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Views from the Choir Loft

What to Do with Musicam Sacram

Fr. David Friel · January 11, 2015

N THE ONE HAND, Musicam Sacram (MS) is a post-conciliar document, published two years after the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. On the other hand, it came two years before the publication of the revised Missal of Paul VI, which was promulgated in 1969. So, what should be done with it? Does it have any relevance or binding force today?

I received this question by email recently, and it prompted me to do a bit of thinking and researching. This is a difficult matter to address, and it is a question likely to elicit different answers from different authorities.

First, it should be established that MS is an “Instruction on Music in the Liturgy” published by the Sacred Congregation of Rites. An “Instruction” is a text that stands not so much on its own, but as a complement to another document. In this case, MS is meant as a companion to Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. Thus, it is clear that MS is a document with a high level of authority.

Yet, while the document has never been formally abrogated, there are countless scholars and liturgical musicians who consider its teachings no longer applicable. The publication of the new Roman Missal in 1969, they believe, made MS obsolete. Is this true?

I would say not. After all, in the GIRM, which is a companion document to the revised Roman Missal, Musicam Sacram is cited 11 times. If MS had no binding force on the reformed liturgy, then these citations would not exist.

ERHAPS A BETTER approach, then, would be to say that certain specifics contained with MS no longer apply. For example, the former distinction between solemn, sung, and read Masses has not been retained in what we now call the Ordinary Form. Still, the general principles outlined in MS remain quite valid and very much in force.

Especially in the Ordinary Form, which allows for so many options and so much leeway, it is hard to make an argument against incorporating the principles of MS. If the principles of a more recent, non-authoritative document (such as Sing to the Lord) can be taken into account, who is to say, in the OF, that the principles of MS cannot also be taken to heart? To my mind, it seems quite laudable to apply the guidelines of MS to our present celebration of Mass.

If you are interested in a fuller treatment of this topic, there is something you should read that comes from an unlikely source. Available online is a TRANSCRIPT of five separate presentations given during the 2007 NPM Convention which (believe it or not) addressed this topic. The five lectures represent rather disparate points of view. Each lecture is worth reading, but I would say that the lecture by Dr. Ed Schaefer deserves special notice.

What to do with Musicam Sacram remains a thorny issue. Trying to reconcile, for example, the principle of “progressive solemnity” in SttL with the three-tiered structure of singing given in MS is difficult work. At the very least, the principles of MS must not be discounted outright. They should, instead, be welcomed—even studied—so as to improve our celebration of the sacred liturgy.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Authentic Liturgical Renewal Reform, Liturgy of the Second Vatican Council, Progressive Solemnity, Sacrosanctum Concilium, USCCB Sing to the Lord Document on Music Last Updated: January 1, 2020

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Fr. David Friel

About Fr. David Friel

Ordained in 2011, Father Friel served as Parochial Vicar at St. Anselm Parish in Northeast Philly. He is currently a doctoral candidate in liturgical theology at The Catholic University of America.—(Read full biography).

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Can You Spare 33 Seconds?

Here’s an audio excerpt (33 seconds) of a setting for Kyrie VIII which was recorded live last Sunday at our parish in Los Angeles. The setting (“Missa de Angelis”) is by composer Richard Rice, and you can download the free PDF if you click here and scroll to the bottom. I think Richard’s composition is marvelous. I missed a few notes on the organ, but I’ll get them right next time.

—Jeff Ostrowski
5 April 2021 • When Girls Sing

Covid restrictions here in California are still extremely severe—switching “two weeks to flatten the curve” into “two years to flatten the curve.” Since 2020, we’ve had police breaking into our church to check if everyone is wearing a mask…even when only 5-6 people are present! But we were allowed to have a small percentage of our singers back on Easter Sunday, and here is their live recording of the ancient Catholic hymn for Eastertide: Ad Cenam Agni Providi. The girls were so very excited to sing again—you can hear it in their voices!

—Jeff Ostrowski
29 March 2021 • FEEDBACK

“E.S.” in North Dakota writes: “I just wanted to take a moment to say THANK YOU for all the hard work you have put—and continue to put—into your wonderful website. In the past two years, my parish has moved from a little house basement into a brand new church and gone from a few families receiving Low Masses twice a month to several families (and many individuals) receiving Mass every Sunday, two Saturdays a month, and every Holy Day. Our priest has been incorporating more and more High Masses and various ceremonies into our lives, which has made my job as a huge newbie choir master very trying and complicated. CCWatershed has been an invaluable resource in helping me get on my feet and know what to do!!! Thank you more than I can express! May God bless you abundantly and assist you in your work and daily lives!”

—Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

Giovanni Doni is known for having changed the name of note “Ut,” renaming it “Do.” He convinced his contemporaries to make the change by arguing that 1) “Do” is easier to pronounce than “Ut,” and 2) “Do” is an abbreviation for “Dominus,” the Latin word for the Lord, Who is the tonic and root of the world. There is much academic speculation that Giovanni Doni also wanted to imprint himself into musical canon in perpetuity because “Do” is also ulteriorly an abbreviation for his family name.

— Giovanni Battista Doni died in 1647AD

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