the beginning, the inner equilibrium of the Hour has been disturbed and its middle section has been impoverished. This may account for the inclusion of the pseudo-psalms at the end of the psalmody which are taken from the epistles of the apostles or from the Book of Revelation. One cannot exclude the possibility that biblical scholars, suspecting ancient Christian songs in some of them, are right after all. But should they be songs, then they must rather be included in the second or third categories of Saint Paul's "psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs" (Eph. 5:19), let us say perhaps as early forerunners of songs like the Phos Hilaron, or the independent genres of the Orthodox liturgy and the extensive Latin antiphons, 17
Page 1 and 2: in cooperation with the Church Musi
Page 3: THE BUGNINI-LITURGY AND THE REFORM
Page 6 and 7: Copyright © 2003 by Dobszay Laszlo
Page 9 and 10: Introduction The growing displeasur
Page 11 and 12: 2. The reason why I think that the
Page 13 and 14: whole spirituality of the clergy, o
Page 15: the hymn by linking the resurrectio
Page 19 and 20: The Constitution on the sacred litu
Page 21 and 22: sented to the public as the next st
Page 23 and 24: dition, but only from the Tridentin
Page 25 and 26: addition to the contents. They incl
Page 27 and 28: frame to the benediction (similar t
Page 29 and 30: with the other members of the Roman
Page 31 and 32: This statement will prove to be eve
Page 33 and 34: various church types. But the numbe
Page 35 and 36: The culmination of the Good Friday
Page 37 and 38: 7. The new arrangement of the EASTK
Page 39 and 40: many churches by a threefold intona
Page 41 and 42: tute for the Introit after which it
Page 43 and 44: lows us to sing anything during the
Page 45 and 46: 3. THE DIVINE OFFICE In the most sp
Page 47 and 48: ii. While the continuous psalmody w
Page 49 and 50: fulfillment, from Creation (psalms)
Page 51 and 52: day and the feasts is regulated by
Page 53 and 54: Within this framework the Roman Off
Page 55 and 56: the priests' spirituality. At the e
Page 57 and 58: weakly remained in effect, the basi
Page 59 and 60: unprepared for a well-founded respo
Page 61 and 62: the three Hours to one. In actual f
Page 63 and 64: I do not know what the "true spirit
Page 65 and 66: In the process of practical impleme
Page 67 and 68:
5. Is the Liturgia Horarum part of
Page 69 and 70:
C. No other way? Could another way
Page 71 and 72:
One solution could be the construct
Page 73 and 74:
priests should be prepared to be ab
Page 75 and 76:
velopment and tactful intervention
Page 77 and 78:
The psalm selection of LAUDS goes b
Page 79 and 80:
The best time for the continuous ps
Page 81 and 82:
hymn at all. There is, however, a s
Page 83 and 84:
Vigil antiphons for Sunday are sele
Page 85 and 86:
4. The Chants of the Proprium Missa
Page 87 and 88:
munion chants in the Graduate Roman
Page 89 and 90:
of our own day should not be unwort
Page 91 and 92:
selections from classical Christian
Page 93 and 94:
sies. Can we possibly say that toda
Page 95 and 96:
tui." The womb of Mary is the soil
Page 97 and 98:
With this in mind, I ask once more:
Page 99 and 100:
Exactly when and how this "properiz
Page 101 and 102:
As far as its formal aspect is conc
Page 103 and 104:
tence. The creation of individual p
Page 105 and 106:
efforts in recent centuries would h
Page 107 and 108:
Along with the other texts, the Pro
Page 109 and 110:
tion. General congregational partic
Page 111 and 112:
largely on recurring (and hence eas
Page 113 and 114:
the inner nature of the liturgy and
Page 115 and 116:
Masses" of a well-provided parish c
Page 117 and 118:
this permission is counterbalanced
Page 119 and 120:
oth the great and significant relig
Page 121 and 122:
5. The Readings of the Mass and the
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Which are the "important and essent
Page 125 and 126:
ut adds the inquiry of the publican
Page 127 and 128:
showed the catechumens the image of
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Pentecost now has a new Gospel, the
Page 131 and 132:
days). Peter's confession is on the
Page 133 and 134:
takes the scroll, reads it aloud, a
Page 135 and 136:
to appropriate analogies from the h
Page 137 and 138:
mitted in the Lectionary) do provid
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week. The arguments on behalf of th
Page 141 and 142:
I also regret the new position of t
Page 143 and 144:
iods of the per annum season cannot
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The rituals made a careful record (
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6. The Tridentine Movement and the
Page 149 and 150:
I. What is the "traditional Roman l
Page 151 and 152:
The geographical (or rather, instit
Page 153 and 154:
And thus many rich elements of the
Page 155 and 156:
However, the conclusion is quite di
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the whole of Catholic doctrine, and
Page 159 and 160:
Gospel is the Word of the Living Ch
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merits, that moral life: fraternal
Page 163 and 164:
and doctrinally rich Sequences for
Page 165 and 166:
pie to the traditional Roman liturg
Page 167 and 168:
traordinary cases be read, the firs
Page 169 and 170:
We cannot postulate, of course, the
Page 171 and 172:
But on the other hand, it cannot be
Page 173 and 174:
emain unchanged, they are easy to l
Page 175 and 176:
5. The simple fact of translation h
Page 177 and 178:
In arguing both on behalf of the "T
Page 179 and 180:
permits absolutely no change. If ch
Page 181 and 182:
most frivolous music resounds witho
Page 183 and 184:
e concordant with the voice. It is
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3. The third problem with the new s
Page 187 and 188:
the nouvelk theologie) of worship a
Page 189 and 190:
of the liturgical parts; allows the
Page 191 and 192:
efore the Mass: and introductory fo
Page 193 and 194:
music will be able to contribute to
Page 195 and 196:
But there is a more deeply rooted m
Page 197 and 198:
the liturgy has been abandoned, and
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of compromises was fulfilled: what
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they are not opposites. At the same
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Urformen. the two 'opposite' qualit
Page 205 and 206:
melody (with a result unsatisfactor
Page 207 and 208:
the State became more liberal and t
Page 209 and 210:
side the liturgy: preaching, proces
Page 211 and 212:
case of Mozart's church music calle
Page 213 and 214:
text had its own melody. Choirs, or
Page 215 and 216:
abandoned by a new priest in favor
Page 217:
when the day of true reform dawns,
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The Bugnini-Liturgy and the Reform of the Reform - MusicaSacra

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