Cantate Domino Canticum Novum

by Bishop Rene Henry Gracida, DD, Rev. Brian W. Harrison, O.S., M.A., S.T.D., Peter A. Kwasniewski, Fr. James V. Schall, S.J., Bishop Athanasius Schneider, ORC

We, the undersigned—musicians, pastors, teachers, scholars, and lovers of sacred music—humbly offer this statement to the Catholic community around the world, expressing our great love for the Church’s treasury of sacred music and our deep concerns about its current plight.

Introduction
Cantate Domino canticum novum, cantate Domino omnis terra (Psalm 96): this singing to God’s glory has resonated for the whole history of Christianity, from the very beginning to the present day. Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition alike bear witness to a great love for the beauty and power of music in the worship of Almighty God. The treasury of sacred music has always been cherished in the Catholic Church by her saints, theologians, popes, and laypeople.

Such love and practice of music is witnessed to throughout Christian literature and in the many documents that the Popes have devoted to sacred music, from John XXII’s Docta Sanctorum Patrum (1324) and Benedict XIV’s Annus Qui (1749) down to Saint Pius X’s Motu Proprio Tra le Sollecitudini (1903), Pius XII’s Musicae Sacrae Disciplina (1955), Saint John Paul II’s Chirograph on Sacred Music (2003), and so on. This vast amount of documentation impels us to take with utter seriousness the importance and the role of music in the liturgy. This importance is related to the deep connection between the liturgy and its music, a connection that goes two ways: a good liturgy allows for splendid music, but a low standard of liturgical music also tremendously affects the liturgy. Nor can the ecumenical importance of music be forgotten, when we know that other Christian traditions—such as Anglicans, Lutherans, and the Eastern Orthodox—have high esteem for the importance and dignity of sacred music, as witnessed by their own jealously-guarded “treasuries.”

We are observing an important milestone, the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation of the Instruction on Music in the Liturgy, Musicam Sacram, on March 5, 1967, under the pontificate of Blessed Paul VI. Re-reading the document today, we cannot avoid thinking of the via dolorosa of sacred music in the decades following Sacrosanctum Concilium. Indeed, what was happening in some factions of the Church at that time (1967) was not at all in line with Sacrosantum Concilium or with Musicam Sacram. Certain ideas that were never present in the Council’s documents were forced into practice, sometimes with a lack of vigilance from clergy and ecclesiastical hierarchy. In some countries the treasury of sacred music that the Council asked to be preserved was not only not preserved, but even opposed. And this quite against the Council, which clearly stated:

The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy. Holy Scripture, indeed, has bestowed praise upon sacred song, and the same may be said of the fathers of the Church and of the Roman pontiffs who in recent times, led by St. Pius X, have explained more precisely the ministerial function supplied by sacred music in the service of the Lord. Therefore sacred music is to be considered the more holy in proportion as it is more closely connected with the liturgical action, whether it adds delight to prayer, fosters unity of minds, or confers greater solemnity upon the sacred rites. But the Church approves of all forms of true art having the needed qualities, and admits them into divine worship. (SC 112)

The Current Situation
In light of the mind of the Church so frequently expressed, we cannot avoid being concerned about the current situation of sacred music, which is nothing short of desperate, with abuses in the area of sacred music now almost the norm rather than the exception. We shall summarize here some of the elements that contribute to the present deplorable situation of sacred music and of the liturgy.

1. There has been a loss of understanding of the “musical shape of the liturgy,” that is, that music is an inherent part of the very essence of liturgy as public, formal, solemn worship of God. We are not merely to sing at Mass, but to sing the Mass. Hence, as Musicam Sacram itself reminded us, the priest’s parts should be chanted to the tones given in the Missal, with the people making the responses; the singing of the Ordinary of the Mass in Gregorian chant or music inspired by it should be encouraged; and the Propers of the Mass, too, should be given the pride of place that befits their historical prominence, their liturgical function, and their theological depth. Similar points apply to the singing of the Divine Office. It is an exhibition of the vice of “liturgical sloth” to refuse to sing the liturgy, to use “utility music” rather than sacred music, to refuse to educate oneself or others about the Church’s tradition and wishes, and to put little or no effort and resources into the building up of a sacred music program.

2. This loss of liturgical and theological understanding goes hand-in-hand with an embrace of secularism. The secularism of popular musical styles has contributed to a desacralization of the liturgy, while the secularism of profit-based commercialism has reinforced the imposition of mediocre collections of music upon parishes. It has encouraged an anthropocentrism in the liturgy that undermines its very nature. In vast sectors of the Church nowadays there is an incorrect relationship with culture, which can be seen as a “web of connections.” With the actual situation of our liturgical music (and of the liturgy itself, because the two are intertwined), we have broken this web of connection with our past and tried to connect with a future that has no meaning without its past. Today, the Church is not actively using her cultural riches to evangelize, but is mostly used by a prevalent secular culture, born in opposition to Christianity, which destabilizes the sense of adoration that is at the heart of the Christian faith.

