A Warning to Us?

Sire-With reference to 'recent letters on the failure of Catholics to get to grips with modern times, 1 feel it relevant to describe some of my experiences in the churches of a Catholic country.
The bareness and coldness of an Austrian church, even the Stefansdom of Vienna, is a universal feature. but surely no excuse for the casual attitude with which the Austrians attend Mass. It is the normal custom to sit throughout the entire service, bar the Elevation. and any form of prayer-hook is very out of the ordinary. I may have been unfortunate in my selection of churches, but never have I heard any hut a set choir sing anything at all, let alone half-heartedly. The rapid dispersal of the congregation at the closing of the Canon is surely indicative of a sense of " duty done " rather than pleasure taken in the Mass itself. Only in the lovely Benedictine monastery at Sechau have I beard High Mass sung and reacted to in the way to which I am accustomed.
That is why I feel that Mr. Elwes' harsh criticism is a very much-needed " shot in the arm" for English Catholics, wbo are not naturally adopted by Catholics. In this, as it so often happened. they did no more than reclaim their own property, profiting by the developments it had received in the hands of the Protestant com posers. Suitable words were written for them and new melodies were added, and they, in turn were used by Protestants. German hymnody never lost its national character or became lectionary in character except for word association.
Bach did not compose hymn' tunes; he took those in current use and harmonised them; for instance, he used the first example for a cantata, arid the second five times in his " Passion according to St. Matthew."
I would also like to refer to the French contribution to hymnody. The French Diocesan Breviary melodies were introduced into England by the Rev. J. B. Croft. Dr. Vaughan Williams placed them in the English Hymnal, and they are now to be found in all hymnals. The Congregationalists have used them in their revised hymnbook published recently. and in the companion book Dr. E. Routley writes: " They are the finest musical legacy of the post-Reformation Roman Catholic Church and it is to he hoped that they will quickly become popular among our congregations. whose only contact with Roman Catholic hymnody up to now has been through the cloying melodies of the ' Easy Hymn Tunes'!"
There are over a dozen in the Westminster Hymnal. hut the Catholic body do not use them: Mr, George Nfalcolm's excellent letter gives the reason.
W. S. Bainbridge (Rev.). St. Augustine's.
High Wycombe.