Choral singing
Father Thévenon had a marked taste for choral singing, which he regarded as one of the shapes of essential expression of people. Following Father Fillère, he distinguished between liturgical song and the ideal song. He rewrote a part of the repertory created previously by the "Cité des Jeunes", by altering some of the music and words. He created himself, melodies drawn from religious or lay traditions, or composed by himself.
The Ideal Song
It is the song, in which people protest their ideal, their passion, their testimony before men. The following song created in 1968, is typical of this style :
In this old world which is dying,
Everyone cracks and staggers,
But the Lord puts in our hearts,
His eternal youth.
Soon, there will shine on our paths
An immense light,
A rising sun, one day without end
On a people of brothers
Then will be born, skies more beautiful,
A world faithful to God,
The new times will come
Of an immortal life.
Glory forever to the Almighty,
It is He who delivers us,
Glory forever to the Living God,
It is He which makes us live.
The Liturgical Song
In the mind of Father Thévenon, it is initially the Psalms, because, he says these are the inspired songs that have been sung by Jesus Himself. It should be noted that this marked taste for the song of the psalms was the first cause of his dissension with a progressive faction during his parochial priesthood in the seventies. He gladly accepts contemporary or traditional religious repertory provided that it has a real musical value, that it is not musically out of the range of people and that it is doctrinally, not only irreproachable but also carries a true Christian pedagogy. ‘The liturgical song, must honor God' he says. Thus, Psalm 103 (page 1 and page 2) composed in 1977.
I want to sing of the Saviour, every day of my life, until my last breath, my voice repeats his praise. |
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