In praise of “servant music”

Adam Woods makes some outstanding points in his post about “servant music” for liturgy. He writes in the context of praising the new lineup of Mass settings from WLP.

WLP is responding to that clear pastoral need with care and love: a number of these settings are simple and could be sung easily unaccompanied or with the simplest of keyboard or guitar accompaniment. While I love the Mass of St. Ann and the Mass of Awakening, it’s these simple settings: Simplex (Proulx, O’Connor), Grace (Stafford), and Charity & Love (Warner), along with settings like the Psallite and the ICEL Sacramentary Chants (and a few I’m writing!) that I think the Church really needs right now. It’s not quite as exciting for a publisher or composer to do this kind of work, and WLP’s commitment to it speaks volumes about their company.

Be sure to read his outstanding review of WLP’s newest settings; I certainly agree with Adam that WLP has the best settings available of all the mainline publishers. Jerry Galipeau has really provided leadership here, an example that others should follow. Jerry’s blog is always worth reading.