In his homily for the feast of Corpus Christi on June 4, 2015, Pope Francis has spoken of “the Church’s amazement at this reality [of the Most Holy Eucharist]. . . An astonishment which always feeds contemplation, adoration, and memory.” In many of our Churches around the world, where is this sense of contemplation, this adoration, this astonishment for the mystery of the Eucharist? It is lost because we are living a sort of spiritual Alzheimer’s, a disease that is taking our spiritual, theological, artistic, musical and cultural memories away from us. It has been said that we need to bring the culture of every people into the liturgy. This may be right if correctly understood, but not in the sense that the liturgy (and the music) becomes the place where we have to exalt a secular culture. It is the place where the culture, every culture, is brought to another level and purified.

3. There are groups in the Church that push for a “renewal” that does not reflect Church teaching but rather serves their own agenda, worldview, and interests. These groups have members in key leadership positions from which they put into practice their plans, their idea of culture, and the way we have to deal with contemporary issues. In some countries powerful lobbies have contributed to the de facto replacement of liturgical repertoires faithful to the directives of Vatican II with low-quality repertoires. Thus, we end up with repertoires of new liturgical music of very low standards as regards both the text and the music. This is understandable when we reflect that nothing of lasting worth can come from a lack of training and expertise, especially when people neglect the wise precepts of Church tradition:

On these grounds Gregorian Chant has always been regarded as the supreme model for sacred music, so that it is fully legitimate to lay down the following rule: the more closely a composition for church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savor the Gregorian form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy it is of the temple. (St. Pius X, Motu Proprio Tra le Sollecitudini)

Today this “supreme model” is often discarded, if not despised. The entire Magisterium of the Church has reminded us of the importance of adhering to this important model, not as way of limiting creativity but as a foundation on which inspiration can flourish. If we desire that people look for Jesus, we need to prepare the house with the best that the Church can offer. We will not invite people to our house, the Church, to give them a by-product of music and art, when they can find a much better pop music style outside the Church. Liturgy is a limen, a threshold that allows us to step from our daily existence to the worship of the angels: Et ídeo cum Angelis et Archángelis, cum Thronis et Dominatiónibus, cumque omni milítia cæléstis exércitus, hymnum glóriæ tuæ cánimus, sine fine dicéntes…

4. This disdain for Gregorian chant and traditional repertoires is one sign of a much bigger problem, that of disdain for Tradition. Sacrosanctum Concilium teaches that the musical and artistic heritage of the Church should be respected and cherished, because it is the embodiment of centuries of worship and prayer, and an expression of the highest peak of human creativity and spirituality. There was a time when the Church did not run after the latest fashion, but was the maker and arbiter of culture. The lack of commitment to tradition has put the Church and her liturgy on an uncertain and meandering path. The attempted separation of the teaching of Vatican II from previous Church teachings is a dead end, and the only way forward is the hermeneutic of continuity endorsed by Pope Benedict XVI. Recovering the unity, integrity, and harmony of Catholic teaching is the condition for restoring both the liturgy and its music to a noble condition. As Pope Francis taught us in his first encyclical: “Self-knowledge is only possible when we share in a greater memory” (Lumen Fidei 38).

5. Another cause of the decadence of sacred music is clericalism, the abuse of clerical position and status. Clergy who are often poorly educated in the great tradition of sacred music continue to make decisions about personnel and policies that contravene the authentic spirit of the liturgy and the renewal of sacred music repeatedly called for in our times. Often they contradict Vatican II teachings in the name of a supposed “spirit of the Council.” Moreover, especially in countries of ancient Christian heritage, members of the clergy have access to positions that are not available to laity, when there are lay musicians fully capable of offering an equal or superior professional service to the Church.

6. We also see the problem of inadequate (at times, unjust) remuneration of lay musicians. The importance of sacred music in the Catholic liturgy requires that at least some members of the Church in every place be well-educated, well-equipped, and dedicated to serve the People of God in this capacity. Is it not true that we should give to God our best? No one would be surprised or disturbed knowing that doctors need a salary to survive, no one would accept medical treatment from untrained volunteers; priests have their salaries, because they cannot live if they do not eat, and if they do not eat, they will not be able to prepare themselves in theological sciences or to say the Mass with dignity. If we pay florists and cooks who help at parishes, why does it seem so strange that those performing musical activities for the Church would have a right to fair compensation?

Positive Proposals
It may seem that what we have said is pessimistic, but we maintain the hope that there is a way out of this winter. The following proposals are offered in spiritu humilitatis, with the intention of restoring the dignity of the liturgy and of its music in the Church.

