When I converted to Catholicism decades ago, I remember that the priest asked me if I wanted the organist to play anything special. I suggested, perhaps immodestly, The Great Gate at Kiev. I vaguely recollect that the padre rolled his eyes, and what I got was, I think, some post-Vatican-II dreck that came across like the soundtrack of a public service commercial.
Anyway, here is the Gate, in all of its pomp and majesty. It is one of the movements from Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition, originally written as a suite for piano, but probably best known in its various fully orchestrated versions.
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A nice piece of music -- one can almost see the gate opening.
That's an interesting story. Did he expect you to want a hymn? I grew up Catholic in the 60s, somewhere between Debbie Reynolds' singing nun and Dorothy Day the Catholic radical: It was all happening including the crazy encounter-group psychology fad spread by clergy out of San Francisco. 'Probe your deep gay feelings' was even part of it. The notorious Dr William Coulson was behind it all I realsie now. You didn't miss anything.
The hymns I remember, none seemed to be specifically Catholic. I went through the transition from latin language 'Dominus vobiscum' to vernacular. I guess there are latin hymns but we never learned any that I still recall, while there was a lot of stuff we did once or so and never learned.
And people hark back to the 'good old days' of Fulton Sheen in the 1950s, yet if you actually read the books Sheen was writing back then as a psychology professor it was full of Freudian psychology too as if it was estabalished fact.
None of that can be blamed on Boomers, in fact we were victims of all that stuff.
My granny loved Fulton Sheen's TV broadcasts, but in his efforts to keep up wit modernity he did as much damage as anyone.
He probably was thinking about something more obviously religious. And I guess he was right; my own dumb fault for not suggesting an actual hymn (good thing I didn't ask for "Pinetop's Boogie-Woogie"; I'd have been booted out, for sure).
i recollect a hilarious story told me by an old friend, now dead these many years.
He had wrestled with alcoholism for years, and was staggering around an alley, completely pickled. The alley was in back of a theater or auditorium, and suddenly the door opened and a bishop (don't know if it was Sheen, but definitely some prelate known as a fine preacher) stepped into the night, after giving a talk, wearing his full regalia. My friend was absolutely sure the figure was the devil, and he passed out from fright (and the booze, of course). He gave up liquor the next day, and never again touched another drop.
I have only known the ELP version of Pictures at an Exhibition, until now.
My friend was absolutely sure the figure was the devil, and he passed out from fright (and the booze, of course). He gave up liquor the next day, and never again touched another drop.
EEP! < O.O >
The devil you say! :-)
It was an academic book by Sheen I picked up and the whole argument was based on Freud's idea of the subconscious, but I can't find the book now. It was probably one of the books he wrote before WW2 in his hoity toity phase. (Philosophy not Psychology)
The books he wrote after the war which aimed at ordinary people (based on his sermons I guess) and which gave people hope and direction, I can't fault those. In that crazy atmic era he probably did a lot of good, 'Life is Worth Living!'
My granny also thought JFK was an exemplary Catholic boy and cried when he was shot. I had to say rosary with her to help her get thru it.
Fulton Sheen was a notorious anti-Semite.
Rebecca, are you sure about that? I've never heard or read anything along those lines. Are you sure you're not thinking about Father Coughlin? No doubts, there.
Coughlin was popular on the radio before WW2 and Sheen was popular after, I guess you could mix them up. But after the war, it just wasn't possible to be a public anti-semite. I'm sure you've got them mixed up.
Even before the war Coughlin was cancelled for his views:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Coughlin#Cancellation_of_his_radio_show
-FDR's AG even threatened to arrest him during the war.
In 1941 Sheen condemned the persecution of Jews even before the Holocaust:
https://www.jta.org/1941/12/30/archive/persecution-of-jews-is-concern-of-all-msgr-sheen-declares
1967 Sheen was among those trying to bring Catholics and Jews together:
https://www.jta.org/1967/02/23/archive/bishop-fulton-j-sheen-addresses-gathering-in-rochester-synagogue
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