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At the conservatory, we’re surrounded by hundreds of professional musicians; but stepping into a Catholic parish the situation is quite different.
Some claim Catholics deserve condemnation because (unlike Protestants) Catholics often omit verses when singing hymns at Mass. Is that true? The wonderful Sophia Institute Press—as part of a series on authentic sacred music—has provided an answer (PDF) to this question.
Is backroom bowdlerization of Sacred Scripture truly irreversible?
Fulton J. Sheen: “In those days there were no scandal columns, but there were scandalmongers.”
What do you do for Quinceañera Masses, Anniversary Masses, Funerals, and Birthday Masses?
This is a beautiful melody worth learning, worth singing, and worthy of the temple.
The wonderful Sophia Institute Press has begun a “Q+A” section which tackles common liturgical questions, and here’s a sample: “At a conference I recently attended, the speaker said hymns don’t belong at Mass; was he telling the truth?” And you can read the answer. To access the complete set (which is a work in progress), […]
From a reader: “I have read the pages explaining the Blessed Sacrament in the Brébeuf hymnal and plan on continuing to contemplate them. Moreover, the Christ the King Hymn is beautifully sung on the recording you posted (to the Watershed blog), and I wish my church would sing these hymns instead of modern ones from […]
Can Protestant translations be dangerous? This paper presents items worth considering.
I personally find the following pairings (hymn text + hymn melody) to be reprehensible…
From a rare book of Franciscan chants (1902)
Christmas Matins from Bavaria…
Readers already realize that seventeen (17) splendid organ accompaniments for the simple “Salve Regina” can be freely and conveniently downloaded here. But what about the solemn tone for the “Salve Regina”—has anyone composed an organ accompaniment for that? Yes, Canon Jules Van Nuffel has composed one for the solemn version.
The ability of your singers to sight-read music instantly does not guarantee a good performance.
Sometimes words are superfluous. Sometimes no commentary is needed. If you look at this Tale of Two Missals (PDF)—which compares the Canon from the “Modern” ICEL Missal with a “Dark Ages” Missal, I think you will understand exactly what I’m getting at.