1. As musicians, pastors, scholars, and Catholics who love Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony, so frequently praised and recommended by the Magisterium, we ask for a re-affirmation of this heritage alongside modern sacred compositions in Latin or vernacular languages that take their inspiration from this great tradition; and we ask for concrete steps to promote it everywhere, in every church across the globe, so that all Catholics can sing the praises of God with one voice, one mind and heart, one common culture that transcends all their differences. We also ask for a re-affirmation of the unique importance of the pipe organ for the sacred liturgy, because of its singular capacity to elevate hearts to the Lord and its perfect suitability for supporting the singing of choirs and congregations.

2. It is necessary that the education to good taste in music and liturgy start with children. Often educators without musical training believe that children cannot appreciate the beauty of true art. This is far from the truth. Using a pedagogy that will help them approach the beauty of the liturgy, children will be formed in a way that will fortify their strength, because they will be offered nourishing spiritual bread and not the apparently tasty but unhealthy food of industrial origin (as when “Masses for children” feature pop-inspired music). We notice through personal experience that when children are exposed to these repertoires they come to appreciate them and develop a deeper connection with the Church.

3. If children are to appreciate the beauty of music and art, if they are to understand the importance of the liturgy as fons et culmen of the life of the Church, we must have a strong laity who will follow the Magisterium. We need to give space to well-trained laity in areas that have to do with art and with music. To be able to serve as a competent liturgical musician or educator requires years of study. This “professional” status must be recognized, respected, and promoted in practical ways. In connection with this point, we sincerely hope that the Church will continue to work against obvious and subtle forms of clericalism, so that laity can make their full contribution in areas where ordination is not a requirement.

4. Higher standards for musical repertoire and skill should be insisted on for cathedrals and basilicas. Bishops in every diocese should hire at least a professional music director and/or an organist who would follow clear directions on how to foster excellent liturgical music in that cathedral or basilica and who would offer a shining example of combining works of the great tradition with appropriate new compositions. We think that a sound principle for this is contained in Sacrosanctum Concilium 23: “There must be no innovations unless the good of the Church genuinely and certainly requires them; and care must be taken that any new forms adopted should in some way grow organically from forms already existing.”
5. We suggest that in every basilica and cathedral there be the encouragement of a weekly Mass celebrated in Latin (in either Form of the Roman Rite) so as to maintain the link we have with our liturgical, cultural, artistic, and theological heritage. The fact that many young people today are rediscovering the beauty of Latin in the liturgy is surely a sign of the times, and prompts us to bury the battles of the past and seek a more “catholic” approach that draws upon all the centuries of Catholic worship. With the easy availability of books, booklets, and online resources, it will not be difficult to facilitate the active participation of those who wish to attend liturgies in Latin. Moreover, each parish should be encouraged to have one fully-sung Mass each Sunday.

6. Liturgical and musical training of clergy should be a priority for the Bishops. Clergy have a responsibility to learn and practice their liturgical melodies, since, according to Musicam Sacram and other documents, they should be able to chant the prayers of the liturgy, not merely say the words. In seminaries and at the university, they should come to be familiar with and appreciate the great tradition of sacred music in the Church, in harmony with the Magisterium, and following the sound principle of Matthew 13:52: “Every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

7. In the past, Catholic publishers played a great role in spreading good examples of sacred music, old and new. Today, the same publishers, even if they belong to dioceses or religious institutions, often spread music that is not right for the liturgy, following only commercial considerations. Many faithful Catholics think that what mainstream publishers offer is in line with the doctrine of the Catholic Church regarding liturgy and music, when it is frequently not so. Catholic publishers should have as their first aim that of educating the faithful in sane Catholic doctrine and good liturgical practices, not that of making money.

8. The formation of liturgists is also fundamental. Just as musicians need to understand the essentials of liturgical history and theology, so too must liturgists be educated in Gregorian chant, polyphony, and the entire musical tradition of the Church, so that they may discern between what is good and what is bad.

Conclusion
In his encyclical Lumen Fidei, Pope Francis reminded us of the way faith binds together past and future:

As a response to a word which preceded it, Abraham’s faith would always be an act of remembrance. Yet this remembrance is not fixed on past events but, as the memory of a promise, it becomes capable of opening up the future, shedding light on the path to be taken. We see how faith, as remembrance of the future, memoria futuri, is thus closely bound up with hope. (LF 9)

This remembrance, this memory, this treasure that is our Catholic tradition is not something of the past alone. It is still a vital force in the present, and will always be a gift of beauty to future generations. “Sing praises to the Lord, for he has done gloriously; let this be known in all the earth. Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel” (Is 12:5–6).

CANTATE-DOMINO-English.pdf

SIGNATORIES

Mº Aurelio Porfiri
Honorary Master and Organist for the Church of Santa Maria dell’Orto, Rome, Italy
Publisher of Choralife and Chorabooks, Editor of Altare Dei

Peter A. Kwasniewski, Ph.D.
Professor of Theology & Philosophy
Choirmaster
Wyoming Catholic College

Rev. Prof. Nicola Bux

M° Giorgio Carnini
organista, compositore e direttore d’orchestra.
Presidente Associazione Camerata Italica.
Direttore artistico del festival e progetto “Un organo per Roma”.
Buenos Aires, Roma.

