The very next article is about people annoyed at Jennifer Hudson’s performance of the National Anthem at the World Cup final match. It says, “While fans clapped at Metlife Stadium following the performance, many took to social media, complaining about her version.”
I’d like to point out for the umpteenth time that it’s inappropriate to clap for the national anthem; this isn’t a singing competition. You’re supposed to be respectful and silent at the conclusion, whether you’re standing or sitting. It’s also, in my opinion, inappropriate to critique the performance.
If someone is praised for slapping someone else to stand up for the anthem, I am going to suggest that we show it respect by not hooting, hollering or applauding. Just stand there quietly.
Hear hear. (And this applies, for somewhat similar though not identical reasons, to the performance of musical anthems, voluntaries etc. during or following services in houses of worship too. Though I’m afraid trying to re-establish that standard is a lost cause at this point.)
A) What you say in private in your own social circle regarding the technical merits or otherwise of any musical performance is your own business; and
B) Even in private conversation, I think it’s generally and rightly deprecated to express negative opinions about the performances of child musicians, especially amateur ones. Hey, the kids tried; if they didn’t succeed, draw a veil.
But yeah, I’d say @Dewey_Finn’s correct that publicly criticizing an official performance of the national anthem (or, as noted above, of music in or following a worship service) that you’re attending is in somewhat poor taste. The musical performance in question was a ritualized expression of reverence (towards country or deity, respectively), rather than an entertainment act for the enjoyment of those in attendance. Complaining about technical defects of the performance is a bit impertinent, unless you happen to be the nation or the deity towards whom the reverence was being expressed.
(Okay, to be fair, I think there are many congregations in which, for example, an offertory anthem right spang in the middle of the service is still received with appreciative silence rather than applause. AFAICT, though, that attitude is becoming rarer, and even in those congregations it doesn’t necessarily extend to voluntaries/postludes etc.
Yes, folks, I know you want to show your appreciation of the talents of your amazing organist/choir/soloists/whoever. You can do that by personally telling them (and/or telling the officiant, or whoever else is responsible for the musicians’ employment) after the service how wonderful they sounded. And why not encourage them to give a recital or some other entertainment performance and help them sell tickets for it while you’re at it? That’s a very practical expression of appreciation.)
Honestly, if an audience was taking the trouble to actually sing the national anthem all together, which is how national anthems are supposed to be performed by and for people of the nation in question, I personally would be delighted to give them a pass on accentuating the word “stars” in the process. Cute and not offensively irreverent.
I’ve never seen that done, actually, and my guess is that it would be worse than useless in either case. If the congregation wasn’t planning to applaud, they’ll be indignant at the notion that they might need to be told not to. If they are planning to applaud, then they are taking it for granted that they damn well ought to be able to, and will be indignant at the notion that they should refrain.
If there are only a few applauders in a non-applauding congregation, the sudden stares and subsequent swallowing by the merciful earth as their first lonely handclaps echo through the post-music silence tends to take care of them just fine.
(To be fair, though, I don’t really think that applauders in worship services actually count as stupid MFers, so I should probably stop hijacking this thread to opine about them. Sorry, all.)
In all of the Catholic churches I’ve been in, I’ve never once seen applause after a hymn.
Now, sometimes, before the Christmas mass or something, there will be an hour or so of the choir singing carols. Those can be applauded. But never for the songs that are part of the service itself.
Hymns where the congregation themselves are (at least nominally) singing, no. Congregants still seem to have some reluctance to overtly applaud their own participation.
I’m talking about choir or soloist anthems or organ voluntaries, etc., that the congregation is simply listening to during the offertory or similar; specialized musical pieces learned by the designated performers separately from regular service music, pieces which aren’t even in the hymnal.
Maybe that’s what you meant and you have in fact never heard a Catholic congregation applauding such an anthem; in which case, I say good on them! But I think that might have something to do with the fact that Catholic congregations are somewhat more likely (?) to have congregational offertory hymns rather than, or immediately following, choral offertory anthems?
My congregation is tiny (less than a hundred) and every performer is a volunteer. The obvious way to show appreciation for a performance is applause at the moment it’s occurring, so that’s what we do. There might also be plenty of amens, some foot stomping, and a whoop or two. And we can still tell them what we liked about it later.
Performing to an unresponsive audience is very discouraging, especially to non-professionals. The whole point of going to church is to meet together in Christ. So of course we will encourage each other when some of us have made the effort to perform.
Now if the congregation as a whole is performing, we don’t applaud. But we still do some spoken amens.
