Letter to the Editor from Atlanta, GA

Published: June 23, 2005

To the Editor:

Jack Louden’s letter to the editor in your June 2 issue regarding your recent article on traditional music in the church (The Georgia Bulletin, “Chant, Sacred Classics Reverberate Again in Parishes,” May 19) clearly indicates a misreading of the spirit and focus of the article.

In my own personal remarks, the central role of the assembly in liturgical music was clearly emphasized. The important and continuing role of contemporary music based on an understanding of congregational participation was also recognized. My point was that a balanced approach to musical selection, embracing all forms of liturgical music, should be the norm. Your article simply described the renaissance in recovering the enormous body of timeless music in our Roman Catholic tradition—not to the exclusion of contemporary music but as a complementary style to enrich our worship experience.

It is regrettable to read an expression of the “we/they” mentality regarding musical styles when there is a place for all worthwhile music. The assembly’s liturgical prayer experience can be edified by periodic listening to great liturgical music without the necessity of engaging in constant singing of every element of the liturgy.

Hamilton Smith, Atlanta