More Discussion of Contemporary Catholic Music
The huge discussion of contemporary Catholic music that took place on ID earlier this month has spawned another discussion. Listen in on today's podcast of the Grapevine which features a round table discussion that covered questions like
- the state of our community - is it too insular?
- Is our vision broad enough?
- The need for mentors
- Why are there so many different factions within the Catholic artist community?
- Demographics that are sorely overlooked
- The need for infrastructure
- The effectiveness of Catholic music organizations such as CAM and the UCMVA
posted by Sherry W @ 3:25 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
Interesting podcast! I'd like to see the conversatioms continue across the Catholic Church until we see some concrete resolutions moving forward.
Some of the problems with Catholic music are systemic to problems with Catholic ministries in particular and a lack of intentional discipleship across the board.
We need to work on these as our musicians simultaneously work toward their goals.
I enjoyed listening to the podcast - it reminded me of discussions I'd had with friends in the CCM industry 15 years ago.
I think the answer to point #4 (Why are there so many factions within the Catholic artist community?) is that not everyone's musical gifting works itself out in the same way. If each of us has a "gift mix", as the C&G seminar teachers say, then consider the following possible scenarios:
- Music charism combines with an evangelism or prophetic charism to equip a mainstream recording artist.
- Music charism combines with an encouragement or teaching charism to equip an elementary school music teacher.
- Music charism combines with a knowledge or wisdom charism to equip a university musicologist.
- Music charism combines with an intercession charism to equip a parish cantor.
- Music charism combines with a healing, service, or mercy charism to equip a music therapist.
The gift looks different on different people; God calls us to different works in different contexts. The often overlooked fact is, musically gifted Catholics are not all called to parish liturgical service or youth ministry.
Another issue is the interface of art, business, and ministry. Nonbelieving artists who want to make a living from their art already have the art/business tension to deal with, i.e. "what compromises am I willing to make to do art that sells? How do I market myself?" Christian and Catholic artists also have to balance art and ministry ("Who is my audience? To what extent should I be concerned about whether my art 'communicates' in a particular Catholic language or whether it's 'accessible' to certain people?") and business and ministry ("How generous can I be to consumers of my product without giving away the store? Should I charge money at all for my art?")
I echo the one fellow Ryan's concerns about trying to create a parallel Catholic Contemporary Music scene - especially since the issues I listed above are by no means settled in CCM circles. I can't help but feel that, just as in the CCM world, those Catholics who feel called to use their musical gifts in the secular realm will be left to twist in the wind by their "holier" colleagues working in church-focused ministries.
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