Gather: Catholic Hymnal... aka: "Marty Haugen's Modest Hits"

[p.falk]

A Mass doesn't go by without some song by Marty Haugen being sung. Which is interesting, considering how bad many of them are.

Even prior to my church's current "Director of Liturgy and Marty Haugen Songs", MH was still regularly broadcasted during Mass.

Maybe it just isn't that fitting, not that the songs are all that bad (by my tastes, they're all that bad).... One might really like Marty's music and have apparently good reason for doing so. But, I'm sure there are some contexts where it just wouldn't be fitting. Like a snorkel, some situations it would just be goofy to wear one.

You look at the index and if that was any indication of how incredible the individual song contributor was... you'd walk away thinking Marty Haugen was Michael Jordan of Catholic hymns. Strength left my body as I typed that.

How does this happen? How does one get to be the star pupil to the degree of Marty, in Gather....

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

When I was cleaning out one of our closed churches, I found a copy of Gather propping a door open. At last! A fitting use!

[p.falk]

When I was cleaning out one of our closed churches, I found a copy of Gather propping a door open. At last! A fitting use!

As soon as the parish is directed to "please turn to page....." I dart there quickly and scan the notes to see who wrote it. 80% of the time Marty Haugen or Dan Schuette.

[Peetem]

We recently changed parishes for a few reasons. One is that our new parish plays only traditional hymns. Haven't heard one of the hippie Marty H. or similar songs in the several weeks we've been members; one step closer to Heaven on Earth.

[anawim]

At least half the time, I go to an early morning Mass that doesn't have music. One or two priests will briefly play something on his phone during communion.
While I don't like a lot of contemporary hymns, there aren't too many traditional hymns that I like either. And one of the ones that I did love, they changed the music to O Sacrament Most Holy. Lyrics are the same, but the tune is different. Not for the better.

[Doom]

I think you are either a little out of date or you attend a very liberal parish, I don’t think the Gather hymnal or the unholy trinity of Haugen, Shutre and Hass are anywhere near as common as they were 25 years ago.

Even my somewhat liberal priest hates it and makes jokes about how awful it is from the pulpit. When I met with my priest to discuss plans for my funeral Mass, I said that I didn’t care about the hymns so I would leave it up to the priest and my family with the exception that I don’t want Amazing Grace or anything from the Gather hymnal, and that if I hear anything from the Gather hymnal I will get up and walk out. He laughed and said “I understand completely”

[p.falk]

Yup… Gather is what we use.


Honestly, I assumed it was the only hymnal for the Novus Ordo.
I’ve gone to churches all over Wisconsin… Milwaukee and Green Bay archdioceses. And all of the churches use the same hymnal.

[Doom]

I haven’t been to a parish that uses the Gather hymnal so far this century. I mean, virtually every parish in America uses something from Oregon Catholic Press but I haven’t seen a Gather hymnal in I don’t know how long

[anawim]

OCP isn't really much better. Somewhat, but not much.

[Doom]

OCP isn't really much better. Somewhat, but not much.

It is the only Catholic music publisher in existence, and is the source of the most commonly used missalettes

[zeno]

One will occasionally see this alternative (which I always perceive as a sign that I've found a liturgically healthy parish - and no, mine doesn't use it):

https://adoremus.org/2015/08/introducti ... us-hymnal/

[p.falk]

I haven’t been to a parish that uses the Gather hymnal so far this century. I mean, virtually every parish in America uses something from Oregon Catholic Press but I haven’t seen a Gather hymnal in I don’t know how long

Interesting. I wonder then if the archdiocese is the decision maker on what is used within that diocese.

[zeno]

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I've seen differences in Churches within the same diocese.

[Doom]

I don't think so. I'm pretty sure I've seen differences in Churches within the same diocese.

And a lot of the same songs are everywhere; there is still a problem with bland, poorly written music, most of which is of recent origin. It surprises me that we can 4 hymns in a Sunday Mass, and three of them have the same tune. And every other song is written to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", which the music snob in has to point out is not the name of anything Beethoven wrote, but is just the choral part of the 4th movement of the 9th Symphony. It must be easy to be an organist/pianist in a Catholic parish because you only need to be able play like 3 melodies and that covers 98% of the songs you'll play.

[Tired]

We have the Glory and Praise hymnal at the parish I normally attend.

https://hymnary.org/hymnal/GAP2015#google_vignette

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

OCP isn't really much better. Somewhat, but not much.

It is the only Catholic music publisher in existence, and is the source of the most commonly used missalettes

GIA.

[peregrinator]

And every other song is written to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", which the music snob in has to point out is not the name of anything Beethoven wrote, but is just the choral part of the 4th movement of the 9th Symphony. It must be easy to be an organist/pianist in a Catholic parish because you only need to be able play like 3 melodies and that covers 98% of the songs you'll play.

We went to a "reform of the reform" parish for Pentecost Sunday and they had the sequence (Veni Sancte Spiritus but in English of course) set to this melody. Just awful.

[peregrinator]

As an aside it is interesting how the new rite of Mass has more or less official music (Haugen/Haas/Schutte/etc.) and "art" (Rupnik).

[zeno]

And every other song is written to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", which the music snob in has to point out is not the name of anything Beethoven wrote, but is just the choral part of the 4th movement of the 9th Symphony. It must be easy to be an organist/pianist in a Catholic parish because you only need to be able play like 3 melodies and that covers 98% of the songs you'll play.

We went to a "reform of the reform" parish for Pentecost Sunday and they had the sequence (Veni Sancte Spiritus but in English of course) set to this melody. Just awful.

Ours was set to "Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee." Accompanied by a peppy guitar. Worse than awful.

[peregrinator]

And every other song is written to the tune of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy", which the music snob in has to point out is not the name of anything Beethoven wrote, but is just the choral part of the 4th movement of the 9th Symphony. It must be easy to be an organist/pianist in a Catholic parish because you only need to be able play like 3 melodies and that covers 98% of the songs you'll play.

We went to a "reform of the reform" parish for Pentecost Sunday and they had the sequence (Veni Sancte Spiritus but in English of course) set to this melody. Just awful.

Ours was set to "Joyful, Joyful we Adore Thee." Accompanied by a peppy guitar. Worse than awful.

Ah that's the same melody that Doom is talking about.

At least you didn't have piano!