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August 14, 2016
I n a document which normally confines itself to general statements and guidelines meant to direct the later reform of the Roman Liturgy, we find this unusually explicit pronouncement on the pipe organ. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council do not mention any other instrument in Sacrosanctum Concilium, so this glowing recommendation begs the question: What is so special about the pipe organ?“In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds
a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man's mind to God and to higher things.”
Second Vatican Council, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 120
“...it is the traditional musical instrument...”
The pipe organ is the “traditional instrument” not simply because it is old (earliest records of organs in churches date back to the 10 th century) but because it was the Latin Church (i.e. Western/Roman Church) that was responsible for its development. Like Gregorian chant (also mentioned specifically in Sacrosanctum Concilium), the pipe organ developed alongside the liturgy of the Western Church; in a sense, it is the Church’s instrument.
“…adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God...”
Joseph Ratzinger writes: “Wherever people praise God, words alone do not suffice. Conversation with God transcends the boundaries of human speech; everywhere it has…called on music for help, on singing and on the voices of creation in the sound of the instruments. Not only man has a role in the praise of God. Worship is singing in unison with that which all things bespeak.” This quote is also helpful in understanding why the organ sometimes plays by itself. It can achieve what we sometimes cannot; it can represent the “voices of creation”. In this vein, it may be helpful to think of the organ as not just a musical instrument, but as a liturgical instrument with the sole purpose of offering, on our behalf, a musical praise to Almighty God. Ratzinger writes elsewhere: “The organ’s great range of timbre, from piano through to a thundering fortissimo, makes it an instrument superior to all others. It is capable of echoing and expressing all the experiences of human life. The manifold possibilities of the organ in some way remind us of the immensity and the magnificence of God.” It is no wonder that the Church, along with many great composers, consider the organ to be an instrument especially suited to the liturgy.
What about our current pipe organ?
The instrument in our current church will go with us to our new home, and will continue to be used for liturgies, even after we are able to build a new organ that corresponds to the size of our new church.