14 Pahl ⦁ Palestrina the mass was discussed in the Council’s twenty-second session on September 17, 1562.2 Five main issues identified in church music were brought to the attention of the Council. In much of the music used during the church services, the text was unable to be understood. This was due to dense polyphony where the music was given priority over the words. Not only was the text unclear, but church composers had been omitting liturgical text.3 The bishop of Vienne, France, Fridericus Nausea Blancicampianus, reported to Pope Paul III a list of abuses in which he included: Nor do they recognize the fact that all too often those things which are prescribed for the sacred services are omitted or cut short for the sake of the harmonies of songs or organ music. These parts consist [of] the Prophecies, the Epistles, the Credo, the Preface, the actions of graces, the prayers, and other things of that sort which are of great importance.4 Songs in the vernacular that were not acceptable for church were also present in the services.5 In Blancicampianus’s report he states: They allow at times things to be sung which not only are not taken from the sacred scriptures, but which are entirely diverse from them, or certainly less spiritual, especially since they are not in the customary language but are in the vernacular, and they allow these to be read. This is contrary to the Catholic usage and custom.6 In addition to using the vernacular, secular music was being incorporated into the Mass. Specifically, parody Masses were often derived from secular tunes. Although during the fifteenth century the music itself was considered harmless, in the sixteenth century the original text was viewed as associating alternate meanings to the music, which did not lend the hearers to devotion but rather communicated messages that were “lascivious and impure.”7 Outside of the parody Mass, secular music was incorporated into the organ playing. There was also an issue of organists 2 Fellerer, 576. 3 Fellerer, 577. 4 Schaefer, 19. 5 Fellerer, 577. 6 Schaefer, 20. 7 Fellerer, 581.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM4ODY=