Pastoral reasons. It is argued that Latin is incomprehensible. But translations are available. In fact, using an alien language can refresh palates jaded from the over-familiarity with the English texts. Moreover, there is such a thing as plainchant in English (more on that later).

Sound. It is true the chant modes sound strange to modern ears accustomed to the Western harmonic scale. But consider also the musical variety and richness in the countries of our ancestry and the countries of South-east Asia, built on their own musical scales. Again, a different modality will introduce a freshness to our liturgical celebrations.

Ignorance. Unfortunately, the sole experience people have of plainchant tends to be the ethereal perfection of a monastic choir immortalised on a CD. Inspiring as it may be, it is also discouraging because no realistic person could ever imagine his or her parish congregation singing like that. In fact, it was to address the unattainability of that standard by parishes that the Second Vatican Council urged the publication of simpler chants which has since come into being.

The “charismaticisation” of the liturgy of the Singapore church. The charismatic movement is part of the mainstream of church life in Singapore. Its influence is now felt in the Eucharistic liturgy as a charismatic “praise and worship” style has set the pace for public worship. That style is uptempo, accessible, immediate, emotive, absorbing. It is a potent mix. There is much to recommend the charismatic movement, yet the dominance of a charismatic style threatens to push out other aspects of the Eucharist, notably its contemplative dimension, which plainchant conveys par excellence.

Plainchant is the paradigm of “noble simplicity”. The words are unadorned so as to speak to the heart, without artifice. An analogy best describes the contrast. Consider a heart patient. After years of rich high-fat, high-salt food, the unseasoned taste of simple food prescribed by the cardiologist seems at first impossible to bear. But when the taste buds become accustomed, the patient rediscovers the straightforward, honest taste of his food.

A gradual approach

In the General Instruction on the Roman Missal², which sets out the rules for our celebration of the liturgy, music for the entrance of the celebrant, the preparation of the gifts (offertory), and the communion are to be antiphons and psalms taken from two approved song books, the Roman Gradual and the Simple Gradual, or another suitable song the text of which has been approved by the Bishops’ Conference.

The chants of the Graduals are firstly scriptural, drawn mainly from the Psalms. Hymns are not scripture! In the Roman tradition, hymns are found chiefly in the Liturgy of the Hours, not the Eucharist. That is why one of the key aspects of recent liturgical reform is to highlight the importance of scripture.³

Part of developing a warm and living love for Scripture will come from singing it. It is therefore incumbent on those who select music for their communities to put on the lips of their communities the meaty words of scripture itself and not the saccharine confections of fertile imaginations.

It may be objected that some hymns are adaptations inspired by scripture. But they are not scripture itself. Nobody would claim that a child’s abridged Macbeth is the actual work of Shakespeare – with time, we expect the child to graduate to the real thing. With scripture, the distinction between scripture itself and various adaptations thereof is even more critical, for it is Christ who speaks to us through the scripture in the Liturgy. We should therefore try to adhere as much as possible to the words of scripture itself.