The Communion Antiphons with Psalm verses, applicable from now until Advent, have now been posted for free download.

Today is the day to register for a public singing of the Spem in Alium, a 40-voice motet by Thomas Tallis, Wednesday, August 23, 2006, at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Boston. More information here.

There is an interesting conversation going on over at the New Liturgical Movement, which began as a discussion about Music in Catholic Worship and is now focused on the choral Sanctus as it relates to the present liturgical laws. Some are claiming that I'm reading the law too strictly in supporting the choral Sanctus, but I wonder if that kind of wiggle room in Roman civil law really applies to church law.

Parish membership: this special membership option brings six copies of Sacred Music to a parish of your choice. It also provides the option having your parish listed as a CMAA member. This serves the purpose of educating musicians in the parish and identifying parishes where sacred music is valued. Please specify delivery address and parish name. Click the button to the right.

Fr. Zuhlsdorf has posted several items on his blog about last night's Assumption Mass in Camden, the latest of which includes a sound file of the homily and a short excerpt of Hail, Holy Queen.

On Tuesday, August 15, the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, hundreds packed Camden's handsome Immaculate Conception Cathedral for the annual Mass of Thanksgiving offered by Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic Church, a mission parish from Berlin, NJ which offers only the Traditional Latin Mass according to the 1962 Missale Romanum. Fr. Robert Pasley, Rector of Mater Ecclesiae, was the celebrant, and Fr. John Zuhlsdorf was the homilist.

This Mass attracted people from far away, and it is little wonder why. The beauty of this yearly ceremony is extraordinary, and this is no small tribute to the great faith of Fr. Pasley and the parishioners at Mater Ecclesiae.

It has been said before, and it bears repeating, that the proper and reverent celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass serves as a model for the Novus Ordo Missae, which is sadly lacking in splendor in most places. This influence can involve ceremony, music, the proper sense of congregational participation, and even potential future amendments to the 1970 Order of Mass.

Mater Ecclesiae's Assumption Mass, however, has even wider-reaching implications than this, for it serves as an example for the greater Traditional Latin Mass community, which often suffers from sloppy liturgy and poor music.

The ceremonial actions of this Mass were obviously extremely well-planned, as everything ran extraordinarily smoothly. Surely it must have been impossible to witness the opening procession with a dry eye, and all of the dignified and beautiful liturgical gestures were carried out with reverence, so much so that one might think of King David dancing in front of the tabernacle of the Lord. The clergy and all who assisted in the sanctuary wore beautiful vestments, and the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and the Knights of Columbus brought even more grandeur to the Mass, as did the Blessed Imelda Society. Watching all of this sacred drama unfold from my seat on the extreme left of the choir loft, as I sometimes strained to get a view between the cathedral's columns and arches, was like catching a glimpse of Paradise itself.

The music, once again led by Dr. Timothy McDonnell, was so well-rendered that it ought to be considered an example of sacred music to be followed everywhere. Antonio Caldara's Missa Dolorosa added yet another heavenly dimension to this Mass. This fine music does not deserve the neglect that it has suffered. After the Mass, several people commented about the overwhelming beauty of the moment of consecration, the silent crown jewel of the Mass which was framed by Caldara's Sanctus and Benedictus.

Cantor Nicholas Beck skillfully led the schola in singing the Church's very own music--the Gregorian chant propers, save for the Alleluia, which was done in a setting by William Byrd.

However, contrary to what many would expect, the music for the evening was not "stuck in the past," as four of the musical selections were composed or arranged by living musicians. Paul Scheaffer's lovely Sarabande from a concerto grosso for two trumpets made its world premiere by accompanying the prayers at the Offertory, and Harold Boatrite's gorgeous Ave Maria was one of several motets at the Communion. (This piece can be heard at Mater Ecclesiae's website.) Dr. McDonnell arranged two pieces, Sanctissima for the opening procession, and Hail, Holy Queen which was sung at the end of Mass. This is, of course, a widely beloved hymn, and the congregation always lifts the roof off the cathedral when singing this wonderful setting of it. These well-crafted modern compositions were truly sacred in character, traditional, and yet thoroughly accessible to the congregation. This fact is a challenge not only to those who prefer pop-style music in church for the sake of "relevance" but also to those who think there is no place for modern music in the liturgy, as well as those who would be content with the mediocrity of some of the early-mid 20th century church music.

What is it that separates these contemporary works apart from the banal music too often offered in other places? It is a great respect for that democracy of the Church Triumphant--Tradition. In fact, the music at this Mass involved chant and examples from every century from the 16th to the 21st, which is a fantastic illustration of continuity and organic development. The musicians bravely and brilliantly performed some of the finest pieces from the patrimony of Catholic sacred music.

