Bagipes Banned from Edinburgh Wedding !

[Father Bill]

Gee, I guess I shouldn't have had the piper play two weeks back with the Archbishop in my church... and yes, I'm Anglican/ C of E.

[piperdbh]

So, according the the decree Sandy posted above, all the great Masses by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and the other giant composers are off-limits, because they're written to be accompanied by "secular" instruments; those "noisy, frivolous" things.
Please don't let this turn into an argument about religion or anything else, but I wonder how much resistance his late Holiness received from this declaration, especially from churches which were not wealthy enough to possess an organ or were located in countries with their own non-European instruments. Hmmm...

[Galician]

So, according the the decree Sandy posted above, all the great Masses by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and the other giant composers are off-limits, because they're written to be accompanied by "secular" instruments; those "noisy, frivolous" things.
Please don't let this turn into an argument about religion or anything else, but I wonder how much resistance his late Holiness received from this declaration, especially from churches which were not wealthy enough to possess an organ or were located in countries with their own non-European instruments. Hmmm...

The answer would probably be "yes"! In fact, that whole style of elaborate music was focus of this papal decree. By the end of the 19th century, there was a growing sense that the complexity of that music was overwhelming the purpose of the service, viz., prayer. Pius IX led a major reform in Church music, geared toward putting the focus back on the words of the service themselves.

I don't know, however, if this particular decree is still in effect. The Second Vatican Council did a lot to loosening up the rules. Some would say that is what the current Pope is busy reversing at present. So maybe we'll be back to that, but for now, trumpets, pianos and guitars are still welcome at most churches. Also bagpipes, as a previous pastor was piped in for his installation ceremony!