Cardinal, ex-Sistine choir director discusses crisis in Church music
January 20, 2011
Describing Pope Benedict’s decision to name him a cardinal as “a sign of love of the Pope for sacred music,” Cardinal Domenico Bartolucci discussed the crisis in Church music in a recent interview.
The cardinal, who served as director of the Sistine Chapel Choir from 1956 until his ouster in 1997, paid tribute to the love for sacred music shown by Ven. Pius XII and Blessed John XXIII. “Benedict XVI loves Gregorian chant and polyphony very much and wants to recover the use of Latin,” he added. “He understands that without Latin the repertory of the past is destined to be filed away.”
“It is necessary to return to a liturgy that makes room for music, with a taste for the beautiful, and also to return to true sacred art,” the cardinal said.
For all current news, visit our News home page.
Further information:
- Sacred Music in Crisis: Interview With Former Director of Sistine Chapel Choir (Zenit)
- Pope names 24 new cardinals (CWN, 10/20/10)
- Polyphonic music revival at Vatican basilica (CWN, 11/16/09)
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a current donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
-
Posted by: -
Jan. 20, 2011 10:24 PM ET USA
Talk, talk, talk. Time for action! I bleed every Sunday. I'd suggest a "visitation" by a Vatican rep to every parish, but we know that's a dead end.
-
Posted by: ebierer1724 -
Jan. 20, 2011 8:54 PM ET USA
The 'crisis' wont be solved merely by running to the past for Palestrina and Gabrieli's greatest hits but by fostering a creative and collaborative culture of local Catholic artists, writers and composers that will create works outside of a market based system for the benefit of the whole Christian community. A Church-wide return to chant sounds nice to some, but screams of white european ethnocentrism to me!