The Traditional Latin Mass has been called the fons culturae. In this day and age, when the arts often struggle to survive even in museums and concert halls, it is nevertheless thriving at Traditional Latin Masses offered by Mater Ecclesiae. May the great work of this parish be a seed of renewal, not only of the liturgy and its art and music, but even of tough city streets such as those in Camden, and, most importantly, of our hearts.

The discussion and debate over liturgical music within the Catholic Church is growing ever more intense. An important consideration in this debate that has been overlooked concerns what Pope John Paul II taught on sacred music.

The most complete study on the subject is by Peter A. Kwasniewki, who teaches philsophy at the International Theological Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, Gaming, Austria (www.iti.ac.at), where he also leads a Gregorian schola.

His article is: "John Paul II on Sacred Music" and it appeared in the Summer 2006 (Volume 133, Number 2) issue of Sacred Music. The editors of this journal have decided to make the entire issue available online in order that Professor Kwasniewski's study can reach the widest possible readership.

Here is the entire issue.

Contents:
ARTICLES

• John Paul II on Sacred Music | Peter A. Kwasniewski
  
• Beyond Taste in Liturgical Music | Shawn Tribe
  
• Offertories with Unusual Endings | William Mahrt

DOCUMENTS

• The Faithful Need to Know Chant | Synod of Bishops, XI Ordinary General Assembly
  
• Liturgy is No Time for Popular Music | Francis Cardinal Arinze
  
• Songs That Make a Difference? | David Hughes

REVIEWS

• Papal Legislation on Sacred Music: 95 A.D. to 1977, by Msgr. Robert F. Hayburn
  
• Guillaume de Machaut and Reims, by Anne Walters Robertson
  
• The Shape of the Liturgy, by Dom Gregory Dix
  
• Looking Again at Liturgy, ed. Dom Alcuin Reid
  
• Maundy Thursday | St. Peter’s Abbey, Solesmes
  
• The Modern Rite, by Msgr. Klaus Gamber
  
• Turning Towards the Lord: Orientation in Liturgical Prayer, by Uwe Michael Lang
  
• Music by Nicholas Wilton
  

The forthcoming Fall issue includes a piece by Peter Phillips, director of the Tallis Scholars, along with articles by Michael Lawrence on the role of the organ in the Roman Rite, a piece by Joseph Mansfield on the Baroque Organs of Oaxaca, Mexico.

You can subscribe by joining the CMAA.

The Fall 2006 issue of Sacred Music (133.3) features an article by Peter Phillips, the founder and director of the Tallis Scholars, on the method of conducting polyphony. This is an important essay, written especially for Sacred Music, that will assist many parish musicians in some of their most difficult tasks, such as choosing singers, managing balance and sound, and knowing when a piece is ready for liturgy.

You can join the CMAA today and receive the next issue. For current members, this is an excellent opportunity to suggest to others that they become members, both to receive Sacred Music as well as to become part of the growing network of musicians who are working toward more beautiful liturgy in Catholic worship.

Partial contents of 133.3:

• New Directions for Sacred Liturgy | William Mahrt
  
• The Cult of the Conductor | Peter Phillips
  
• The Organ and the Roman Rite | Michael E. Lawrence
  
• The Baroque Organs of Oaxaca | Joseph Mansfield
  
• A Marian Motet of Surpassing Loveliness | Susan Treacy
  
• The Mystery of the St. Louis Jesuits | Jeffrey Tucker
  
• Britten's Love of Life and Faith | Peter J. Basch
  
• Organ, Voice, and Popular Chant | Michael E. Lawrence
  
• The Times They Are A-Changin' | Kurt Poterack
  

We are very pleased that the Wanderer ran this article on Colloquium XVI

"The singing of the Church comes ultimately out of love. It is the utter depth of love that produces the singing. "Cantare amantis est," says St. Augustine, singing is a lover's thing. In so saying, we come again to the trinitarian interpretation of Church music. The Holy Spirit is love, and it is he who produces the singing. He is the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit who draws us into love for Christ and so leads to the Father." Pope Benedict XVI

The BCL Newsletter ran an announcement in its May-June 2006 issue, not yet online, of a coming revisions to two BCL documents, "Music and Catholic Worship" and "Liturgical Music Today" (1982). "The committee decided (May 19) to begin this process by seeking the advice of organizations and groups dealing with questions of music and the liturgy. A consultation has been planned for October 9, 2006, in Chicago, Illinois. Organizations interested in sending a representative to this consultation are invited to post an e-mail indicating their interest to bclmusic@usccb.org before August 1, 2006."

William Mahrt, president of the Church Music Association of America and music professor at Stanford University, has indicated his desire to represent the CMAA at this meeting. CMAA Vice-President, Horst Buchholz, Director of Sacred Music at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and Associate Professor of Music at St. John Vianney Seminary in Denver, will also attend the meeting on behalf of the Archdiocese of Denver.