new music director - recommended reading?
  • wren
    Posts: 5
    I am taking up the post of music director at the parish where I have been the organist for nearly a decade. Our music ministry has been steered over the years from Breaking Bread fare towards English chant settings of the propers, Latin Ordinaries and choral motets, and traditional hymnody, and I couldn't be happier to continue that trajectory. As my only experience with Catholic liturgical music has been learning on this job, I realize I need to catch up on church documents and must-read books on this subject. Got a copy of Why Catholics Can't Sing and loaded up Sacrosanctum Concilium for some light bedtime reading. Please let me know what else I should add to the list!
  • GerardH
    Posts: 630
    The General Instruction of the Roman Missal - it astounds me how few people with responsibility know what it actually says about music.
    Thanked by 5Paul F. Ford DavidOLGC wren Jeffrey Quick Liam
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 3,284
    I think you should read something like Mahrt’s The Musical Shape of the Liturgy (the practical bits at least) and then Saulnier’s Gregorian Chant: A Guide.
    Thanked by 5DavidOLGC Charles_Weaver francis rich_enough wren
  • francis
    Posts: 11,212
    I think this is the ultimate in a short and clear guide to sacred music in the Roman Catholic Church.

    Motu Proprio: Tra Le Sollecitudini (1903)

    OK this could be bedtime reading but it will probably take a few years if you read a little bit every night.

    Papal Legislation on Sacred Music, 95 A.D. to 1977 A.D.

    https://www.amazon.com/Papal-Legislation-Sacred-Music-1977/dp/0814610129
    Thanked by 4DavidOLGC Charles_Weaver mmeladirectress wren
  • GambaGamba
    Posts: 652
    Card. Ratzinger/Benedict XVI: The Spirit of the Liturgy
    JP2: Chirograph on sacred music
    Thanked by 5DavidOLGC Charles_Weaver irishtenor CHGiffen wren
  • davido
    Posts: 1,162
    If not already, join CMAA and receive their journal Sacred Music. Great articles.
    The Sacred Music Podcast is also excellent. Many informative discussions over its several seasons. You can find it on Apple Podcasts, probably other services too.
    Thanked by 4Chant_Supremacist CHGiffen wren Bri
  • henry
    Posts: 251
    Musicam Sacram 1967
    Thanked by 1wren
  • Nathan_the_Organist
    Posts: 448
    I would second Ratzinger's The Spirit of the Liturgy as well as Square Notes. Another good podcast could be The Liturgy Guys. While not music specific, they do a good job covering general liturgy topics, and it is good for us musicians to see our work in the broader context of the mass.
    Thanked by 2wren irishtenor
  • wren
    Posts: 5
    Hi all, thank you for the recommendations!

    A follow-up question on the GIRM: I'm seeing the 2002 edition on Amazon but sounds like there is a more recent (2016) edition? If anyone has a link at hand for the updated version, either to purchase or print, that would be greatly appreciated. I assume USCCB's website is up-to-date, so I'll start with that for reference.
  • Jeffrey Quick
    Posts: 2,210
    https://archive.ccwatershed.org/media/pdfs/13/08/26/12-32-45_0.pdf is the 2011. THey're published as part of the Missal
    Thanked by 2Liam wren
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 12,049
    The Art of War by Sun Tzu
    Thanked by 6trentonjconn CHGiffen francis wren Alli tandrews
  • Bri
    Posts: 139
    The CISM is a great resource too!

    In addition to the Square Notes Podcast, the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music has some recorded webinars:

    https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/media/

    They also host various events (some of which are virtual) and can be found here:
    https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/events/

    Dr. Donelson-Nowicka has regularly facilitated book studies (usually focusing on a Church document) in the past; my guess is that she may do so again in the new academic year. If she does, the information would be available at the link above.
    Thanked by 1wren
  • francis
    Posts: 11,212
    Musicam Sacram 1967
    this may have some or more than some modernist tenets… read with that in mind.
  • chonakchonak
    Posts: 9,110
    Hi, wren! Welcome!

    This excellent long article by Susan Benofy gives a history of the church's 20th-century music documents, and I recommend it to everyone:

    https://adoremus.org/2001/03/buried-treasure-part-i/

    Thanked by 3CHGiffen irishtenor wren
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