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Views from the Choir Loft

Theodore Marier Is the Most Important Liturgical Musician—Even Today.

Richard J. Clark · July 26, 2023

BELIEVE that Dr. Theodore Marier is even today the most important liturgical musician in the English Speaking world, despite a life in relative obscurity and service. Few know his name. Yet, his influence and importance certainly surpass postconciliar giants like Richard Proulx and Alexander Peloquin, whose work live on today. And his liturgical works are in greater demand today than when they were composed. My assertion specifies the parameter “most important liturgical musician”—one who worked in a parish with parish choirs in addition to being a composer, scholar, and editor of hymnals. Certainly, Pope Saint Pius X is the most important figure in liturgical music of the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries; he is referred to by name twice in SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM for having “explained more precisely the ministerial function supplied by sacred music in the service of the Lord.” (S. C. §42). Pope Benedict XVI certainly looms as a most prominent figure in the Twenty-first Century. But a liturgical musician working in the trenches to implement Vatican II? Undoubtedly Theodore Marier.

My Presentation • The following presentation was given at the Sacred Music Symposium in California. It was the closing event of a glorious week of sacred music and prayer.

EW KNOW Marier’s work. He was not an international figure as a composer of concert works, although he traveled in circles that included Olivier Messiaen, Jean Langlais, Dom Joseph Gajard of the Solesmes Abbey, Seizi Ozawa, Kurt Masur, and others. His liturgical compositions, influence, and guidance throughout the Twentieth Century and the Conciliar changes are exceedingly important today in the Twenty-first Century especially in light of Pope Francis’ motu proprio, Traditionis custodes. Regardless, his influence stands on its own. Marier is best known as the founder of the Saint Paul’s Choir School (Archdiocesan Choir School) in Cambridge, Massachusetts and as the editor of the landmark hymnal, Hymns Psalms and Spiritual Canticles (1974, 1983) which modeled the sung Mass in the brand new Novus Ordo. His Psalter will be that hymnal’s most lasting contribution. (Listen here to the Boston Cathedral Choir sing Marier’s Psalm 128.) The founding of the school in 1963 (an extraordinary year in the Church!) was to him the natural conclusion of the liturgical documents put forth by Popes Pius X, Pius XI, and Pius XII, and ultimately Vatican II. He took these liturgical directives to heart and acted upon them. He demanded excellence not only from his students, but from the institution he founded.

Marier’s Qualities • His postconciliar liturgical compositions addressed the desperate need for sacred music in the vernacular that was required overnight. His compositions were deeply steeped in Gregorian Chant and demonstrate the continuity of the old rite and the new in a manner that was not only accessible, but beautiful, sacred, and universal. He was the model of a servant leader and servant composer. He spent his life building bridges. He began preparing those bridges in the 1940s with longtime Saint Paul’s pastor, Msgr. Augustine Hickey long before Vatican II. He built bridges during Vatican II (listen here to his Lux Aeterna in English recorded in 1965!) and in the years after Vatican II until his death in 2001. He always built a bridge out of love for God and the faithful. He was a man of deep faith, a loving husband, father, and family man. All of this made him a better liturgical musician.

Personal Takeaway:

I never met Theodore Marier. I did not grow up in New England. However, I have met countless souls whose lives have been changed forever by him. For someone I never met, he has had the most profound influence on my career. Whether one uses his compositions or not—they will have to stand on their own merits—I have one final personal conclusion: The more I learn about Marier, his life and career, the more I am inspired to be a better human being.

Acknowledgments:

This presentation is just a small offering, giving an overview which I hope others can build upon. I wish to extend profuse thanks to Dr. William H. Atwood, Diocesan Director of Music for the Diocese of Bridgeport Connecticut for his dissertation The Influence of Plainchant on the liturgical Music of Theodore Marier. I also wish to thank William Endicott, Class of 2008, for his thesis, Repleatur Os Meum Laude Tua, A History of the Music and Mission of the St. Paul’s Choir School and for supplying recordings and scores. I also wish to thank Br. Paul J. Murray, Class of 1996, for his tireless editorial work on Marier’s compositions. Finally, I wish to thank the late John Dunn (1943-2022), Headmaster & Director of Music Emeritus, Saint Paul’s Choir School for his painstaking editorial updates of Marier’s psalter—a true labor of love—and generous sharing of institutional knowledge.

Soli Deo gloria

Oremus pro invicem.
Let us pray for each other.

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

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Dr Theodore Marier Last Updated: January 13, 2024

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About Richard J. Clark

Richard J. Clark is the Director of Music of the Archdiocese of Boston and the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Luis Martínez Must Go!
    Sevilla Cathedral (entry dated 13 December 1564): The chapter orders Luis Martínez, a cathedral chaplain, to stay away from the choirbook-stand when the rest of the singers gather around it to sing polyphony—the reason being that “he throws the others out of tune.” [Excerpt from “The Life of Father Francisco Guerrero.”]
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Urgent! • We Desperately Need Funds!
    A few days ago, the president of Corpus Christi Watershed posted this urgent appeal for funds. Please help us make sure we’re never forced to place our content behind a paywall. We feel it’s crucial that 100% of our content remains free to everyone. We’re a tiny 501(c)3 public charity, entirely dependent upon the generosity of small donors. We have no endowment and no major donors. We run no advertisements and have no savings. We beg you to consider donating $4.00 per month. Thank you!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Booklet of Eucharistic Hymns” (16 pages)
    I was asked to create a booklet for my parish to use during our CORPUS CHRISTI PROCESSION on 22 June 2025. Would you be willing to look over the DRAFT BOOKLET (16 pages) I came up with? I tried to include a variety of hymns: some have a refrain; some are in major, others in minor; some are metered, others are plainsong; some are in Spanish, some are in Latin, but most are in English. Normally, we’d use the Brébeuf Hymnal—but we can’t risk having our congregation carry those heavy books all over the city to various churches.
    —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

“Both of these appointments—of Cardinal Lercaro and Father Bugnini—to key positions on the Consilium made it possible for voices to be heard that could not be heard during the proceedings of the Council, and likewise silenced others.”

— Alfons Cardinal Stickler, Vatican II ‘peritus’

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