• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)

  • Our Team
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
    • Saint Antoine Daniel KYRIALE
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
  • Donate
Views from the Choir Loft

Music Beautiful by Nature

Dr. Peter Kwasniewski · April 10, 2014

OR THIS POST, I am indebted to correspondence with a friend, who began discussing with me the definition of beauty as applied to music. I don’t claim to have any definitive answers, but the following train of thoughts might be of value to those who enjoy thinking about such questions.

To my mind, the “beautiful” is largely distinguished by the degree to which the beautiful “thing” is in accord with nature. nature in itself and untouched by man―as God’s direct creation―is simply beautiful, so then is art, architecture, and human life in general beautiful, insofar as it is in “accord with nature,” both the metaphysical laws that run throughout creation and the natural moral law that specially abides in man.

One might think here of the older usages of the terms “monster,” “monstrosity,” or even “freak of nature.” Things called by these names in the past due to their departure from the natural forms have practically become glorified in our time, in every part of human activity. Ugly art, ugly buildings, ugly music, ugly literature, and even literal “monsters” in movies/TV fill our senses with so much anti-beauty that even the very lives of humans forced to live in this environment can become unnatural and ugly. Interestingly, this decay appears directly proportional to the extent to which any given society has succumbed to Western modernization, which translates roughly to giving up the spiritual life and the rural life in order to live the high-tech material urban life.

I agree with the ancients and the wisdom of the ages: in melody and harmony, nature gives us the natural harmonic series. The further harmony deviates from the concord of these natural vibrations, the less beautiful it is. In rhythm and meter, nature gives us the gentle flowing of water or of human speech, the steady beating of the heart and cycle of respiration, as well as the vigor of the wind and of fleet-footed animals, and so we find beauty in Gregorian chant as well as in the “Ride of the Valkyries.” In timbre, nature gives us the songs of birds, the whistling of the wind, the roaring depths of canyons, the nearly-angelic human voice, and so the choirs and orchestras of the world bring us man’s best attempts to reflect nature’s awesome beauty―but the electrified, noisy chaos of Western modernization stands out in stark contrast.

St. Pius X rightly put the human voice and Gregorian chant on the sacred music pedestal: the more distant any instrument or music stood in relation to these models, the less sacred it was, the less fitting for the temple of God. As plainchant most perfectly exhibits the three qualities of sacred music―holiness, goodness of artistic form, and universality, chant should therefore be the model and inspiration for the best sacred music, as it was for Renaissance polyphony, and as it continues to be for a new generation of Catholic composers today.

Wherever we find people trying to classify ugly music as “beautiful,” or secular music as “sacred,” we also find agendas being pushed: whether it be self-aggrandizement or peer-aggrandizement or material profit or what have you, the encroachment of the ugly and the un-sacred always has the feeling of being “forced” (which is, un-natural), and it always seems to be appreciated and supported only by those who share the same agenda. And yet the frustrating difficulty is that these folks would say that Saint Pius X and those who agree with him are pushing their own “agenda.” How does one convince them that this agenda is for the truth? At least we can say this much: it brings little or no financial benefit, social status, or job security to those who pursue it!

In contrast, I always find telling what the musical “layman” thinks of a certain music. The person with no vested interest or agendas seems to have no trouble accurately identifying what sounds beautiful and what sounds sacred―it’s only natural!

Please visit THIS PAGE to learn more about Dr. Kwasniewski’s exciting new publication,
Sacred Choral Works, a 273-page collection of a cappella choir music for the Liturgy.

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

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: January 1, 2020

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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.

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Quick Thoughts

    Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
    Once, after Mass, my pastor said he really loved the hymn we did. I said: “Father, that's Holy God, We Praise Thy Name—you never heard it before?” He replied: “But the way you did it was terrific. For once, it didn't sound like a funeral dirge!” Last Sunday, our volunteer choir sang that hymn. I think the tempo was just about right … but what do you think?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Don’t You Agree About These?
    If you want to make Jeff Ostrowski really happy, send him an email with effusive praise about the individual voice recordings for hymn #296. [Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass] They came out dazzlingly sensational, don't you agree?
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Choral Vowels? Yes? No?
    Here's a live recording of one of the choral “warm-up” exercises my choir enjoys. It was taken during our rehearsal on 27 January 2023. It’s good to make sure each chord is perfectly in tune and balanced before moving to the next one. That only happens when each singer has the correct vowel. If you like, you can freely download that vocal exercise.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“As late as 1834, British society had many restrictions on any person not adhering to the Anglican church. For example, Roman Catholics could not attend a university, serve on a city council, be a member of Parliament, serve in the armed forces, or even serve on a jury.”

— Regarding the Church of Henry VIII

Recent Posts

  • Apply Right Now! • Sacred Music Symposium
  • Tempo?? • 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘞𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘩𝘺 𝘕𝘢𝘮𝘦
  • PDF Download • Belgian Book of Gregorian Accompaniments (Official Edition)
  • Don’t You Agree About These?
  • Choral Vowels? Yes? No?

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2023 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.