Overview
Thomas Day, a Catholic professor of music, energetically and passionately attacks the question of congregational participation in liturgy, framed in a provocative explanation of "Why Catholics Can't Sing.Editorials
Publishers Weekly -
Day, head of the music department at Salve Regina College in Rhode Island, accurately and wittily skewers what passes for culture in American Catholicism, particularly as expressed in church music. He takes aim at the ``Irish-American'' repertoire of songs that comprise Catholic music in this country, and assails other less felicitous liturgical practices in vogue since Vatican II, such as applauding during Mass. ``Liturgical post-modernism,'' according to Day, has resulted in noisy and forced participation from the laity, and encourages a church-wide narcissism that is a serious threat to individuals as well as the institution. No mere nay-sayer, Day makes positive suggestions for nurturing the latent vitality he perceives in the American Catholic community. This is an informative, insightful and entertaining critique. (Oct.)From the Publisher
"Day writes with a verve and wickedly humorous style that one wouldn't expect to find in a book on this kind of subject. His way with a phrase frequently has one laughing out loud as he skewers the people who perpetrated this musical assault on the American Catholic congregation." —J. Michael"An intelligent and humorous account of why we Catholics don't sing at the "new" mass, anyone involved in liturgy from Bishop to altar boy (I mean server) should read this book. As an organist and music director in a Roman Catholic parish for many years, I finally feel forgiven for what I have been unable to do since the late 60's—try to get the parish to sing." —D. Disier
"I never for a moment suspected I would ever read a book on the Roman Catholic Liturgy that would make me laugh out loud, but this one did. . . . The hilarity comes from the author's descriptions of some of the horrifying liturgical results of Vatican II. But he truly understands what the liturgy is all about. It is in fact a very serious book, maybe one of the most relevant for modern Catholics and other Christians, though there are probably very few people who are ready for it." —D. O'Neal