Prof. Giancarlo Rostirolla
Musicologo, Ricercatore, Accademico
Presidente dell’Istituto di Bibliografia Musicale
Direttore Artistico della Fondazione Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Most Rev. Athanasius Schneider
Auxiliary Bishop of Astana
President of the Liturgical Commission of the Conference of the Catholic Bishops of Kazakhstan

Right Reverend Archimandrite John A. Mangels
St. Augustine Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church, Denver CO
Founder of the Ambrosian Choristers

Rev. Brian W. Harrison, OS, MA, STD
Associate Professor of Theology (retired), Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico,
Chaplain, St. Mary of Victories Chapel,
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.

Fr. Thomas M. Kocik
Parish Priest, Fall River, Mass. (USA)
Past Editor, Antiphon: A Journal for Liturgical Renewal

+Abbot Philip Anderson
Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey / Hulbert, Oklahoma

David W. Fagerberg
Professor, Department of Theology
University of Notre Dame

Dr Joseph Shaw
Senior Research Fellow, St Benet’s Hall, Oxford University

Sir James MacMillan CBE
Composer and conductor

Kevin Allen
Composer
Chicago, IL, USA

William Peter Mahrt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Music, Stanford University, Stanford, California,
and President, Church Music Association of America

Peter Phillips
Founder and Director of the Tallis Scholars
Publisher of the Musical Times
Bodley Fellow, Merton College, Oxford
Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Martin Mosebach
German novelist & essayist,
Frankfurt am Main

Roberto Spataro
Docente ordinario Università Pontificia Salesiana
Segretario della Pontificia Academia Latinitatis

Dottor Ettore Gotti Tedeschi
Economista e banchiere

Prof. Dr. Massimo de Leonardis
Ordinario di Storia delle relazioni internazionali
Direttore del Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche
Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
Milano – Italia

Elisabeth Mosebach
Friherrinnan Akerhielm af Margrethelund,
Frankfurt am Main

Father Richard G. Cipolla
Pastor, St. Mary’s Church
Norwalk, CT

The Most Reverend Rene Henry Gracida, D.D.
Bishop Emeritus of Corpus Christi

Rev. James V. Schall, S.J.
Professor Emeritus
Georgetown University
Washington, DC, USA

Prof. Pier Paolo Donati
direttore di “Informazione Organistica”
già docente di Storia della Musica all’Università di Firenze

Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
Madison, WI
fatherzonline.com

Colin Mawby, K.S.G.
Liturgical Composer and Master of Music at Westminster Cathedral 1961 – 1977

Frank J. La Rocca, Ph.D
Emeritus Professor of Music
Oakland, California

Rev. George William Rutler, M. St. (Oxon.), S.T.D., LL.D.
Pastor, Church of Saint Michael
New York City, New York

Vytautas Miskinis
Composer,Conductor, Professor
Artistic Director of Boy’s and Male Choir AZUOLIUKAS,
Professor of Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre,
President of Lithuanian Choral Union

Wilko Brouwers
Utrecht Center for the Arts
Gregorian Circle Utrecht

Scott Turkington
Director of Sacred Music
Holy Family Church & Holy Family Academy
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

Jeffrey Morse
Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge

The Revd J W Hunwicke
sometime Head of Theology, Lancing College; formerly Senior Research Fellow, Pusey House, Oxford; Priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

Christopher Mueller
Founder & President
Christopher Mueller Foundation for Polyphony & Chant

Massimo Lapponi O.S.B.
Monaco sacerdote professo dell’Abbazia Benedettina di Farfa
già docente di Etica e Filosofia della Religione presso il Pont. Ateneo di Sant’Anselmo

Patrick Banken
vice president of the International Federation Una Voce (FIUV) and president of Una Voce France.

Joel Morehouse, BM, M.Ed.
Director of Music, St. Ann’s Church, Syracuse, NY

Deacon Edward Schaefer, D.M.A.
Professor of Music
Associate Dean of the College of the Arts
University of Florida

Hugh Ballantyne
Tutor in New Testament Greek
Saint Philip’s Seminary
Toronto

James Likoudi
president emeritus, Catholics United for the Faith (CUF)
Montour Falls, NY

Deacon Timothy D. Woods, M.M.
Choral Conductor
Frankfort, IL, USA

Matthew Schellhorn
Faculty of Music, University of Cambridge

Dr. Philip Blosser, PhD
Professor of Philosophy
Sacred Heart Major Seminary

Fr. Basil Cole, OP, STD
Professor (Ordinarius)
Pontifical Faculty at the Dominican House of Studies

Very Rev. Mark Kirby, O.S.B.
Prior
Silverstream Priory
Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland

Very Rev. Dana R. Christensen, MA, KHS
Pastor, St. Mary of Mercy Catholic Church, Alexandria SD

The Rev. James W. Jackson, FSSP
Pastor, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish
Littleton, CO USA

Rev. Fr. John Saward M.A.
Fellow of Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford, and Priest-in-charge, SS. Gregory and Augustine Church, Oxford.

