Jazz Versus Classical

By Thomas Creen, MJ • Phoenix, AZ

It has always fascinated me that improvisation is generally discouraged in classical music while it is essential to jazz. One reason seems to be that in jazz music there is often a simple melody that acts as the foundation which demands that something more be built on it to flesh it out. Classical music, on the other hand, presents a finished product that has been carefully pieced together and has stood the test of time as an organic whole. To improvise would be to mess it up.

Going around to different parishes throughout the world over the course of my vocation, I have been blessed to be at Masses said by priests from many different cultures and backgrounds. Whenever priests try to improvise the Mass by changing the words, they mess it up. This is because the Mass is a classic work, inspired by the Holy Spirit, and improvising causes disorder.

For example, the Mass begins, “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Some priests change it to, “Let us begin our celebration in the name of the Father…”. But doing so puts more emphasis on us humans rather than on the Holy Trinity. Other priests have said, “He broke the bread, gave it to His friends, and said…” instead of the actual, “He broke the bread, gave it to His disciples, and said….” And the problem with that improvisation is that not all of Jesus’ disciples were His friends.

If Vatican II’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy were followed, there would be less mistakes. It reads, “Therefore no other person, even if he be a priest, may add, remove, or change anything in the liturgy on his own authority.” (22)

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