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“A much greater source of anxiety to Us is the style of action of those who maintain that liturgical worship should shed its sacred character, who foolishly say we should substitute for sacred items & furnishings ordinary common things in daily use.” —Pope Saint Paul VI (14 Oct 1968)

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Views from the Choir Loft

Musical Harmony Softens Hard Hearts

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · January 24, 2013

HEN OUR HOLY FATHER approved the centuries-old cultus of Hildegard of Bingen, and even more when he named her a Doctor of the Church, I had been thinking that I ought to get to know her better. Up till now, she has seemed to be the province (or the victim) of herbalists, tree-huggers, ex-clerical modernists, and suspiciously languid early music groups that dress up in faux medieval costumes to chant Hildegard’s lyrics. I wanted to know more about the real saint behind the myths, the mighty Benedictine abbess who received mystical visions, wrote copious treatises and poems, and corresponded with some of the great minds of her age.

I chanced upon a reliable collection of her mystical writings at a used bookstore and snatched it up. Reading it the past few months has been an eye-opening experience as I learned of Saint Hildegard’s profound (and thoroughly orthodox) theological genius, her marvelous fluency with metaphors and imagery, and her blazingly intense intellectual concentration on the mystery of God, with whom she is obviously and passionately in love. Almost every passage I’ve read has left me muttering to myself: “Hmm, I wonder how I can work this bit into the next course I’m teaching.” She has such a way of putting things.

As an example, consider the following passage on music from St. Hildegard’s work Scivias:

Musical harmony softens hard hearts, inducing in them the moisture of contrition and summoning the Holy Spirit. So it is that those voices that you hear are like the voice of the multitude when they lift up their voices on high. For the faithful carry their jubilant praises in the singleness of unanimity and revealed love, towards that unity of mind where there is no discord, when they make those on earth sigh with hearts and mouths for their heavenly reward. And the sound of those voices passes through you in such a way that you understand them without being hindered by dullness. For whatever divine grace has been at work, it removes all shadow of obscurity, making those things pure and full of light that had been concealed by the carnal senses in the weakness of the flesh.

When I read this, I had several thoughts in quick succession, amounting to a kind of “examination of conscience” for church musicians. If musical harmony is meant to soften hard hearts, induce contrition, and summon the Holy Spirit, is our music really doing this for the people in the pews? Moreover, are the faithful really engaged in “jubilant praises [of God] in the singleness of unanimity and revealed love”—is our music focused on the divine Majesty, in an idiom that fosters the unanimity rooted in revelation and leading to unity of mind, sighing for their heavenly reward? This sounds like a perfect description of Gregorian chant, which is surely the model Saint Hildegard had in mind. I do not know of a single piece of “contemporary church music” that embodies and expresses sighing for our heavenly reward, whereas the simplest Gregorian antiphon translates this transcendent longing into timeless music. Have the shepherds and ministers of the Church done everything they could to help the faithful understand the Church’s worship, or have they made a truce with the carnal senses and the weakness of the flesh (think “praise and worship” music), surrounding the sacred mysteries with shadows of obscurity and causing the spiritual progress of the faithful to be hindered by dullness? If Saint Hildegard were here today, what would she say of our music, our intentions, our standards, our aspirations?

Saint Hildegard of Bingen, pray for us!

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Dr. Peter Kwasniewski

A graduate of Thomas Aquinas College (B.A. in Liberal Arts) and The Catholic University of America (M.A. and Ph.D. in Philosophy), Dr. Peter Kwasniewski is currently Professor at Wyoming Catholic College. He is also a published and performed composer, especially of sacred music.

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    This coming Sunday—13 July 2025—is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). All the chants have been conveniently assembled and posted at the feasts website. The OFFERTORY, Ad Te Levávi, is particularly beautiful.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
    Our readers will be interested in this job offering for Music Director at Saint Adalbert’s Basilica, located 40 minutes from where I live. My pastor was recently elevated to this basilica. He is offering $80,000 per year, plus benefits. I’m told Saint Adalbert’s Basilica is utterly gorgeous and contains one of America’s most magnificent pipe organs. It would be fantastic to have a colleague nearby!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Simplest “Agnus Dei” Ever Published
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. I needed a relatively simple “Agnus Dei,” so I composed this setting for organ & voice in honor of Saint René Goupil. It has been called the simplest setting ever composed. I love CARMEN GREGORIANUM (“Gregorian Chant”), especially the ALLELUIAS, INTROITS, and COMMUNION ANTIPHONS. That being said, some have pointed out that certain sections of the Kyriale aren’t as strong as the Graduale or Vesperale. There’s a reason for this—but it would be too complicated to explain at this moment.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Pope Pius XII Hymnal?
    Have you ever heard of the Pope Pius XII Hymnal? It’s a real book, published in the United States in 1959. Here’s a sample page so you can verify with your own eyes it existed.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    “Hybrid” Chant Notation?
    Over the years, many have tried to ‘simplify’ plainsong notation. The O’Fallon Propers attempted to simplify the notation—but ended up making matters worse. Dr. Karl Weinmann tried to do the same in the time of Pope Saint Pius X by replacing each porrectus. You can examine a specimen from his edition and see whether you agree he complicated matters. In particular, look at what he did with éxsules fílii Hévae.
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed

Random Quote

The literal translation: “Lord, have mercy—Christ, have mercy,” does not offer much material for an acceptable song text. The words, not having any feminine syllables, are abrupt; the sounds are almost all muted and colorless; the rhythmic flow is too brief. So many people may prefer responses that further extend the song of the assembly, e.g., “Have pity on us, Lord” or “Pardon us and change our hearts.

— J. Gelineau attacking the KYRIE ELEYSON (page 64 in “Learning to Celebrate,” 1985)

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