This sounds to be a book to have, one which will speak both to the general readership and to the scholar. I'll order a copy tomorrow.

For those who would like a more technical discussion of Palestrina's sacred oeuvre, I have just finished reading The Style of Palestrina and the Dissonance. It is a beautifully written and highly intelligent account of the subject by the early-to-mid XXth century Danish scholar, Knud Jeppesen. It is chock full of analytical examples and intuitive insight, and treats authoritatively with the matter of dissonance as related to text. I recommend it highly to those who are lovers of renaissance music, especially polyphony.

I have just finished reading The Style of Palestrina and the Dissonance. It is a beautifully written and highly intelligent account of the subject by the early-to-mid XXth century Danish scholar, Knud Jeppesen.

I've had a copy of that book for ages, it's AWESOME!!!!!

R

I always enjoy (which means, technically, 'I am en-joyed by...') Stimson's wry humour and sharp (though never, of course, acerbic) wit. However, I am moved with a degree of wryity to take issue with some of his rationales against musicianly sanctifications. Heaven knows we church musicians can use all the help we can get from heaven. In consideration of which, why would a St Pierluigi of Palestrina be any more a cause for a surfeit of imitations of his style (oh, wait! this already has happened [with disastrous results] in the late XIXth and early XXth centuries) than does St Dunstan (the greatest of saintly musical patrons) excite a surfeit of musicalisches opfer based on XIth century Wessexian English chant, or St Cecilia a glut of compositions based on pre-IInd century Roman chant-cantilation (about which we know next to nothing)? Why should we not have the pleasure of yet another sanctified worthy such as Palestrina to give us, as he does give and has given us, badly needed aid, comfort, and inspiration for five centuries? In the climate in which the kalendar is being graced with a new (pope) saint every month one could possibly conclude that Pierluigi is not being canonised because he was a musician and not a pontifex maximus - never mind that he was a musicus maximus who fulfilled his vocation with profound integrity, leaving Holy Church and all mankind with music of the rarest, most sublime spiritual worth. Indeed, his only fault may have been the part he played in the nefarious cabal that gave us that horrendous butchery of sacred song, Medicean chant.

By the way - St Cecilia's feast day is this very 22nd November, Thanksgiving Day. Let us turn this Thanksgiving Day into a great Thanks Giving for Music, especially Church Music, and especially for all those, the quick and the dead, who have blessed and do bless the Church's worship with truly inspired music for the Lord's worship and our aedification. After all, they only brought and bring to fruition the seed that God himself planted within them - and we have reaped a bountiful harvest.

St Dunstan (that other patron saint of music) has the 19th May for his day on the kalendar. We should remember and speak regularly with both Cecilia and Dunstan of Canterbury about our musical lives, deeds, and needs.

Also by the way - many here will be aware that St Cecilia, one of the patron saints of music, has the rare honour of being mentioned in the Roman Canon. This speaks volumes, not only of St Cecilia herself, but of the importance of music in the life of the Church.

Chickson, please. Prove me wrong. I am open to it. Show an Internet Luddite like myself a manuscript of music by Saint Dunstan and I'll change my mind.


Again, as I said in my message - I'm not opposed to invoking Catholic musicians of days past for their spiritual guidance. I'm all for it. (After all, I owe my reversion to one such musician whose name is fairly anathema in these parts.) But outside of folks like St. Pius X, who did a bunch of tubular stuff for the faith besides promoting music (and was a Pope - go figure) I just think it more appropriate that sanctified composers leave the legacy of their music to speak for themselves. I mean, musicians were doing it under the 'stage name' of Anonymous for a millennia until the craze for Self-Recognition came into vogue. And I'm sure they would sympathize for all that talent in our world that goes unseen. Taking a cue from Gray I'm sure that all artists the other side of the vale find satisfaction in the fact that "Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen".


But no, Chick. If this is as simple a fix as Google searching and finding the good saint's music (which for both of us as well as the sake of my group named after the English Blacksmith may attest) then send it our way. I'm sure it's easier than I think. So prove me wrong. (By the way - is anyone familiar with the rumor that St. Dunstan composed the Missa de Angelis?)