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Bishop Doerfler’s Stunning Church Music Letter   HE PSALMS from the Old Testament give witness to the human expression of faith through Sacred Music that manifests the beauty of God. It is our joy to give God the best, most beautiful musical expression that we can offer him as we sing the Mass. My illustrious predecessor, the Most Reverend Alexander K. Sample, wrote eloquently regarding Sacred Music in his pastoral letter entitled, Rejoice in the Lord Always. The teaching and directives given therein remain in effect, although he acknowledged that the implementation of the directives would take some time...

What is Sacred Music? It’s a Bit More Complex than You May Think Msgr. Charles Pope • March 1, 2016 • There was a discussion a few years ago on my Facebook page about Church music. My parish, Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian in Washington, D.C., was featured on EWTN’s nightly news (see video below); the discussion centered on that report.Among the many forms of music we use here at my parish, gospel music is predominant at our 11:00 AM Mass. While many of the comments on the Facebook page were encouraging and supportive of this music, there were still a...

Mysteriously Moved by Sacred Music by Trent Beattie on December 26, 2013 ·  Music has always been a part of Nicholas Lemme’s life. In his youth, he saw it as an expression of who he was. As his overall perspective on life changed, so did the music he identified with. It seemed only natural that a new outlook would be accompanied by a new art form, somewhat like a change of wardrobe being the outgrowth of a new lease on life.Yet it has only been in the past four years that Lemme has come to see music not only...

Recently  there was a discussion on my Facebook page about Church music. My parish, Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian, here in Washington DC was featured on EWTN’s nightly news(video is below), and discussion centered on that report.Among the many forms of music we use here the parish, gospel music is predominant at our 11:00 AM mass. While many of the comments on the Facebook page were encouraging and supportive this music, there were a significant minority of comments that spoke of gospel music, as being inappropriate for Catholic liturgy, and of it not being sacred. Chant, polyphony, and traditional hymns were held...

This thread is offered to all of us as a refuge from the usual Christmas conflict. Please post links to classical Christmas music, the more beautiful the better, that way we can come here, stop by to greet each other with peace in our hearts and leave the thread uplifted, perhaps with a song or piece of music we had not heard in a while. Please let each song inspire a prayer for peace in your heart, and a blessing for fellow FReepers.

Online Edition:November 2009Vol. XV, No. 8John Henry Newman and Music by Susan Treacy With the announcement on July 3, 2009, that the Holy See has approved for beatification the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman (1801-1890) the enduring interest in the English convert has blossomed anew. Cardinal Newman’s eloquence as a preacher and as a writer is well known; less well known is his gift for and appreciation of music. Throughout his long life, Newman approached music as a performing musician (violinist and chamber music), composer, and writer on music.Newman’s love for music was probably encouraged by his father. John...

Sacred Music and Your Parish February 1st, 2010 by Trent Beattie One can walk into nearly any parish today and hear almost any type of music, from Gregorian chant to folk music to heavy metal.  While most parishes offer one type of music within a given Mass, some parishes even provide a musical contrast within the same one.  I actually attended a funeral Mass in which an electric guitar was used alternately with a harp.  Figure that one out if you can.Unusual combinations aside, isn’t it a good thing to have something different for everyone?  The old people can listen...

Benedictus XVIJoseph Ratzinger  Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music - The Musical Offering in MP3 The Musical Offering A selection of sacred and classical music in Mp3 played by teachers and students of Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music

Kansas City, Mo., Nov 21, 2009 / 02:14 pm (CNA).- A community of Benedictine sisters living in the Diocese of Kansas City - St. Joseph have released a Christmas CD titled “Christmas at Ephesus.” Proceeds from their new CD, comprised of traditional carols as well as the sisters' compositions, will go toward the building of a new monastery. The Benedictines of Mary Queen of Apostles are still new to the Kansas City Catholic community, invited by Bishop Robert W. Finn in 2006. A traditional monastic community of women who desire to emulate the Blessed Virgin Mary by living in quiet...

What about Bad Music? by Dr. Jeff Mirus, October 9, 2009 It is a feature of human nature that all normal persons respond emotionally to music. For this reason, music is often described in emotional or quasi-emotional terms. It may be languorous or bombastic, martial or lyrical, peaceful or agitated, soothing or exciting, and so on. But in addition to the connection between music and human moods, music is also perceived as beautiful (or ugly) and the human intellect naturally wishes to understand those properties of music which, if properly manipulated, produce beauty. Finally, the essentially moral character of the...

Father Joel Martin, O.S.B. will discuss “The Revival of Gregorian Chant” with Fr. Mitch Pacwa at 8 p.m. ET, Wednesday, July 22 on “EWTN LIVE.”