Rev. Joseph W. Koterski, S.J.
Department of Philosophy
Fordham University
Bronx NY

Fr. Robert Fromageot, FSSP (STL, Dogmatic)
Parochial Vicar/Choir Director
St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church
Quincy, IL

Thomas Cattoi
Associate Professor of Christology and Cultures
Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University and
Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, CA

Dr. Thomas T. Howard, Ph.D.
Author; Professor of English (retired), Gordon College, Wenham, MA

Mr. Philip Joseph Fillion
B.M, M.S.M. Westminster Choir College ’17
Organist, St. Catharine & St. Margaret Parish
Spring Lake, NJ

Steven W. Medicis, M.B.A., M.P.A, M.S.
Director of Music at Saint James Church, Syracuse, New York
Director of Music at Saint Joseph’s Church, LaFayette, New York

Fr Thomas Crean OP STD
Holy Cross Priory, Leicester

Fr. Joseph Illo
pastor Star of the Sea Parish
San Francisco, CA

Rev. Jeffrey Keyes
Chaplain, Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa
Theology Instructor, Cardinal Newman High School
Director, Schola Cantorum of St. Eugene Cathedral
Santa Rosa, CA, USA

Fr Stephen P. Turner
Curate, Anglican Church of Christ the King
Watertown, NY

Edward Tambling BA (Oxon) FRCO HonFASC
Assistant Director of Music,
St James’s Roman Catholic Church, Spanish Place,
London

Dr. Peter Kalkavage, Ph.D.
St. John’s College
Annapolis, MD

Henri Adam de Villiers
Maître de chapelle (rits romain et byzantin)

Dipl. Inf. Monika Rheinschmitt
Choirmaster of Schola in Stuttgart
President of Pro Missa Tridentina
Treasurer of Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce

Luís Carlos Fortuna Henriques
PhD Candidate in Musicology, University of Évora, Portugal
Especiality Iberian sacred vocal polyphony of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

Susan Treacy, Ph.D.
Professor of Music
Ave Maria University
Ave Maria, FL

Rev. Robert C. Pasley, K.C.H.S.
Rector of Mater Ecclesiae, Berlin, NJ
Chaplain of the CMAA

Adam Michael Wood
Berkeley, CA

Rev. Fr. Francesco Giordano, STD
Human Life International, Rome Director
Angelicum University, Faculty of Theology
Rome, ITALY

Mr Christopher Hodkinson, M.A., M.Phil. (Cantab.)
Director, Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge (U.K.)

Kurt Poterack
Ph. D. in Music Composition
Master of the Choristers and Schola Gregoriana
Director of the Liturgical Music Minor
Christendom College

Jeffrey Quick, M.M.
Composer, Schola director, St. Sebastian, Akron OH

Stephen M. Collins
Musician
Stella Maris Church
Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina

Dr. Sean Lewis, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of English
Mount St. Mary’s University

Gary D. Penkala
Editor
CanticaNOVA Publications
Charles Town, West Virginia
USA

Henry R. Gaida
Director of Music, Choirmaster of the St. Cecilia Choir and Choristers at
Our Lady of Czestochowa Church; Turners Falls, Massachusetts, USA

David Clayton
Iconographer
Provost, Pontifex University
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Jessica Earle MMusPT
Music Secretary
Newman Parish, Melbourne, Australia

Noel Jones, AAGO
Creative Director, Frog Music Press
Augusta, Kentucky, USA

Alex E. Hill, M.Mus
Director of Music and Liturgy
St. Mark Catholic Church
Wilmington, North Carolina, USA

Eugene Lavery
Organist & Director of Sacred Music
Saint Martin of Tours Catholic Church
Louisville, Kentucky, United States

Robert Reilly
Author and music critic
Washington, DC, USA

Rudy de Vos, DMA
Director of Music
The Cathedral of Christ the Light
Oakland, CA, USA

Andrzej Zahorski, DMA
Director of Music for Saint Anselm Parish, Creve Coeur, Missouri

R.J. Stove
Organist
Victoria, Australia

Ann Labounsky, Ph.D
Professor and Chair of Organ and Sacred Music
Mary Pappert School of Music
Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA

Rev. Christopher P. Gray, STL
Diocese of Salt Lake City
Casa Santa Maria, Rome

Craig Kesner M.Mus
Director of Music and Principal Organist
Saint Joseph’s Parish
Martinsburg WV, USA

