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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

Seven Theses for the Evaluation of Music

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · March 6, 2014

T CAN BE HELPFUL to have a complex worldview broken down into a number of distinct theses to be pursued. My worldview, as readers of this blog will have discerned, is that our mental and spiritual health depends radically and essentially on listening to and producing beautiful music, by which I mean music that is in continuity either with the rich Western tradition of authentic folk music or with the even richer “classical” or high cultural music of the great composers from the Middle Ages to the present day―“from Perotin to Pärt,” one might say.

The following theses are an attempt to focus attention on distinct elements of this view; each, of course, would require and reward a fuller consideration.

Thesis #1. Music is the most telling expression of cultural health and spiritual vigor. By taking its pulse, one evaluates an entire age and people.

Thesis #2. Genuine folk music―that is, music produced live by amateurs on natural instruments, in continuity with local tradition, and in connection with real human events of communal importance―is intrinsically superior to technologically produced and mass-marketed music, even if the latter claims to be folk or folk-inspired.

Thesis #3. Johann Sebastian Bach’s music is superior to that of his German contemporaries, for all of their undoubted excellence; Mozart’s to Salieri’s; Brahms’s to Rheinberger’s, Busoni’s, or Rubinstein’s. Such examples could be multiplied for all of the fine arts, but the point is clear: there exists a real hierarchy of genius, of mastery and merit, of universal appeal, in the artistic world. It is not purely by chance that certain composers’ works have stood the test of time and continue to be enjoyed centuries later.

Thesis #4. The great composers of Europe wrote the noblest and most beautiful music the world has ever known, and their greatness had everything to do with the phenomenon of Christianity and, more specifically, the Catholic Church, in its cultural ramifications.

Thesis #5. Periods of cultural vitality, intellectual acuity, and spiritual depth produce correspondingly vital, profound, and complex music. Think of Renaissance polyphony, Baroque concerti, classical string quartets, Romantic symphonies. A corollary: periods of cultural stagnation and retrogression, intellectual morbidity, and spiritual anguish produce two kinds of music: ugly nonsense and the rebellion of searching souls. Think of twentieth century pop music versus the always earnest and often sublime music of such composers as Pärt, Górecki, Tavener, Vasks, Rautavaara. Some composers are a mixed bag because they cannot make up their minds between the genuine musical impulse and trendy popularity or avant-garde exhibitionism―John Cage comes to mind.

Thesis #6. The music of each major historical period is not susceptible to a judgment that is altogether outside all periods and therefore capable of claiming absolute objectivity―an illusion to which nineteenth-century historians and theorists were especially vulnerable. Rather, the organically evolved and artistically adept music of each period is incommensurable with that of any other; each period can therefore manifest “the greatest works,” the best music ever written with its musical language and its distinctive purposes. It can never make sense to say “Which is greater: a Byrd piece for viol consort or a Beethoven string quartet?” They are incommensurably different. To the question “Who is your favorite composer?,” an entirely appropriate response would be: “Of which period? And in which genre?” Unlike the goodness of the God who is simple, greatness among creatures is greatly multiplied and varied, as, indeed, are mediocrity and triviality.

Thesis #7. It is a matter of immediate and certain intuition based on educated sense-experience that the music of Byrd, Bach, Beethoven, Bruckner, or Brahms (just to stick with B’s) is infinitely more beautiful, skillful, and rewarding, not to mention perfective of the spiritual soul, than any atonal noise or so-called popular music. For this reason, in our times of leisure and recreation we would be foolish not to prefer, as a general rule, music that is more beautiful, skillful, and rewarding, within the confines of its period and purpose. There is only so much time in one’s life―barely enough to become familiar with the greatest works of art in any domain or from any period, let alone all of them. Let us take up the best and make it the exemplar, the teacher, the inspiration and the consolation of our interior life as aesthetic beings. We need not condemn the less worthy when it has a due place in our recreations, but we should avoid what is cheap, shallow, frivolous, or ugly.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Johann Sebastian Bach 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

Using the shoddiest, sleaziest material we have for the purpose of glorifying God is not very sound theology or even very good common sense. […] (In general, when you see a diminished seventh chord in a hymn, run.) And these chords are usually used in bad hymns in precisely the same order in which they occur in “Sweet Adeline.”

— Paul Hume (1956)

Recent Posts

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  • Music Director Job • $80,000 per year
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