There has been a long debate over which one is better: Puji Syukur or Madah Bakti. Some people say that Puji Syukur is better, while other people suggest Madah Bakti be much much better. Here I would like to outline that both of them are just excellent.
Some people who say that Puji Syukur is better might argue that Puji Syukur is the official prayer book promulgated by Indonesian Bishop Conference (KWI) and thus has got a stronger position. If you look inside the book, your will find that it is designed in order: the prayers, the songs, the indexes, etc. Despite some shortcoming such as misprinting and some improper Indonesian structure, Puji Syukur is good. Somehow, it was launched and promulgated after a very long process since the publication of Madah Bakti as the “experimental” book.
Negative perspectives say that Puji Syukur lack of innovation; it is “dry”; the songs are made so “stiff” that they do not sound all right in the people’s ears. They say that Puji Syukur pay more attention to the words, not to the melodies. Some negative people even claim that Puji Syukur is released for business purposes; it means that “money talks” here.
Some other people insist that Madah Bakti is better because the songs sound better, the song arrangements are enjoyable, the choices of words used in the songs are more poetic, etc. There is one strong impression from their comments: Madah Bakti songs are better than Puji Syukur’s songs.
For me as a choir member and as a Catholic, both books are excellent. Yes, Madah Bakti is good, and it is not a secret that the book has been widely used across Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke. Pusat Musik Liturgi (PML) in Yogyakarta has made it excellent and enjoyable. People behind the book and the songs, i.e. Father Karl Edmund Prier SJ and Bapak Paul Widyawan, are the pioneers and ardent figures of Madah Bakti and their expertise has been widely recognized not only in Indonesia but also in the whole Catholic church.
Madah Bakti has recently been updated (especially since the publication of Madah Bakti 2000) and more ethnic songs have been added to it. PML not only updated the songs but also the prayers. It seems that PML wanted to follow Puji Syukur to make the accountability and authority of the song writers respected. For me it is a good step. However, I have got a feeling that putting more ethnic songs to the book also creates problems, especially to people who do not come from the same ethnic groups. How to make the Catholic congregation love new songs that come from other ethnic groups? This is a challenge for Seksi Liturgi in all parishes and dioceses which use Madah Bakti as their official prayer book.
On the other hand, as Puji Syukur has been declared as the official prayer book, the decision must be accepted. I do not know why KWI did not just choose Madah Bakti as the official book. I think they have several reasons such as the fact that Madah Bakti was just a temporary and experimental book before the official book was made. KWI also wanted to make the songs simple so that everyone can use it, even we can use it together with some Protestants; this is in line with the process of ecumenism and interfaith dialogues. In Puji Syukur there are some songs which are also used by Protestant churches. The shortage is probably the unavailability of the music workshop by Komlit KWI. Unlike PML which has a lot of activities such as Lokakarya Komposisi, Kursus Dirigen, Kursus Organis, KOGJJ, etc. and works together with Vocalista Sonora to perform the songs, Komlit KWI might not have a settled workshop which can make some innovations to the music. Well, it is homework for Komlit KWI.
The problem in Bogor Cathedral Parish is that the discourse and the debate over both books sometimes go crazy with one person argue wrongly to convince others. For example, after the song Bapa Kami (PS. 404 or MB 142) the embolisme should read “Sebab Engkaulah Raja….” I have ever been told by a choir figure in Cathedral that the words in Madah Bakti was “Sebab Tuhanlah Raja…” with certain music notes. Well, the person was 100% wrong… because in Madah Bakti the words also say “Sebab Engkaulah Raja…” and the music tone is exactly the same as those in Puji Syukur.
I myself love both Madah Bakti and Puji Syukur. They are the masterpieces of Indonesian Catholic musicians and people. However, for a manual in Bogor Cathedral I will always use Puji Syukur as it is the official book. I will use Madah Bakti when I find that some proper songs and prayers cannot be found in Puji Syukur. Madah Bakti or Puji Syukur is not a matter of songs and prayers only, but it is a matter of our relationship with God under the guidance of the Catholic Church. The most important is that we are consistent and correct in praying and singing and does not become a handicap or “scandalon” (=batu sandungan) for the whole Catholic congregation.
