Gerald performed a penance not for the faint of heart and I am sure he must have had a dispensation from his spiritual director. He listened to "countless snippets of David Haas songs on Amazon" – oh the horror. He also looks at some of the lyrics and mentions one of Haas’ songs "Dear Sister God."
Personally I can hardly wait till David is a Haas been.
Gerald also rants against the Gather hymnal so maybe he would like to play my Flash game Missal Defense where you shoot down Gather hymnals. This game also goes great with Haugen-Haas ice cream.
8 comments
“Dear Sister God?” Surely you jest!
No, he’s totally serious. It is a real song, and I have heard it.
As someone whose last name is Haas (no relation!), I cringe every time I see one of these negative comments.
I usually say the same about Carey Landry’s music (none of it is any good), and Landry is my wife’s maiden name (not related, thank God).
BMP
I don’t mean it as a personal criticism of David Haas; he came to our parish years ago for a concert, and he was very pleasant; it’s his music that drives me crazy.
“On your blog you talk a lot about the poor quality of music in the liturgy. I couldn’t agree more.
What has been bugging me for the last five years has been the “Disney Responses” in the liturgy… You know… the parts of the mass that used to be chanted and are now sung in a key that only contestants on American Idol can reach.
In Philadelphia, there seem to be six or seven of them. About halfway through any response I figure out which one it is and then guess whether it will end on a note that I can’t reach or will take a “clever” little tumble down the scale.
I’m a guy, so my range is set up for Amazing Grace, not On Eagle’s Wings.
I’d give an aweful lot to hear the same mass every time I went to church. It used to be that I didn’t have to think about the notes as the mass progressed. (I graduated from high school in 1987.)
Oh, by-the-by, if the organist from St. Joseph’s in
Downingtown, PA is reading… STOP it with the new songs!!!
I don’t need to learn two new songs every Sunday. You distract me with our collective fumbling for words and tune. We DON’T read music and CAN’T follow your choir. Believe it or not, I don’t come to mass to be entertained by self-aggrandizing musical elites.
Thank you for letting me vent. I feel much better. I think I’ll go hummmmm… ‘Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound. That saved a WRETCH like me…'”
I’m not familiar with Haas and Haugen. The church I go to does a lot of Matt Redman (“Heart of Worship”, etc.)and Brian Doerksen. Care to take them on with some punditry or parody?
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