DOCUMENTS:
• DESIDERIO DESIDERAVI – Apostolic Letter from the Holy Father, Francis
• SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM – Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS POPE PAUL VI ON DECEMBER 4, 1963
• Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship (SttL) 2007 US Bishops’ document
• Catechism of the Catholic Church – Article 3 The sacrament of the Eucharist
• Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope) PASTORAL CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD • PROMULGATED BY HIS HOLINESS, POPE PAUL VI ON DECEMBER 7, 1965
• Archdiocese of Boston: Music for First Communion and Confirmation | A Catechetical Guide for Liturgical Celebrations — includes organ/guitar accompaniments, congregation files
• Guidelines and Recommendations for the Celebration of School Masses in the Archdiocese of Boston — N.B. Pg. 16, Appendix F — Music in the Celebration of School Masses
Free Resources:
- COMPLETE Communion Antiphons for Ordinary Time ~ Richard J. Clark | includes image files for congregation
- Three Entrance Antiphons for the Celebration of Marriage ~ Richard J. Clark — includes files for congregation
- The Propers of the Mass in English ~ Fr. Samuel F. Weber, Organ Accompaniments and modern notation available at this link
- Simple Choral Gradual ~ Richard Rice
- Texts in English from 1986 Sacramentary
- Simple English Propers ~ Adam Bartlett – Organ Accompaniment and modern notation available at this link.
- Communio ~ Richard Rice ~ Chants of the Gradale Romanum – verses written out. Also available with Verses in English!
- Parish Book of Chant ~ Richard Rice
- Gregorian Missal for Sundays ~ in accordance with the Novus Ordo Solesmes *contains English translations
- Roman Missal Chants accompaniments — organ (Jeff Ostrowski) piano/guitar accompaniments (Richard Clark)
- Acompañamientos MISAL ROMANO, Tercera Edición – (Richard Clark)
- NOVA ORGANI HARMONIA (“NOH”) organ accompaniment scores All 2,279 pages are available for free download as PDF files at Corpus Christi Watershed: www.ccwatershed.org/nova
Sacrosanctum Concilium Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy
Promulgated by Pope Saint Paul VI – December 4, 1963
- The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy.
Holy Scripture, indeed, has bestowed praise upon sacred song, and the same may be said of the fathers of the Church and of the Roman pontiffs who in recent times, led by St. Pius X, have explained more precisely the ministerial function supplied by sacred music in the service of the Lord.
- The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care.
116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.
Tra Le Sollecitudini ~ Instruction on Sacred Music Motu Propio -November 22, 1903 – Pope Saint Pius X
1 ~ Sacred
2 ~ Beautiful
3 ~ Universal
- Sacred music should consequently possess, in the highest degree, the qualities proper to the liturgy, and in particular sanctity and goodness of form, which will spontaneously produce the final quality of universality.
“It must be true art….”
But it must, at the same time, be universal in the sense that while every nation is permitted to admit into its ecclesiastical compositions those special forms which may be said to constitute its native music, still these forms must be subordinated in such a manner to the general characteristics of sacred music that nobody of any nation may receive an impression other than good on hearing them.
QUESTIONS? Contact Richard Clark at richard_clark@rcab.org