I need an unbiased opinion from some professional musicians:

[hedgehog]

One of the on-going attacks within the Catholic church against Vatican II reforms is the charge that the new Church music is infantile, crude, ugly, vapid, trite, etc, etc.

Now lyrics aside,(there is an entire second argument over the theology of the lyrics!) what do you think of these samples? I am in a church choir; we rehearse and present five hymns and four prayer settings in four part harmony every Sunday. I tried to pick videos of these songs in actual use rather than professional versions. I was rather surprised to see this music used throughout the English speaking world; Canada, UK, India. I thought this was used only in the US:

Gather us in - Marty Haugen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8QEx9HCPno&feature=related

Gloria. Creation Mass. Marty Haugen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P45LGcOFsPs

Celtic Alleluia
by Christopher Walker, Fintan O’Carroll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoaZq5eorpo&feature=related

One Bread, One Body
by John Foley

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6v2RX13T82Q&feature=related

Hail Mary: Gentle Woman
by Carey Landry
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNpD9mrqyzo


We use the Gather Comprehensive hymnal

http://www.giamusic.com/products/GatherComp_List2.cfm

I suspect that much of the criticism comes because we now sing a lot of "Protestant " music.