Text Address at the Blessing of the New Organ 13 September 2006
Address of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at the Blessing of the New Organ (Wednesday,
13 September 2006, Regensburg, Alte Kapelle)
This venerable house of God,
the Basilica of “Our Lady of the Old Chapel”, has been splendidly refurbished and
today receives a new organ, which will now be blessed and solemnly dedicated to its
proper aim: the glorification of God and the strengthening of faith.
An important
contribution to the renewal of sacred music in the nineteenth century was made by
a canon of this collegiate church, Carl Joseph Proske. Gregorian chant and classic
choral polyphony were integrated into the liturgy. The attention given to liturgical
sacred music in the “Old Chapel” was so significant that it reached far beyond the
confines of the region, making Regensburg a centre for the reform of sacred music,
and its influence has continued to the present time.
In the Constitution on
Sacred Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council (Sacrosanctum Concilium), it is emphasized
that the “combination of sacred music and words … forms a necessary or integral part
of the solemn liturgy” (No. 112). This means that music and song are more than an
embellishment of worship; they are themselves part of the liturgical action. Solemn
sacred music, with choir, organ, orchestra and the singing of the people, is not an
addition of sorts that frames the liturgy and makes it more pleasing, but an important
means of active participation in worship. The organ has always been considered, and
rightly so, the king of musical instruments, because it takes up all the sounds of
creation and gives resonance to the fullness of human sentiments. By transcending
the merely human sphere, as all music of quality does, it evokes the divine. The
organ’s great range of timbre, from piano through to a thundering fortissimo, makes
it an instrument superior to all others. It is capable of echoing and expressing
all the experiences of human life. The manifold possibilities of the organ in some
way remind us of the immensity and the magnificence of God.
Psalm 150 speaks
of trumpets and flutes, of harps and zithers, cymbals and drums; all these musical
instruments are called to contribute to the praise of the triune God. In an organ,
the many pipes and voices must form a unity. If here or there something becomes blocked,
if one pipe is out of tune, this may at first be perceptible only to a trained ear.
But if more pipes are out of tune, dissonance ensues and the result is unbearable.
Also, the pipes of this organ are exposed to variations of temperature and subject
to wear. Now, this is an image of our community. Just as in an organ an expert hand
must constantly bring disharmony back to consonance, so we in the Church, in the variety
of our gifts and charisms, always need to find anew, through our communion in faith,
harmony in the praise of God and in fraternal love. The more we allow ourselves,
through the liturgy, to be transformed in Christ, the more we will be capable of transforming
the world, radiating Christ’s goodness, his mercy and his love for others.
The
great composers, each in his own way, ultimately sought to glorify God by their music.
Johann Sebastian Bach wrote above the title of many of his musical compositions the
letters S.D.G., Soli Deo Gloria – to God alone be glory. Anton Bruckner also prefaced
his compositions with the words: Dem lieben Gott gewidmet – dedicated to the good
God. May all those who enter this splendid Basilica, experiencing the magnificence
of its architecture and its liturgy, enriched by solemn song and the harmony of this
new organ, be brought to the joy of faith.