The Gothic Revolution

The Fourth of Four

In classic 4-line hymnody, the third line is often the place for a tonal change. Pivoting on the fifth (e.g. the G chord in a C-major hymn), and incorporating the fifth of five (D in our example), the hymn flirts with a key change, going up the circle of fifths . (A clear example is Salzburg. In Nicaea, a remarkably thorough key change occurs on line 2.)

The effect of the shift is a certain opening-out, an exuberance and dare I say playfulness, which counterbalances the solemnity of the organ. At least that is what I hear.

Much of modern church music employs the fourth of four in abundance. I need not list examples, I hope.

The fourth of four squishes the sound, making it seem serious in a way I find somewhat deadening. That's what I hear, anyway. The question is, is it something new in music? In sacred music?

Why should liturgical music be excellent?

...In monastic terms, the liturgy is the path towards an exalted “ecstasy”, a flight into the cloud of unknowing, the place where God is, and where the true contemplation of the creative stillness of God is possible.

And this is a reality which is beyond the ability of historians, theologians, linguists, biblical scholars or even pastoral liturgists to express. Their contributions may even hinder rather than help. The intensity and intangibility of this experience can only be expressed through the arts.

This is why music of quality is a critical element within the life of the Church. It is a necessity, not a luxury. It is neither a frivolous confection nor an elitist distraction from the real business of faith. Music of quality, in the context of worship, does not entertain or divert. It reveals...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article7106502.ece

Requiem Aeternam Dona Eis, Domine

Pope Benedict on Sacred Music

"...The ecclesial authorities must undertake to guide ... the development of such an important form of music, not by 'freezing' its heritage but by seeking to combine the legacy of the past with the worthwhile novelties of the present, so as to achieve a synthesis worthy of the exalted mission [sacred music] has in the service of God." more

The Style of the Age, and the Artist

"The reason why the style of a group and the style of an age may sometimes be legitimately confused is that a group-style often appears to realize the imperfectly formed aspirations of the age. A style may be described figuratively as a way of exploiting and focusing a language, which then becomes a dialect or language in its own right, and it is this focus which makes possible what might be called the personal style or manner of the artist, as Mozart worked against the background of the general style of his age, yet with a more specific relation to Haydn and to Johann Christian Bach. But analogies with language break down because a style is finally itself treated as a work of art, and judged as an individual work is judged and by much the same standards: coherence, power, and richness of allusion. In current changes of fashion and revivals of interest in one past style after another--Pre-Raphaelite painting, Baroque music--each successive style is almost a solid object, a piece of period furniture to be possessed and enjoyed. Yet such treatment of a period style as itself an objet d'art suggests one possible elucidation of the style of a group. More convincingly than the "anonymous" style of an age, the style of a group represents a synthesis like a work of art, a reconciliation of the conflicting forces of the period into one harmony. It is almost as much an expression itself as a system of expression."

Charles Rosen
The Classical Style: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven
pp. 20-21