[AnAmericanMother]

That Pius X mandated the Italianate pronunciation.

He's at work, and I'm at work, so I'll have to ask him next time I see him.

BTW, he's got a doctorate in Music from Juilliard, and his word's good enough for me. He has completely revitalized the music program in our church, and he has forgotten more about chant, medieval music, and Renaissance polyphony than I will ever know.

[ELS]

I looked for the copy of the pronunciation guidelines that I had. It seems to have hidden itself. (I e-mailed the choirmaster and he said it was from an edition of the Kyriale.) However, I do have a reprint of a 1953 edition of the Liber Usualis.

The pertinent quotes, IMHO, are:

We are not here concerned with the delicate question of pronunciation in the Classical period, but only with the pronunciation of the living liturgical Latin of the Church. Our aim, in compliance with the wishes of his holiness Pius X, is to pronounce and speak Latin in the Roman Style so eminently suitable to Plainsong.

and

H is pronounced K in the two words nihil (nee-keel) and mihi, (mee-kee) and their compounds. In ancient books these words are often written nichil and michi. In all other cases H is mute.

In Italian for "mihi" to be pronounced mee-chee, it would have to be written "mici" which is not how it was written in the ancient books according to the above quote.

AnAmericanMother, if your music director knows where Pius X expressed his wishes "to pronounce and speak Latin in the Roman Style," I would appreciate the information. In no way was I questioning his bona fides. While St. Pius X had a lot to say about sacred music in his Motu Proprio, that was not where he talked about Latin pronunciation.