Modern 'serious' music often arouses strong emotions; for some people it is a hideous cacophony of plinks and plonks. Only time will tell; when Beethoven and Bach first produced their masterpieces, they were greeted with derision and incomprehension.

Recently, an important contemporary composer, the young Scot James MacMillan, was commissioned by the Catholic Diocese of Galloway to write a new Mass for the 1600th anniversary of St. Ninian, the missionary to S.W. Scotland. This was something of a break through, for it is rare for modern artists in any form (important artists, the ones whose works are reviewed in magazines and newspapers) to work for the Church at all. Why? Well, of course it is possible that the Church cannot afford their fees. But it is also true that something of a gulf has developed between the Church and the world of the arts, such that it seems almost eccentric for an artist to produce 'Christian' work at all.

Yet one often notices that when modem artists - even if not specifically Christians - set to work on Christian themes, the results are telling. I recently went to an exhibition of modem representations of the Crucifixion. Many of the artists styled themselves 'atheists'. I can only say that the way the Holy Spirit (?) had inspired them to re-examine this age-old Christian symbol suggested that in the heart of their being they were not atheists at all.

Centuries ago, of course, faith and art went together. The Church was the patron of the arts, even if we know that deep down what was done for the 'glory of God' was also done for the 'glory of X and Y'. The medieval citizens of Beauvais who wanted to build the world's highest cathedral, which kept on collapsing, were no doubt trying to reach the stars, but they were also trying to cock a snook at the people of Noyon and their 'lesser cathedral' down the road.

James MacMillan has some uncomplimentary remarks to make about the state of contemporary Catholic art, and music in particular. His most damming criticism is that "a very negative attitude has developed among some clergy that quality is somehow a sign of elitism". I am sorry to say I think this is true, though not only of clergy. We seem to be in the middle of a 'dumbing-down' exercise where the shoddy is often taken to be 'democratic' and therefore ideal. We need to remember the sinful woman who anointed Jesus with her expensive ointment and was not told to remove it and replace it with soma elbow grease. DS