What is your impression of what it means to sing like a Catholic? Not good? Well, it doesn't have to be that way.
Jeffrey Tucker, managing editor of Sacred Music and weekly columnist in The Wanderer, offers is an introduction to the sacred-music perspective on Catholic music in parishes, drawing from tradition and documents as well as the author's own experience as a parish music and managing editor of the leading journal in the field.
It is a book that provides both direction and inspiration, closely engaging many topics and controversies in Catholic music today.
Today, many priests and musicians are thoroughly confused concerning a core issue: what music belongs at Catholic liturgy? There are clear answers to this question, though one might never know them if the only sources you have at your disposal are the resources from mainstream music publishers.
The answer is found in the music that grew up alongside the liturgy itself, and is deeply embedded as part of its structure. It is also found in the teaching of the Church.
A tremendous revival is taking place in Catholic music, centered on chant and polyphony, with new scholas starting in parish after parish. This is a wonderfully hopeful sign, documented in this book.
To discover and sing truly Catholic music is not a burden but the opposite: a tremendous liberation from the commercial-pop industry and an thrilling immersion in the most theologically and aesthetically rich treasure of music available, a tradition that enlists artistic talent in the service of transcendent ends.
It is published in the hope of raising scholarship funds for seminarians and others to attend the Sacred Music Colloquium held every year. All proceeds will be devoted to that end.