CHICAGO — At a gathering of Church composers and musicians recently, Msgr. Anthony Sherman asked how many people had looked at the revised order of the Mass. Almost everyone raised a hand.Msgr. Sherman, the executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Secretariat of Divine Worship, might have predicted the reaction during his breakout session at the National Association of Pastoral Musicians Convention in Chicago. After all, new Mass texts require new music — and pastoral musicians are preparing to provide it. “Given that music is integral to the celebration of liturgy, composers will have an important role to...

Benedict XVI's Homily for Solemnity of Pentecost "The Holy Spirit Overcomes Fear" VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's homily that he gave today in St. Peter's Basilica during Mass for the Solemnity of Pentecost. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters! Every time that we celebrate the Eucharist we experience in faith the mystery that is accomplished on the altar, that is, we participate in the supreme act of love that Christ realized with his death and resurrection. The one center of the liturgy and of Christian life -- the paschal mystery --...

 Here are some links to go to if you would like to download some wonderful music for Easter: Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music - The Musical Offering in MP3The download links at the page above look like this: Introitus: Resurrexi (Graduale Romanum)Hover your mouse cursor over the underlined / italicized text and right-click, then select 'save target as' from the right-click menu and choose your preferred download location. Hymns for the Celebrations of the Liturgical Year, Pontifical Musical Chorus of the Sistine ChapelThe download links at this page are different, they look like this: IO SONO RISORTO  For these...

This is a sample of Greek Orthodox Byzantine music chanted by nuns in a Monastery of northern Greek Mainland (Hsuxastirio Timiou Prodromou Akritoxoriou Sidirokastrou Serron). The Hymn is an extract from a book called "Theotokario" and it is dedicated to the Most Holy Mother of God (Theotokos, Virgin Mary). It is usually chanted in Greek monasteries during the afternoon (after Vespers). The pictures of the video come from a different monastery of Northern Greece (Giannitsa/Pella, Iera Moni Agiou Georgiou Anudrou).

Video Gregorian Chant Revival The last Daily Blog post focused on the ancient institution of the human family. This one deals with something not quite so ancient, but still a venerable and honored tradition: Gregorian chant. But it’s not just your grandfather’s Gregorian chant. “Gregorian chant holds a place in popular imagination as the province of hooded monks intoning monotonous melodies along dim stone corridors,” according to this article published by McClatchey Newspapers. “It’s not like that.” “At St. Stephen’s Catholic Church in Sacramento, the ancient musical form is sung by children and young men and women, a multiethnic...

Graham Kendrick - the author of such painful hymns as Shine, Jesus, Shine has been included amongst a list of 50 people responsible for ruining Britain. Being placed alongside individuals as nauseating as Paul Burrell, Jeffrey Archer and Janet Street-Porter might seem a little harsh for someone whose only crime is to have penned more happy-clappy songs than anyone else. Four hundred at the last count. But it's hard to fault the argument. "Happy-cr*ppy hymns are a pestilence," says Quentin Letts, a parliamentary sketchwriter. "They demean adult worship, dragging it to a level even lower than that of Mrs C...

It isn't every day that a group of Catholic monks find themselves on the pop charts. Yet that's what happened to the monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery near Vienna, whose CD of Gregorian chants has become a runaway hit. After its European release in May, "Chant: Music for the Soul" became the top classical album in Britain before crossing over to the pop charts, at one point outselling recordings by Madonna and Amy Winehouse. Even before its U.S. release on July 1, the album became the most popular classical recording in this country, thanks to copious downloads...

It isn't every day that a group of Catholic monks find themselves on the pop charts. Yet that's what happened to the monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery near Vienna.... After its European release in May, "Chant: Music for the Soul" became the top classical album in Britain before crossing over to the pop charts, at one point outselling recordings by Madonna and Amy Winehouse.... ...The record company had wanted to capitalize on the growing sales of chant music — which were due in part to the popularity of the video game Halo, which uses chantlike melodies in...

ST. LOUIS, Missouri, JULY 4, 2008 (Zenit.org). Parish music directors -- and congregations -- in the Archdiocese of St. Louis soon will benefit from Archbishop Raymond Burke’s recent initiative: The Institute for Sacred Music. Archbishop Burke, who has since been named to head the Apostolic Signature, the Church's supreme court, appointed Benedictine Father Samuel Weber as the first director of the new institute earlier this year.Father Weber is a professor in the divinity school of Wake Forest University in North Carolina and also a monk of the St. Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana. In Part 1 of this interview with ZENIT,...