I don't know if you've ever been the target of the objection "your music is against the Council." A little over a year ago, we founded a group that, with the support of the parish priest, sings a repertoire of Gregorian chant and polyphonic music, often in Latin, at some liturgical celebrations. The accusation was leveled at me during a "pastoral" meeting on the liturgy. I responded to the objection by citing the council itself, and subsequently prepared a written defense that I submit to you, translated from the original Italian. The text lacks originality, being a collection of quotations from the Second Vatican Council, but I'd like to hear your opinion:

"Just over a year ago, a choral group was formed to animate the liturgies in the three churches of our parish. Composed of about a dozen members of various ages. Our mission is to revive the beauty and spirituality of Gregorian chant and classical and modern polyphony, in full harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council expressed in the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC) on the Sacred Liturgy.

Guided by the principle that sacred music aims at the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful (SC no. 112), we recognize Gregorian chant as "specially suited to the Roman liturgy," reserving for it the pride of place in our performances (SC no. 116).

Alongside chant, we perform works of polyphony, which are explicitly provided for by the Council’s Constitution. Due to their quality and beauty, these works elevate the soul and foster that "full, conscious, and active participation" of the assembly which is at the heart of the liturgical reform (SC nos. 14, 30, 121). To this end, within the context of the celebration, we often alternate sections reserved for the schola with moments of simple Gregorian congregational singing or appropriate modern pieces (SC no. 114).

In line with the Council, we value and strive to play the pipe organ—with which our churches are equipped—as the "traditional musical instrument" of the liturgy. Its ability to sustain the singing and create moments of meditation allows the liturgical action to be enriched with solemnity and beauty (SC no. 120). When possible, we do not exclude the use of acoustic instruments (strings or woodwinds) chosen for their ability to blend with the human voice.

We are aware that the Latin language, while being the Church's own heritage and recognized as such by the Council (SC no. 36), can represent a barrier to understanding today. For this reason, in every celebration, great care is taken in preparing leaflets. In these aids, every Latin text is accompanied by a side-by-side translation and sometimes the musical score. This allows everyone to fully understand the theological meaning of what is being sung, to follow the spiritual elevation of the music with awareness of the Word, and to join the celebration not as a spectator, but as an active and informed participant, as desired by the Council.

The use of Gregorian chant and the recovery of the Church’s great musical tradition must not be an exception for grand occasions performed only by experts; our goal is for it to become a common and popular heritage at all levels of the Church's liturgy. To this end, the Council even prescribed the publication of a renewed edition of Gregorian chant books (the Roman Gradual) and a simplified version containing melodies for "smaller churches" (SC no. 117), while requesting that all faithful be able to sing at least the Ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, and the Lord's Prayer) in Latin (SC no. 54).

Regarding the repertoire and chosen authors, we privilege texts derived directly from liturgical sources: the Gradual, the "Proper" of the season, and Sacred Scripture, particularly the Psalms. To these are added many hymns composed by the great Doctors of the Church, including St. Ambrose, Thomas Aquinas, Bernard of Clairvaux, Teresa of Avila, Bridget of Sweden, and modern theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

In terms of music, some Gregorian melodies derive directly from the Jewish tradition and are therefore likely very close to those sung by the Apostles themselves. Since music is often the best vehicle for interpreting a text, Gregorian monody in some cases reaches us almost alongside the sacred text as its finest interpretation. In addition to the theology of the Church Fathers and the ancient, anonymous sources of Gregorian music, the Cappella draws from the art of the greatest composers of all time who wrote for the Church: Frescobaldi, Palestrina, Bach, and Mozart, to name but a few. Our commitment to the participation of the assembly (SC no. 30) also leads us to include modern authors such as Berthier (Taizé) and other less-known contemporaries who have interpreted the liturgy with an accessible yet noble language.

In conclusion, the service of our schola aims to be a bridge between the Church’s millennial musical tradition and the liturgy as it is lived today. We do not view sacred music as a museum piece, but as a living language, capable of making the liturgy and the Eucharistic celebration the real "source and summit" of Christian life. This is achieved through a direct reading, "without gloss," of the clear and explicit indications of the primary source of Conciliar liturgical renewal: the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium."