The Loss of Sacred Music: Reasons for Hope

Cardinal Sarah’s new text from Ignatius Press
In the case of The Song of the Lamb, we receive a concise and bracing – and in these times, refreshingly clear for a high-ranking prelate – summary of the issue of sacred music in the Catholic liturgy. It is a rare book indeed whose intellectual scope is matched with the profundity of a deep spiritual reflection capable of inspiring meaningful change in this area.
But first, a background:
In contemporary Catholic sacred music, there seem to be two default popular positions: either blanket acceptance of musical populism and mediocrity, or incessant hand-wringing about the poor state of the Church’s musical life. Yet a deeper appraisal may give cause for optimism. One must begin by remembering that in the early 20th century, Gregorian chant and church polyphony were all but lost disciplines, while our earliest known recordings of this music reveal a sad state of affairs indeed. By the time Vatican II presented Sacrosanctum Concilium and …