Lenten Reflection: Can We Enjoy What Lies Ahead?
Let St. Augustine’s wisdom guide you through the most important season for Church musicians.
Follow the Discussion on Facebook
Articles
PDF Download • “Quinquagesima Sunday” Organ Accompaniment Booklet (25 pages)
The word “Alleluia” changes to: “Praise be to Thee, O Lord, King of eternal glory.”
Jeff’s Attempt At Singing
I’m much more comfortable in a baritone’s range than a soprano’s range!
Pray (At Least) As Much As You Practice
If an hour at the keyboard is an hour well-spent, how much more an hour of silent prayer before Our Lord present in the Most Blessed Sacrament? If fifteen minutes of score study is a productive use of my time, how much more a daily rosary for the intentions of my family and friends?
Father Peter Van Lieshout • “Homily on Sacred Music”
We would like to learn more about this priest!
Cardinal Roche on discouraging or limiting “ad orientem” celebration: “It is an absurdity”
Ponder this statement by the prefect for the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (a.k.a. “CDW”).
PDF • 2014 Dissertation: “Plainchant Influence on the Liturgical Music of Dr. Marier” (324 pages)
This treatise (324 pages) is a “must read” for anyone who cares about liturgical music in the Catholic Church.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “Liturgical Recitative” (15 Feb 2023)
“May our voices be the instruments through which God breathes new life into the ancient chants of the Catholic Church, decrepit through centuries of neglect and misinterpretation!” —Patrick Williams
Hymn for the Season of Septuagesima? • Yes!
Where did “Ordinary Time” come from?
4 Tips • “Teaching & Nurturing Young Organists”
“Make it an unbreakable rule to ingrain the rudiments of music theory into the very bones of the beginning student, preferably before the age of nine or ten.” —Dr. Lucas Tappan
PDF Download • Symposium Kyrie Revealed
People often complain: “Catholic priests won’t pay a living wage for choir directors, yet gladly pay millions to purchase a pipe organ.”
Did Pope Francis Just Publicly Rebuke the Prefect of Divine Worship?
Arthur Cardinal Roche has not had an easy time of it lately.
Gregorian Rhythm Wars • “The Normal Syllabic Value” (6 Feb 2023)
“The problem with semiology is not that it neglects the rhythmic indications of the oldest sources, but rather that it overinterprets them, like the nuance theory on steroids.” —Patrick Williams
Church Music Shouldn’t Be “Headache-Inducing”
Authentic sacred music should attract people. It should not drive them away.
Filling Up Fast! • Sacred Music Symposium
“The Sacred Music Symposium was a vehicle of grace that changed my life.” —2019 Participant