Striking the right note at a funeral not as easy as it sounds

by Gunther Simmermacher · August 10, 2008

A diocese in Ireland has banned C�line Dion�s music from funerals, provoking much ire among potentially bereaved Catholics.

The decision by Bishop Joseph Duffy of Clogher is commendable alone on grounds of aesthetics, especially as he has been moved to action by the ubiquity of Ms Dion�s endless dirge �My Love Will Go On�. Lyrically, the love theme from the likewise interminable movie Titanic can make sense as an obsequious song dedication. But another apparent staple of Irish Requiems, U2�s �With Or Without You�, seems entirely misplaced. �I can�t live, with or without you� seems to communicate that the dearly departed was impossible company whose absence will nevertheless cause great grief. On second thought, it seems eminently appropriate for some funerals.

The misapplication of popular lyrics is endemic. It is reported that the most popular song played at British weddings (though presumably not in churches) is James Blunt�s ubiquitous 2005 hit �You�re Beautiful�. Because, you know, the bride is beautiful. But before the narrator delivers his verdict on her pulchritude, he notes that �she was with another man�, and concludes: �I will never be with you�. I think we can spot the problem with that song being played at a wedding.

But it is not disapproval of the sounds of C�line Dion and U2 which moved Bishop Duffy to ban popular music from funerals. He has also forbidden eulogies, and what seems to be an Irish tradition of exchanging condoling handshakes at the end of the Mass. There is no uniform rubric, other than a few inviolable principles, governing the schedule of a funeral Mass. The local bishop exercises his discretion. So in the neighbouring diocese of Kilmore, mourners might be allowed to let C�line Dion�s love go on and on, with or without U2.

This can cause confusion, which in turn can give rise to Catholics leaving the Church in a pique. Many drop the Catholic faith not because of dissension with doctrines or acute points of theology, but because they take umbrage at a cleric acting on a perceived personal whim.
Among Bishop Duffy�s critics, according to the Irish Independent, is jazz musician Paddy Cole. He was barred from performing at his mother�s funeral a piece he had composed. And it is here where we enter the debate of what music is appropriate in the liturgy.

Can instrumental music be non-sacred (and I don�t mean �70s disco classics which exhort us to do The Hustle)? Can a song with a Christian substance by groups such as U2 have a place in worship? Would our early Christian ancestors have considered the strains of the pipe organ too modernist, as some pipe organ devotees now regard the guitar? Is chant the only truly legitimate liturgical music? Should the liturgy absorb elements of contemporary culture? Where do we draw the line; how and by whom?

It could be argued that liturgical music for funerals ought to be picked from the hymnal, ensuring its sacred character. But that, surely, would be too narrow a standard. Recorded music should not be played at a Mass (though in some places it is), but what if a soloist sings an innocuous pop number live? If pop music is out, should secular classical music be banned too? Is Mozart�s Requiem, composed not for God but for money, sacred? Can music summon the Holy Spirit within us purely on strength of its euphony?

I might like to include Pachelbel�s �Canon in D Major� on the soundtrack of my funeral when that day comes, even though it is something of a wedding favourite. It conjures moments of divine joy and temporal grief. It seems perfect � but is it sacred? Can I be told, by a policy no less, that Pachelbel�s masterpiece does not stir the lifeblood of faith in me or in those whom I love? How would a policy know that?

Primarily, a funeral Mass celebrates God�s loving mercy. Apart from that, however, it should also offer temporal consolation, as Jesus would, to the bereaved, and in some way honour the deceased�s life. This can�t be done when the liturgy is divorced from the individuals celebrating it.

Of course Bishop Duffy has a point in his bid to streamline the funeral Mass, and the authority to do so. Inappropriate or banal music can be played at the wake or the afterparty. Meandering eulogies are as bad as an unapprised homily by the officiating cleric � which, incidentally, is what the bishop�s decree would produce in many cases.

At the same time, the representatives of Christ must be sensitive to grief-stricken people. For many priests, funerals are a routine. For most mourners, occupying the front pews at a funeral is an extraordinary event.

So the big question, in addition to all those I have already posed, is this: Would a vaguely suitable pop song or a jazz number be so offensive to God as to justify upsetting already hurting people? I have faith that God loves us so much, he�ll even bear with the musical stylings of C�line Dion.