The crux of the Ordinariate project, according to Pope Benedict XI’s 2009 apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus, is evangelization. In this short piece, I seek to explore some of the ways that the Anglican musical tradition contributes to the Ordinariate’s evangelical project.
Quality Theology
In a general sense, the texts of traditional Anglican hymnody (from the 16th through the 19th and even 20th centuries) form the singers/listeners of this music in good, sound theology. This music thus evangelizes the singer/listener by teaching and catechizing him or her regarding essential dogmas and doctrines of the Faith.
Memorability
Moreover, traditional Anglican hymns texts have a real tendency to stay in the singer/listener’s mind. Although it is true that any text is much easier for the brain to remember if it has been set to music, it is also true that these hymn writers were formed in the literary/poetic tradition of the King James Bible, which was intended not only to be read aloud both in the church and in public places, but was intended to be memorable. Indeed, the accents, inflections, rhythms and cadences of the KJV translation greatly facilitate memorization of Scriptural passages. If theologically and poetically rich hymn texts are burned into a person’s brain, they will be there when that person needs them most - in times of trial, or in times when a friend may need to hear such words.
Hieratic Linguistic Style
The KJV utilizes a style of English that was employed in both the Church and court - a hieratic (“heightened”) linguistic style that rested above much of the vernacular of the streets and other places. Thomas Cranmer too employed this sacral English in his Book of Common Prayer (hence, the term “Prayer Book English”). This sacral language, employed in not just Anglican hymnody, but Anglican service music (Mass Ordinaries, consisting of the Kyrie/Gloria/Credo/Sanctus/Agnus Dei) and sung propers (Introit/Gradual/Alleluia/Offertory/Communion), has a tremendous power to evangelize all who sing and hear Anglican liturgical music. Elevated language draws the mind to heights that enable real, deep contemplation of the sacred mysteries.
Universality
The KJV and Book of Common Prayer also came into being at a time when the English language was at a poetic high point. The English of the KJV is the English of Shakespeare - whom, it should be remembered, was popular with all social classes. In this way, the language of the KJV is truly universal and in no way “elitist” or intended for just a few. Further, the KJV is not only the most widely disseminated and read Bible translation, but book, in the history of the world! Thus, any musical tradition steeped in the texts of the KJV participates in the universality that the KJV possesses. Such universality is critical in the project of evangelization, which seeks to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people.
Musical Connection to the Early Church
The oldest type of Christian liturgical music is the psalm tones - simple, elegant, easily-memorizable, monophonic (consisting of one musical line), syllabic (consisting of one note per sung syllable) chants that the early Church likely borrowed from the Second Jewish Temple. In Anglican churches that sing the propers, these propers are most often sung to psalm tones. Psalm tones are also used by Anglican monasteries for the chanting of the week’s 150 psalms. In this way, use of the psalm tones helps bring Anglicans into direct contact with the worship and beliefs of the earliest Christians. Anything that connects someone to the witness of the early Church has strong power to evangelize that person.
Musical Connection to Christians of the Last 2K Years
The early Church’s psalm tones eventually developed into more florid, melismatic chants. These melismas (referring to one syllable sung to many notes) constituted the traditional Latin Gregorian propers. When some Anglican communities sing the propers, some of them use these melismatic chants, while singing the text in hieratic English (instead of Latin). By the millennium, the Church was singing organum - a monophonic Gregorian chant sung with another melody either moving directly with the original chant line (such as in parallel fourths or fifths, called parallel organum) or against it (called oblique organum). Organum has frequently been used in Anglican churches, turning English monophonic chants into essentially homophonic ones.
By the 12th century, the Church was singing polyphonic organum (called the ars antiqua). Indeed, polyphonic styles differ greatly from this century, through the 13th, 14th (ars nova and ars subtilior), 15th, and 16th centuries. A clearer, more homophonic (consisting of numerous musical lines, sung with largely the same rhythm) style of polyphonic writing emerged in the Catholic Church in the 16th century after several centuries of extremely complex polyphonic writing. With the advent of English church music in the 16th century, Anglican composers wrote in this same musical style (but in English, of course, instead of Latin).
Baroque, 17th-century Catholic church music (from the prima practica/stile antico of early Baroque music, which modeled itself after 16th-century polyphonic writing, through seconda pratica/stile moderno of later Baroque music) was largely concerted (accompanied by instrumental, musical ensembles characteristic of the time). So was Anglican music of that time.
Anglicans have always utilized ancient and medieval chant. While there is essentially no Anglican music that looks back and utilizes 12th to 15th-century musical styles, the Anglican compositions of the 16th and 17th centuries essentially run directly parallel to those of Catholic composers. The Catholic and Anglican musical patrimony of these two centuries is thereby fundamentally connected. This fundamental Catholicity of Anglican music makes it truly evangelical, as the focus of evangelization is to bring to the world the fullness of the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which can only be found in the Catholic Church.
In the 18th century, much of the Catholic Church adopted the musical style of the Classical, symphonic, orchestral, symphonic Mass, which emerged right out of the 17th-century, concerted, Baroque style. However, 18th-century Anglican composers largely continued composing in the styles of the previous centuries. In the Romantic 19th century, musical convergence between Catholic and Anglican music reappeared in the musical style of the time, which largely involved big instrumental and choral forces. In this century, a plethora of musical styles flowered up - some that harkened back to the 16th and 17th centuries, and some that operated more in the operatic 19th-century style. In the 20th and 21th centuries, traditional Anglican music has largely harkened back to the 19th-and-earlier century styles.
From the ancient psalm tones, to medieval melismatic chant, organum, and polyphonic organum, to the various styles of Renaissance polyphonic writing, to Baroque concerted music, to Classical orchestral music, to Romantic operatic and other styles, a real, authentic, organic trajectory and development can be traced in Catholic music. Anglicans have used almost all of these musical styles. In this way, the entire Anglican musical tradition connects singers/players/listeners to 2,000 years of Christian believers. The evangelical power of this cannot be underestimated.
Aesthetic Beauty
Now that textual and historical arguments have been made to show the evangelical power of Anglican music, I will present the aesthetic/apologetical argument. The Western musical canon, in which the Anglican musical tradition participates, “is something unique, having no equal in other cultures”, according to Pope Benedict XVI. “In no other cultural sphere”, says Benedict, “is there a music of equal greatness than of that born in the realm of the Christian faith: from Palestrina to Bach, to Händel, all the way to Mozart, Beethoven, and Bruckner.” “This music”, for Benedict, “demonstrates the truth of Christianity.” If Western, Anglican music intrinsically demonstrates the truth of Christianity through its aesthetic greatness, it can be said to possess incredible power to evangelize all peoples.
Video is Choral Evensong for Passion Sunday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Walsingham.