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.”
If an hour at the keyboard is an hour well-spent, how much more an hour of silent prayer before Our Lord present in the Most Blessed Sacrament? If fifteen minutes of score study is a productive use of my time, how much more a daily rosary for the intentions of my family and friends?
We would like to learn more about this priest!
Ponder this statement by the prefect for the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments (a.k.a. “CDW”).
This treatise (324 pages) is a “must read” for anyone who cares about liturgical music in the Catholic Church.
“May our voices be the instruments through which God breathes new life into the ancient chants of the Catholic Church, decrepit through centuries of neglect and misinterpretation!” —Patrick Williams
If you’ve been considering attending the Sacred Music Symposium, I suggest you send in your application as soon as possible. The committee that meets to evaluate each candidate has been going through them—and they are scheduled to convene again this week. (They do their best to get through as many as they can as quickly […]
I’m currently in the process of creating a website where all the organ accompaniment booklets for Vespers are posted for download. At the moment, you can download the 25-page booklet I used yesterday, to accompany vespers for Sexagesima Sunday.
Where did “Ordinary Time” come from?
Saint John Mary Vianney (d. 1859) is one of my favorite saints. Our readers will want to download this gorgeous stained glass window which depicts Father Vianney, the holy Curé d’Ars.
“Make it an unbreakable rule to ingrain the rudiments of music theory into the very bones of the beginning student, preferably before the age of nine or ten.” —Dr. Lucas Tappan
People often complain: “Catholic priests won’t pay a living wage for choir directors, yet gladly pay millions to purchase a pipe organ.”
Arthur Cardinal Roche has not had an easy time of it lately.
“The problem with semiology is not that it neglects the rhythmic indications of the oldest sources, but rather that it overinterprets them, like the nuance theory on steroids.” —Patrick Williams
During the season of Septuagesima, we will be using this hymn by Cardinal Newman, which employs both Latin and English. (Readers probably know that Cardinal Newman was one of the world’s experts when it comes to Lingua Latina.) The final verse contains a beautiful soprano descant. You can hear this brief excerpt taken during our […]
Authentic sacred music should attract people. It should not drive them away.
The election of Pope Leo XIV has been exciting, and we’re filled with hope for our apostolate’s future!
But we’re under pressure to transfer our website to a “subscription model.”
We don’t want to do that. We believe our website should remain free to all.
Our president has written the following letter:
President’s Message (dated 30 May 2025)
