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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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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

    Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
    The 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM was a transitional missal. It was on its way to becoming the 1970 version, but wasn’t there yet. It eliminated certain duplications, downplayed the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, expanded the role of laymen, minimized the Last Gospel, made many items optional, and so forth. Father Valentine Young spotted many typos in the 1962 MISSALE ROMANUM, especially incorrect accents. The Offertory Antiphon for this coming Sunday (OF kalendar) contains an error, citing the wrong verse from Psalm 118. It should be 118:107b, not 118:154. If you read verse 154, you’ll understand how that error crept in. [In this particular case, the error pre-dates the 1962 Missal, since the 1940s hand-missal by Father Lasance also gets it wrong.]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Readers have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I’ve prepared for 26 October 2025, which is the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. As always, the Responsorial Psalm, Gospel Acclamation, and Mass Propers for this Sunday are conveniently stored at the top-notch feasts website alongside the official texts in Latin.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Little Encouragement?
    In the Gospel, our Savior tells about 10 lepers who were healed. Only one went back to give thanks. Precious few express gratitude, yet many have endless energy to complain. For that reason, I deeply appreciate receiving messages like the following, which arrived a few days ago (about the parish where I direct in Michigan): “Last Sunday, a couple I knew from Grand Rapids was at Mass at 10:00 a.m. I got a chance to talk to them after Mass. I wanted to let you know what they said about the choir. They were absolutely floored by our sound!!!!! They both said they could continuously listen to our choir and the beauty of it. They asked me: “Do you always sound like that?” And they were also very surprised at how packed the church was. They said it was nice for them to be in such a full church. I just thought you would be interested to know their thoughts about our choir.”
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
    Looking through a Roman Catholic Hymnal published in 1859 by Father Guido Maria Dreves (d. 1909), I stumbled upon this very beautiful tune (PDF file). I feel it would be absolutely perfect to set the “Our Father” in German to music. Thoughts?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“The following question is asked by the Most Reverend Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Chur: May this Diocese’s ancient custom be continued of having the Celebrant in Sung Masses (excepting more solemn Masses) intone the Credo and when he is finished reciting it going on immediately to the offertory and finishing it while the credo is being sung by the choir?” (Dubium of Dec 1909)

— 11 December 1909

Recent Posts

  • Typo in the “Missale Romanum” (1962)
  • “Music List” • 30th in Ordinary Time (Year C)
  • “Our Father” • Musical Setting?
  • Little Encouragement?
  • Children’s Repertoire • Mueller’s Recommendations

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