Thomas A. Sutadi
Some people who say that Puji Syukur is better might argue that Puji Syukur is the official prayer book promulgated by Indonesian Bishop Conference (KWI) and thus has got a stronger position. If you look inside the book, your will find that it is designed in order: the prayers, the songs, the indexes, etc. Despite some shortcoming such as misprinting and some improper Indonesian structure, Puji Syukur is good. Somehow, it was launched and promulgated after a very long process since the publication of Madah Bakti as the “experimental” book.
Negative perspectives say that Puji Syukur lack of innovation; it is “dry”; the songs are made so “stiff” that they do not sound all right in the people’s ears. They say that Puji Syukur pay more attention to the words, not to the melodies. Some negative people even claim that Puji Syukur is released for business purposes; it means that “money talks” here.
Some other people insist that Madah Bakti is better because the songs sound better, the song arrangements are enjoyable, the choices of words used in the songs are more poetic, etc. There is one strong impression from their comments: Madah Bakti songs are better than Puji Syukur’s songs.
For me as a choir member and as a Catholic, both books are excellent. Yes, Madah Bakti is good, and it is not a secret that the book has been widely used across Indonesia from Sabang to Merauke. Pusat Musik Liturgi (PML) in Yogyakarta has made it excellent and enjoyable. People behind the book and the songs, i.e. Father Karl Edmund Prier SJ and Bapak Paul Widyawan, are the pioneers and ardent figures of Madah Bakti and their expertise has been widely recognized not only in Indonesia but also in the whole Catholic church.
Madah Bakti has recently been updated (especially since the publication of Madah Bakti 2000) and more ethnic songs have been added to it. PML not only updated the songs but also the prayers. It seems that PML wanted to follow Puji Syukur to make the accountability and authority of the song writers respected. For me it is a good step. However, I have got a feeling that putting more ethnic songs to the book also creates problems, especially to people who do not come from the same ethnic groups. How to make the Catholic congregation love new songs that come from other ethnic groups? This is a challenge for Seksi Liturgi in all parishes and dioceses which use Madah Bakti as their official prayer book.
On the other hand, as Puji Syukur has been declared as the official prayer book, the decision must be accepted. I do not know why KWI did not just choose Madah Bakti as the official book. I think they have several reasons such as the fact that Madah Bakti was just a temporary and experimental book before the official book was made. KWI also wanted to make the songs simple so that everyone can use it, even we can use it together with some Protestants; this is in line with the process of ecumenism and interfaith dialogues. In Puji Syukur there are some songs which are also used by Protestant churches. The shortage is probably the unavailability of the music workshop by Komlit KWI. Unlike PML which has a lot of activities such as Lokakarya Komposisi, Kursus Dirigen, Kursus Organis, KOGJJ, etc. and works together with Vocalista Sonora to perform the songs, Komlit KWI might not have a settled workshop which can make some innovations to the music. Well, it is homework for Komlit KWI.
The problem in Bogor Cathedral Parish is that the discourse and the debate over both books sometimes go crazy with one person argue wrongly to convince others. For example, after the song Bapa Kami (PS. 404 or MB 142) the embolisme should read “Sebab Engkaulah Raja….” I have ever been told by a choir figure in Cathedral that the words in Madah Bakti was “Sebab Tuhanlah Raja…” with certain music notes. Well, the person was 100% wrong… because in Madah Bakti the words also say “Sebab Engkaulah Raja…” and the music tone is exactly the same as those in Puji Syukur.
I myself love both Madah Bakti and Puji Syukur. They are the masterpieces of Indonesian Catholic musicians and people. However, for a manual in Bogor Cathedral I will always use Puji Syukur as it is the official book. I will use Madah Bakti when I find that some proper songs and prayers cannot be found in Puji Syukur. Madah Bakti or Puji Syukur is not a matter of songs and prayers only, but it is a matter of our relationship with God under the guidance of the Catholic Church. The most important is that we are consistent and correct in praying and singing and does not become a handicap or “scandalon” (=batu sandungan) for the whole Catholic congregation.
Thomas A. Sutadi
1 comment:
100% agree as "an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers"
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