Thoughts on "Why Catholics Can't Sing," by Thomas Day

I had high expectations for this book, based on a review I read in First Things and Neuhaus' recommendation in Catholic Matters.  But it was pretty disappointing.

First, the title.  The problem he's addressing is not that Catholics can't sing, it's that they, for the most part, don't sing during corporate worship.  He's addressing the question of why congregational singing is so weak in American Catholic churches: "I have heard a congregation of fifty elderly Episcopalians produce more volume than three hundred Roman Catholics" (p. 1).

The author begins by looking at historical factors that have led to the present situation, but most of the book is a critique of the kinds of music being used since Vatican II.  He's especially critical of the folk movement and is scathing in his opinion of the St. Louis Jesuits, Michael Joncas, etc.  For example, he is scandalized by what he calls "voice of God songs" in which God speaks to the believer ("Be Not Afraid" and "Here I am, Lord" are two prominent examples).   "In other words, the composer sets the text so that the congregation sings God's words, usually without quotation marks, in a somewhat bored, relaxed, almost casual style," which he says is "unprecedented in the history of Christianity" (p. 64).  He goes so far as to accuse these songs of  "vulgar pantheism" (p. 172).  But "How Firm a Foundation" (written in 1787) includes words of God (some of which are not direct quotations from Scripture), and the musical style of that song is not so different from the folk style he's criticizing.  So in what sense is this approach "unprecedented in the history of Christianity"?  And in what way is it pantheistic?  I understand that Day doesn't like the music and that he finds it personally distasteful, but accusing these songs of vulgar pantheism is nonsense.

In any case, whether he likes this music or not is beside the point.  Do the supposed shortcomings of these songs explain why Catholics don't engage in congregational singing?  (After all, this is the point of the book).  I've seen these songs used in Protestant congregational settings (I've even used them myself), and people have sung them, often with great fervor.  The songs themselves don't prevent Protestants from singing, so why don't Catholics sing them?

There is, I suspect, a spiritual dimension to this problem that Day does not address, although he alludes to it in places.  "A 'universal' church cannot always have it both ways; it cannot keep its doors open to 'the people' and, at the same time, expect the kind of robust congregational singing associated with private,' homogeneous congregations or 'clubs'" (p. 79).  But there's more at work here than differing ecclesiologies.  Surely it's possible for a church to keep its doors open to the people and, at the same time, call these people to respond to God in ways that they've not yet learned to do.  Maybe the problem is related to the well-documented failure of catechesis in American Catholicism or the scandalously low quality of preaching and teaching.  The problem is not just that American Catholics don't sing during worship; it's that very large numbers of Catholics are not seriously engaged with the faith.

Worst of all is the tone of Day's arguments: "In the song On Eagle's Wings, and similar compositions, the icon or the mosaic of Christ in Majesty is replaced with the glossy poster of the male Hollywood heartthrob, the latest take-your-breath-away movie star.  Perhaps On Eagle's Wings, Be Not Afraid, and countless other 'contemporary' sweet songs are just another product of the Great Hollywood Factory of Dreams and Romance.  Certainly, this kind of music tries very hard to imitate the sound track of a three-hanky romantic film starring Greta Garbo or Bette Davis" (p. 63).

In this and the many similar passages, the book comes across as a sustained rant by a musician who doesn't like a particular type of music and finds it offensive.  In the end, he fails to say, with any clarity or in a convincing way, why Catholics can't, or rather don't, sing.  The book is focused on musical style and has little to say about the connection between spiritual vitality and worship.