Patrick Stolz, M.M.
Music Director
Cathedral of St. Mary
Cheyenne, Wyoming

Rev. Markus Christoph, SJM, PhD
Markt Erlbach, Germany
Organist

Geoff McInnes
Spokesman, Society of St. Dominic
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Mons. Ignaçio Barreiro Carambula, S.T.D., J.D.
Chaplain and Faculty Member of the Roman Forum

Rev. Paul Schindele, SJM
General Superior of the Servi Jesu et Mariae
Blindenmarkt, Austria

Philippe Guy
Cantor and Master of Ceremonies
Paris, France

Michael P. Foley
Associate Professor of Patristics
Honors College
Baylor University
Waco, Texas

Adam Taylor
Composer and Musician
Keedysville, MD, USA

Mary C. Weaver
Director, Pope Benedict XVI Schola
Knoxville, Tennessee

Daniel Schmidt, Mag. phil. Mag. art.
Abbey organist, Stift Heiligenkreuz, Austria
Lecturer for liturgical chant at the Papal Philosophical-Theological Institute Benedict XVI Heiligenkreuz, Austria

Mirjam Schmidt
Musician, Lecturer
Conservatory for Sacred Music, St. Pölten, Austria

The Revd Mgr Andrew Burnham MA(Oxon), ARCO(CHM)
Assistant to the Ordinary,
Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
St Mary’s Catholic Church

Dom Daniel Augustine Oppenheimer, CRNJ, STL
Prior, Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem
Priory of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Charles Town, WV, USA

Edmund Waldstein, O.Cist.
Vizedirektor, Überdiözesanes Priesterseminar Leopoldinum,
Heiligenkreuz, Austria

Dr Nicholas Bannan
Co-ordinator of Graduate Studies and Director of The Winthrop Singers
School of Music
University of Western Australia

James Bogle, Esq.
Barrister of the Middle Temple, London
Vice-Chairman the Catholic Union of Great Britain
Former President of the International Una Voce Federation

William J. Tighe, Ph.D.
Professor of History
Muhlenberg College
Allwntown, PA, USA

Jeffrey M. Alban, D.M.A.
Director of Music & Organist
Saint John the Baptist Church
Front Royal, VA, USA

Dr. Daria Spezzano
Assistant Professor, Theology
Providence College
Providence, RI, USA

Fr Kenneth M. Bolin
Chaplain (Major), US Army
Pastor, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel, US Military Academy
West Point, NY, USA

L’Abbé Claude Barthe
Cappellano pellegrinaggio Summorum Pontificum

Fr Seán Finnegan MA BTh
Parish Priest (Pastor), Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, England
Lecturer in Church History at St John’s Seminary, Wonersh

Dr Timothy Kelly
Professor of Dogmatic Theology
International Theological Institute, Austria

Fr. Eduard Perrone
Pastor and Choir Master
Assumption Grotto Church
Detroit, Michigan, USA

Olavo de Carvalho
Brazilian Philosopher and Author

Raúl del Toro Sola
Organ Teacher at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Navarra (Spain)

Dr Ann Buckley PhD
Visiting Research Fellow
Trinity College Dublin
Ireland

Timothy Bowser, BME, MA
Music Educator
Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA

Trevor Rowland
Director of Music and Liturgy
St. Mary Catholic Church
Hagerstown, Maryland, USA

Rev. Brian Van Hove, SJ, MA, MTh/ STL, PhD
Chaplain, The Religious Sisters of Mercy of Alma
Alma, MI

June Bowser, B.Mus.
M.Mus. Cantor & Instructor of Voice
Cheyenne, WY

Dr. Gregory Hamilton
Director of Sacred Music
Holy Trinity Seminary
Irving (Dallas) Texas

Rt Rev Fr Xavier Perrin OSB
Abbot of Quarr Abbey (UK)

Judith Christoph
Austria.
Head of the Ancillae Domini

Christoph Matthias Hagen
Cantor
Innsbruck, Austria

Rick Wheeler
Music Director, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Littleton, CO, USA
Artistic Director, Vittoria Ensemble, Denver

Janet Floyd Gorbitz
General Manager, Church Music Association of America

Wassim Sarweh (ARCT)
Music Director/Organist/Cantor
St Benedict and St Alphonsus
Windsor, Ontario, Canada

B. Andrew Mills
Organist and Choirmaster
Old St. Patrick’s Church
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Kathy Reinheimer
Director, Regina Pacis Cantorum; Reno, NV, USA

Frederick Lautzenheiser
Schola Director and Organist
Immaculate Conception Church Cleveland, OH, USA

Royce Nickel
Music Director
Fresno Latin Mass Society
Fresno, CA, USA

Ron Andrico
Author, publisher, church musician Director of Mignarda Ensemble
Cleveland Heights, OH

