THE PIPE organ has more power to raise hearts and minds to God than other musical instruments such as the guitar or drums, according to a leading Perth musician.
Jacinta Jakovcevic, director of music at St Mary’s Cathedral in Perth, told The Record music is an integral part of the Catholic liturgy.
“We have a great responsibility to the liturgy itself, but we also have a responsibility to the congregation,” she said.
“If you look at the Roman Missal and the Second Vatican Council documents, it does extol the pipe organ as the instrument of the Catholic Church.”
Sacrosanctum Concilium, one of the four major documents arising from Vatican II, stated: “In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendour to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things”.
Although some Perth parishes have recently celebrated Masses with “rock music style”, Ms Jakovcevic said such music is best suited elsewhere.
“I love rock music myself, but I think there’s a time and a place for everything,” she said.
“You would never have a pipe organ at a rock concert [because] it makes us enter into a different type of space, it has a sense of the sacred about it.”
Ms Jakovcevic said the pipe organ has several features that make it perfect for use at Mass.
“It’s probably the best instrument to bind people together when they sing, it has an incredible capability to do that, through, not just its power, but all the variations of tone that it has,” she said.
“[It] can be incredibly gentle, soothing and calming, and invite us to be introspective and quiet, but at the same time it can be so jubilant, and can really lift our spirits.”
Various studies around the world have shown that classical music has a significant effect on human behaviour. Nearest to our shores, in Christchurch, New Zealand, a 2009 experiment of playing classical music at a local shopping centre had remarkable results.
The number of anti-social incidents recorded in the area dropped from 77 a week in the previous year to just two for the same week in 2009.
Ms Jakovcevic said such studies demonstrate why classical music has been utilised by the Church for centuries.
“There’s a logic to its construction and it’s very intricate… and as humans we respond to that,” she said. “Rock music doesn’t have that capability to be very reflective and introspective.”