Nauczanie muzyki kościelnej w seminarium duchownym w świetle dokumentów Kościoła katolickiego. Głos do dyskusji o stanie muzyki w polskich świątyniach

Abstract

Music has been the favoured art of the Church throughout the centuries. Its role in the liturgy has been formulated by the Church hierarchy in numerous documents. Since the second half of the 20th century the crisis of music in the Polish churches has been observed. It affects congregational singing, the priest’s chanting, as well as organ playing. It seems that music remains in last place on the list of Church’s concerns, despite the recommendations enclosed in the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy of the II Vatican Council, along with accompanying instructions. These recommendations repeatedly emphasized the importance of music in liturgy. We read about the preservation and fostering of the great treasury of sacred music, about the cultivation of Gregorian Chant as the first and proper to a Roman liturgy, about pipe organ as the instrument that is most appropriate for spirit of the liturgy, about necessity of theoretical and practical education of church musicians and members of the clergy as well as creation of institutions dedicated to teaching and performing of sacred music. Music course in the Seminary of Diocese of Warszawa-Praga includes several subjects. The core subject is church music, which includes the whole of issues connected with theory and practice of liturgical music. Equally important subject is voice production combined with phonetics. The third is community singing, in which all students participate. In the seminary there is also a schola cantorum consisting of seminarists endowed with a good voice and a good ear for music. In Polish seminaries musical abilities are not taken into consideration during the interview. Nevertheless, music education should be part of the overall formation of future priests. From the very beginning of their seminary formation seminarians must be sensitized to the beauty of music. They must be shown a pivotal role music plays in the liturgy. Not only is the sacred music the adornment to liturgical celebration, not only adds splendour and grandeur to it, but it also is an integral part of the liturgy, according to the guidelines of the Second Vatican Council. Ignoring music in the Church we commit the sin of negligence and fall into conflict with liturgical regulations.