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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

Church music need not sound “Catholic” says drafter of USCCB guidelines

Jeff Ostrowski · March 9, 2014

749 NPM Mag N 2009, NPM PUBLISHED a lecture by one of the drafters of Sing to the Lord. Generally speaking, I think STL is quite a good document, so I was surprised and troubled to read certain statements made by a key player in its creation.

The lecture itself is by Fr. Anthony Ruff and much could be said about its various sections. For example, he calls Catholics who favor chant “conservatives” and those who don’t “liberals.” I’m not accustomed to seeing such language in a scholarly liturgy paper and, for myself, I find it unhelpful. However, more extensive analysis will have to wait, because today I will focus on just one concept.

Fr. Ruff does not consider “some styles or genres to be holier than others.” Specifically, he says attempting to “distinguish sacred music from secular music” constitutes a “throwback to the 19th-century Cecilian reform movement.” He goes on to assert that the repertoires held up by Sacrosanctum Concilium (Gregorian chant & Roman polyphony) do not, in fact, possess “greater sacrality” than other musical styles. He feels that efforts to make such distinctions are “on thin ice philosophically, historically, and musicologically” and gives as evidence a paragraph from his 1998 doctoral dissertation:

In Franko-Flemish polyphony of the fifteenth century, there is the same vocal style throughout and the same musical technique of cantus firmus development, with no difference in style between church music and secular music. Similarly, one is unable to find any clear stylistic difference between Palestrina’s Masses and his secular madrigals … Monteverdi borrowed the orchestral music from the prologue to his secular opera “Orfeo” for the “Deus in adjutorium” of his Vespers. One is unable to establish a clear stylistic difference between Mozart’s chamber music and his sacred music.

I’m surprised the NPM editors allowed such an inaccurate statement to be printed.

First of all, it is absolutely wrong to assert that secular genres of the Renaissance — frottola, rondeau, villancico, etc. — are composed in exactly the same style as sacred music. While some madrigals certainly resemble sacred works (especially to ears unfamiliar with Renaissance compositions), more diligent study reveals differences: e.g. stronger emphasis on “tone painting” in madrigals. Furthermore, much secular music from that period was improvised, so we have no record of it. Even when it was written down, people of that time often did not preserve it, since it was considered somewhat unimportant. Even Church compositions were frequently discarded in a way that seems strange to us. (To correctly assess the situation, it is necessary to avoid looking at things through a “Year 2014” lens.) Without a doubt, secular music may possess great dignity, and sometimes may resemble sacred styles, but this has no effect on the fundamental distinction. To misconstrue this is every bit as illogical as saying, “My dog is black, so all dogs must be black.”

Some Renaissance composers did use secular melodies for cantus firmi, but they “elevated” the tune by adding elaborate polyphony (in essence “burying” the secular tune). By the way, even this concept can be complex, as you’ll discover if you read about this scintillating discovery regarding the “secular” tunes of Machaut.

Fr. Ruff’s overall claim was often put forward during the 1970s. In essence, it says that if we can prove certain secular forms in the past resembled sacred music of the time, this will “legitimize” the full-scale adoption of secular styles we observe in so many Catholic churches today. For example, a 2011 Mass setting by composer Dan Schutte — extremely popular in the United States — was probably lifted from the My Little Pony theme song.

FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT, LET’S ASSUME that Fr. Ruff is correct. Let’s assume one can find historical periods where little distinction was made between sacred and secular music. (I have often pointed to the Classical period in this regard.) In the end, it makes no difference. Think, for example, of the reform under Pope Pius X. That good Pope wasn’t trying to maintain the status quo — he attacked the status quo! He demanded major changes! The argument for dignified liturgical music and more reverent liturgies rests on whether the genres held up by the Church are intrinsically appropriate for worship, not whether Monteverdi used part of Orfeo for his Vespers.

Let us carefully consider words spoken by Pope John Paul II in June of 1980:

“To the extent that the new sacred music is to serve the liturgical celebrations of the various churches, it can and must draw from earlier forms — especially from Gregorian chant — a higher inspiration, a uniquely sacred quality, a genuine sense of what is religious.”

I hope to explore other troubling statements from that lecture at a later date. In particular, I’d like to examine the following assertion made by Fr. Ruff:

The question is not whether a particular piece sounds like chant or Palestrina or whether it sounds “Catholic.”


This article is part of a series:

Part 1   •   Part 2

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Guillaume de Machaut Polyphony, Secular vs Sacred Music at Mass Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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About Jeff Ostrowski

Jeff Ostrowski holds his B.M. in Music Theory from the University of Kansas (2004). He resides with his wife and children in Michigan. —(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    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
    14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C)
    Our choir is on break during the month of July. However, on the feasts website, the chants have been posted for the 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C), which is this coming Sunday: 6 July 2025.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Bugnini’s Statement (6 November 1966)
    With each passing day, more is revealed about how the enemies of the liturgy accomplished their goals. For instance, Hannibal Bugnini deeply resented the way Vatican II said Gregorian Chant “must be given first place in liturgical services.” On 6 November 1966, his cadre wrote a letter attempting to justify the elimination of Gregorian Chant with this brazen statement: “What really gives a Mass its tone is not so much the songs as it is the prayers and readings.” Bugnini’s cadre then attacked the very heart of Gregorian Chant (viz. the Proprium Missae), bemoaning how the Proprium Missae “is completely new each Sunday and feast day.” There is much more to be said about this topic. Stay tuned.
    —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

For the most part, a “good pope” is defined as someone who does what the critic would do if he were pope.

— William F. Buckley Jr. (6 September 1978)

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