My friend Prof. Peter Kwasniewski has been part of a project to create a Declaration on Sacred Music – Cantate Domino – on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Instruction Musicam Sacram, promulgated exactly 50 years ago today, 5 March.
This document, signed by numerous scholars, pastors, and musicians, seeks to promote greater importance of the place of traditional sacred music in liturgical worship of God. It points out many deficiencies in sacred music since the Council. However, it also offers constructive suggestions.
Cantate Domino could serve as a starting point for discussion in a diocese or a parish, a kind of examen conscientiae (“examination of conscience”) for renewal of worthy, artistic, sacred music for liturgical worship of God.
You can find it in various languages. You are invited to download it and distributed as widely as you can! Make sure that your pastors and musicians see this. Make your bishop aware of it and ask him, respectfully, to give it a chance, to read it. In English, it is only 5 pages long. The are dense pages, but there are only 5 pages.
Links to the document and a list of the signers is HERE
I think we can admit that solemn and traditional liturgy doesn’t seem to be Pope Francis’ thing. However, His Holiness recently addressed a conference for the 50th of Musicam sacram, and said: “Sometimes a certain mediocrity, superficiality and banality have prevailed, to the detriment of the beauty and intensity of liturgical celebrations.”
So… let’s do something about it!
¡Hagan lío!