“What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too…” Pope Benedict XVI (7 July 2007)
Regarding the CCW mailing list, a priest (Father E. J.) wrote to us yesterday: “Sometime ago, you wrote something along the lines that none of your emails are copies or merely pitches; each one is individual. I respect you so much for that. I don’t always get to read through them, but they remain in […]
Did you know every Mass is a celebration of our Lord’s Ascension? — Here’s proof.
It’s hard to believe, but Father Knauff’s “Christ the King Hymnal for Congregational Singing” (1954) omitted this hymn!
Including O SALUTARIS (“O Saving Victim Opening Wide”) and TANTUM ERGO (“Down in Adoration Falling”) in Latin and English.
My brain can’t accept the approach chosen by this “Graduale”…
Father Lawrence Lew, OP, is perhaps the world’s greatest photographer.
I’ve really been enjoying singing from the Père Daniel Kyriale (126 pages), which is a fabulous little book. I had no idea it would turn out so nicely—incredibly useful, and the printing is super crisp. I noticed something quite strange the other day: Kyrie X (an extremely ancient chant) contains a skip of a seventh. […]
“I am a 25-year-old organist and cantor from the mountains of Northern Colorado. I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you and your friends for working hard to bring excellent content to your website and my inbox. I have found many, many awesome resources to help me stay faithful to the Church’s stance and […]
The way to “repeat” Alleluia during Eastertide confuses many people.
This hymn by Caelius Sedulius (Christian Poet from the 5th century) has been translated into English by a Catholic priest.
“The late Archbishop Sheen once pointed out how the Greeks in their language had three different words for love…”
This has been called the “incomparable and indispensable” hymnal for Catholics.
A few years ago—during the Sacred Music Symposium—I suggested to the audience that the “Our Father” and the “Alleluia” should be considered part of the Ordinary of the Mass (for the Ordinary Form). In my own settings, such as Mass of the English Martyrs, I treated the “Our Father” accordingly—and here in Los Angeles, we […]
This is a good way to get to know several contributors a little better!
I predict this smooth harmonization will go down in history—it fits the voice perfectly.
“No concession should ever be made for the singing of the Exultet, in whole or in part, in the vernacular.” — Fr. Augustin Bea
I’m usually a stickler when it comes to making sure priests sing their chants correctly, especially when priests often substitute a Perfect Fourth for the Minor Third in the famous Triple Alleluia on Holy Saturday. But I just found out the 1575AD Missale Romanum has a skip of a Perfect Fifth! So perhaps I need to […]
I know of no greater composition than this one—and it was written by a devout Catholic priest.
The Roman Missal explicitly tells the priest to look at the Crucifix at various times during the Holy Mass.
On 26 April 2020, Fr. Ostrowski explained an unintended “Covid-19” consequence—from which we can learn.