Rev Brendan Kelly
Pastor, St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church, Bee, Nebraska
Chairman of Philosophy Department, St. Gregory the Great Seminary, Seward, Nebraska
Member of the Diocesan Liturgical Commission, Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska

Mary Jane Ballou
Director, Cantorae St. Augustine
St. Augustine, Florida, USA

Frank Lawrence
Assistant Professor, UCD School of Music, University College Dublin, Ireland

Mindaugas Kubilius
Ad Fontes Project
Vilnius, Lithuania

Christopher J. Garton-Zavesky
Organist, Oratory of the Immaculate Heart of Mary at Five Wounds Portuguese National Church
Santa Clara, California, USA

Peter Mahon
Artistic Director, Tallis Choir, Toronto
Director of Music, Lorne Park Baptist Church, Mississauga, Ontario
Assistant Conductor, St. Michael’s Choir School, Toronto

Raymond Ortiz
Choir Master
Pax Christi Catholic Church
Littleton, CO, USA

Pierre Masse
Director of Music
Saint Jude’s Catholic Church
Lincoln, Rhode Island, USA
Director, Ecclesia Consort of New England

Matthew Menendez
Co-Founder, Pro Civitate Dei
Saint Louis, MO, USA

Aaron James, PhD, DMA, FRCCO
Director of Music
St Mary’s, Auburn, NY

Fr. Paul Felix
Pastor
Annunciation Catholic Church
Houston, Texas, USA

Rev. Thomas Buffer, STD
Composer and organist
Pastor, St. Mary Church, Marion, Ohio
Pastor, Sacred Hearts Church, Marion, Ohio
Lecturer, International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio Marion, Ohio, USA

Nick Botkins
Director of Sacred Music/Master of the Choirs
Saint Francis de Sales Oratory
Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest
Saint Louis, MO, USA

Dr Graeme D. Adamson
MB ChB (Honours)
Music Director, Cantiones Sacrae
Dundee, Scotland, UK

Msgr. Arthur B. Calkins, S.T.D.
Chaplain
Christopher Inn
New Orleans, LA, USA

Pe. Sérgio Cavalcante Muniz
Professor and Doctor of Theology in the S. Joseph Archdiocesan Seminary, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Pastor of Our Lady of Fátima, Alto da Boa Vista, Rio de Janeiro

Fr. Jay A. Finelli, Mdiv
Pastor – Church of the Holy Ghost
Tiverton, Rhode Island U.S.A.

Mr Maghnus Monaghan
Master of Liturgical Music (MLM)
Choir Director, St Eugene’s Cathedral, Derry, Northern Ireland

Linda Schafer
Editor, St. Michael Hymnal
St. Boniface Parish
Lafayette, Indiana

Cons. Giuseppe Capoccia,
magistrato, Crotone

Padre Alessandro Ratti, OFM conv.
docente di teologia all’ITSAD – Padova,
Cappellano dell’Arciconfraternita di Sant’Antonio di Padova

Aldo Caputo
Cantante lirico

Nicholas E. Lemme
Director of Sacred Music
Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary
St. Francis of Assisi Chapel and Children’s Choirs
Lincoln, NE USA

Fr. David Vincent Meconi, SJ
Saint Louis University
Editor, Homiletic & Pastoral Review

Paul Jernberg
Music Director, St. Monica and St. Lucy Parishes, Methuen, MA
Composer-in-Residence, Thomas More College, Merrimack, NH, USA

Mº sac. Giuseppe Grassi
arcidiocesi di Brindisi-Ostuni

Roman Chlada, MA
Kirchenmusiker & Präsident der Una Voce Austria

Paul Livingston BA
Secretary, Musica Sacra Scotland

The Rev’d Father Philip Andrews BA, STL

Sr Jean Willcox ocd
Qualifications AGSM, BA(Hons), PhD Honorary.
Position Carmelite nun and Core Group Member of Monastic Musicians UK

Mº Ivano Scavino
Direttore Artistico
Fondazione Scuola di Alto Perfezionamento Musicale

Mr Philip Evans
Director of the Byron Consort and House Master of Moretons, Harrow School
Bachelor of Arts and Postgraduate Certificate of Education, University of East Anglia
Licentiate of Trinity College of Music, London

Fr Guy de Gaynesford
Rector, School of the Annunciation,
Buckfast, England

Dr James Holland, BA, M.Litt., PhD
Under Master
Harrow School
London, England

Joseph Cullen
MA Cambridge University, FRCO
Formerly Organist of Westminster Cathedral
And Director of the London Symphony Chorus

Prof. Roberto Marini
Docente associato d’organo presso il Pontificio Istituto di Musica Sacra in Roma
Organista titolare della Cattedrale di Teramo

Giovanni Zordan
concertista, docente di Violino e Musica di insieme per archi al Liceo Musicale di Castelfranco Veneto

