I think we white Catholics are a little shy about emotional involvement, so that kind of music has not become part of our tradition.

About 30 years ago, when Pageant (six voices, unaccompanied by instruments) was still together but was also the core of Higgins Municipal Bush Band, Michael Crichton booked Higgins as the main band for the newly established Chiltern Folk Festival. Chiltern is a small town in Victoria, south of Wodonga but north of Wangaratta, then and now bypassed by the Hume Highway.

Just before we started playing for the Saturday evening dance, Michael told us that, as part of the deal to get the locals to support the festival, he'd volunteered us to sing during the 11am Mass at the local Catholic church. Well, I'm not sure any of us were even "believers" let alone Catholics; we agonised over what we could sing. Michael assured us we could arrive after the consecration (?) and just do a couple of numbers while the congragation was taking communion; the priest would give us the nod to start.

We duly arrived, to hear a nun and two girls performing (ever so sotto voce) a song (Agnus Dei?) with acoustic guitar accompaniment; very restrained and no emotional content discernable. At the nod, I led us into "Bright Morning Star" and "I will guide thee" and we revelled in the building's acoustics (none of us could be described as shy or retiring and I have been known to deal, successfully and unplugged, with large crowds at dances); the startled response of Chewton's congregation certainly supported Joe's description.

But they were very appreciative of both traditions.

Cheers, Rowan