Dr John P. Rowntree, Ph.D, M.Ed., ARCM, LLCM, Adv. Dip. Ed.
Director of the Choir and Organist and Assistant to the Monastic Choirmaster, Douai Abbey,
Upper Woolhampton, England.
Accredited Member of the Association of Independent Organ Advisers

Nicholas J. Will
Assistant Professor of Music
Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, USA

sac. Mariusz Białkowski
semiologo, gregornanista
Poznań, Polonia

Andris Amolins, Dr. phil-nat.
Chairman of Una Voce Latvija
Co-founder of Schola Sancti Meinardi

Sr. Susi Ferfoglia
(organista, gregorianista)
Cracovia PL

Heitor Caballero
Music Director
St. Agnes Church
NY

Carmen Luisa Letelier
Professor at the University of Chile
Recipient of Chilean National Music Award (2010)

Fr. Milan Tisma
Chaplain to the Asociación Liturgica Magnificat
Author of “Magnificat: Manual litúrgico-musical en preguntas y respuestas” (2004)

Luis González
Organist, choirmaster of the Asociación Litúrgica Magnificat

Amalia Letelier
Lecturer at the Institute of Music of the University San Alberto Hurtado Teacher at Saint Ursula, Santiago Leader, Coro de la Universidad Andrés Bello, Santiago

Rev. Michael P. Forbes, MDiv MEv., GCTJ, OHS
Retired Chaplain
St. Cecilia Choir School
Rochester, MN

Jaime Carter
Organist
Organ Teacher at the University of Chile

Samantha Dawson
Head Organist
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Catholic Church
Littleton, CO, USA

Katharine Mahon
Director, Corpus Christi Children’s Choir
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Samuel A. Schmitt, MLM, Ph.D.
Director of Sacred Music, The Cathedral Parish, Bridgeport, CT, USA

Michael G. Sirilla, Ph.D.
Professor of Dogmatic and Systematic Theology
Director of Graduate Theology
Franciscan University of Steubenville

Blanaid Murphy
MA( Cantab) ARCO KA Diplom (Stuttgart)
Director, Palestrina Choir, St Mary’s Pro-Cathedral, Dublin
Director, St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral Girls’ Choir, Dublin

Christopher J. Malloy
Associate Professor of Theology, The University of Dallas
Associate Editor, Nova et Vetera

Neil Wright
Organist, St Michael’s Abbey ,
Farnborough, UK

Fr Reto Nay, SSD
Glion, Switzerland

Dr. Jarred Tafaro
Director of Sacred and Liturgical Music
St. Catharine-St. Margaret Parish
Spring Lake, New Jersey

Fr. John Rickert, Ph.D., FSSP
Pastor, Immaculate Conception Church
Omaha, Nebraska

Lt-Col (Rev.) Paul Acton
Commandant Canadian Forces Chaplain School
Canadian Forces Base Borden

Prof. Jacques Viret
musicologue français,
Université de Strasbourg

Damien Poisblaud
chanteur français spécialisé dans le chant grégorien,
directeur des Chantres du Thoronet

Christopher J. E. Jeffries
Organist
Bristol, U.K.

Joan Dillon
Director
Academy of Sacred Music
Scotland

Miss Julia Jones
B.A. (Hons) Dunelm,
Schola director, Kent, UK
Trustee, Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge

Andrew Robson
Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK

Stephen Wood
Music teacher and composer
Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, UK

Robert O’Farrell
Choir Master and Organist
Church of the Good Shepherd, Woodthorpe, Nottinghamshire, UK

Mr. Frederick Stone
Chairman, Una Voce Scotland

Clare Bowskill
Director of Music
St Mary Magdalen’s
Brighton, UK

Alastair J. Tocher
Director
Schola Gregoriana Malverniensis
U.K.

Robert Brookes
Cantor
Maybole, UK

Thomas More Hagger
Choirmaster and Organist
Seaford, East Sussex, UK

Noreen O’Carroll
Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland

Adrian Taylor, MA
Organist, Church of Our Lady
St John’s Wood, London, UK

Kevin G. Jones
Secretary, Latin Mass Society of England and Wales

Austin Murphy
Director of Music
St Joseph’s Church, Bradford, UK
Former Master of the Music
St Anne’s Cathedral, Leeds, UK

Jim Roche
Convenor of The Cantors of the Holy Rude
Stirling, UK

Francis Bevan
Professional Editor of Renaissance Music
London, UK

Thomas J. D. Neal, MPhil (Cantab)
Director of Music
Shrine of St. Augustine of England, Ramsgate, UK

Dr Ben Whitworth
Founding director, the Orkney Schola
Orkney, SCOTLAND

Dom Benedict Hardy, OSB
Choirmaster
Pluscarden Abbey, Scotland

Rev. Joseph D. Santos, Jr.
Administrator, The Church of the Holy Name of Jesus
Providence, RI, USA

Altare Dei

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