Explore every episode of the podcast Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast

Fr. Augustine Wilmeth, OSB, Prior and Choirmaster of the Abbey of San Benedetto in Monte in Norcia, Italy, joins us to discuss the rootedness of monastic life in the daily ebb and flow of sunrise and sunset, and how that changes throughout different seasons of the solar and liturgical year. We talk about the effect of singing Gregorian chant on the soul and interior life, and the beer that the monks brew. 

For more information about the Abbey, visit: https://en.nursia.org/

To buy Birra Nursia in the U.S., visit: https://birranursia.com/

To learn more about the graduate program at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/events/

Burn-out, conflicts, and lots of responsibilities often afflict the church musician. Counselor Angela Rosson joins us to talk about strategies for setting up personal boundaries, positively resolving conflicts with superiors and those under our charge, and how to tell if one is getting burned out (and what to do about it). 

Connect with Angela Rosson here: https://mycatholicdoctor.com/resources/doctors/angela-rossonmycatholicdoctor-com/

Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's summer-based graduate program here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/graduate-study/

Join Archbishop Cordileone for a Lenten reflection especially for church musicians and those who love the Church's sacred music. The reflection is followed by the recitation of a scriptural rosary. 

For more information on other upcoming events at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/events/ 

For access to texts to use to pray the scriptural rosary, visit: https://scripturalrosary.org  

We welcome an inspiring and wise guest on the show to talk about the perception of beauty, the effect of beauty on the soul, and how to form oneself and children in beauty. Dr. Alice von Hildebrand focuses on what she believes are the key virtues for every person: reverence and humility. Tune in to hear her words of encouragement for musicians and parents.

To read the article we mention in the episode, "Wrong Approaches to Art," visit: www.alicevonhildebrand.org/wrong-approaches-to-art.

To learn more about the summer course offerings at St. Joseph's Seminary in New York, visit www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes. For more on upcoming webinars on chant, visit jenniferdonelson.com/conferences-workshops.

Join us for an update on the current situation with the organs at Notre Dame in Paris, following the April 15, 2019 fire. Our guest is the fantastic titular organist of Notre Dame, Olivier Latry, who gives us an assessment of the damage and what to look for in the road ahead. He also discusses the development of the instrument and its role in the sacred liturgy and the development of organ repertoire.

For more information about Olivier Latry, please click here: www.concertorganists.com/artists/Olivier-Latry/.

For more information about the Introduction to the Organ for Pianists class this summer at St. Joseph's Seminary, click here: www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes.

Dr. Nathan Knutson, the Director of Sacred Music at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia, joins us for this episode on the Church's esteem for the pipe organ. If you've been looking to learn about the history of the organ in the Roman rite, the basics of its construction, or the theology of its inclusion into a religion which takes the voice as its first instrument, this is the episode for you! And if you're an organist thinking about how to explain your role to parishioners, we hope you'll find something helpful here, too.

Check out the music program at St. Charles Seminary at their facebook page: facebook.com/seminarymusic/

The organ method Dr. Knutson and his wife created is available at: domenicozipoli.org/organ 

Find out more soon about the summer 2020 course "Introduction to the Organ for Pianists" being offered at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York at dunwoodie.edu. 

We're learning about one of this podcast's patronesses in this episode - St. Élisabeth of the Trinity, who described herself as "laudem gloriæ," the "praise of glory." Discover why St. Élisabeth is an excellent spiritual model for musicians, and get to know her as a spiritual friend eager to help in all your life's struggles. Our guest is an expert on St. Élisabeth, Dr. Anthony Lilles, who was just recently appointed as Academic Dean at St. Patrick's Seminary in Menlo Park, California. Dr. Lilles is a regular guest on the "Discerning Hearts" network, discussing St. Élisabeth and other Carmelites and mystics of the Church. 

We're taking a look at the Catholic way of reading, understanding, and praying the book of Psalms. Our guest is Dom Benedict Andersen, who is a Benedictine priest-monk and founding member of Silverstream Priory, in Stamullen, County Meath, Ireland. He is currently preparing for doctoral studies in the area of patristics. His passions include typography, the psalms, and well-behaved pit bulls. 

To donate to Silverstream Priory's project of building an oratory, click here. 

Other links mentioned in this episode:

CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium, June 22–27, 2020, Tampa, FL

Gregorian Chant Workshop, March 14, 2020, Cohoes, NY 

James Monti is an author in the fields of Catholic liturgy and hagiography. His books include A Sense of the Sacred: Roman Catholic Worship in the Middle Ages, The King's Good Servant but God's First: The Life and Writings of St. Thomas More, The Week of Salvation: History and Traditions of Holy Week, and In The Presence of Our Lord: The History, Theology, and Psychology of Eucharistic Devotion, the latter co-authored with Father Benedict J. Groeschel, CFR. He is a columnist for The Wanderer and Sacred Music. A member of the staff of the Corrigan Memorial Library of Saint Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, he is presently working toward the completion of a full-length biography of the Irish maiden Venerable Edel Mary Quinn of the Legion of Mary (1907-1944) and a comprehensive work on the liturgical ceremonies of the Roman Rite as they were celebrated both universally and locally following the Council of Trent, during the Baroque Era (c. 1568-1799).

Join us for an episode highlighting the spiritual fruits that flow from following the Church's pastoral guidance in the celebration of the liturgy. We talk about Musicam Sacram, the document's pastoral plan with three degrees of singing, the spiritual impact of the clergy singing their parts of the Mass, and even a little bit about how to fundraise for your music program. 

Our guest is Fr. Nathan Cromly, CSJ, founder and director of the Saint John Institute in Denver, Colorado. Visit the website of the Institute at https://www.saintjohninstitute.org/. His podcast, Dare Great Things for Christ, is available on all major podcast outlets. 

Join us in this episode for a discussion about St. Cecilia, and the liturgies and sacred music of Rome. 

Gregory DiPippo is the Editor of the New Liturgical Movement blog. He lives and works in the eternal city of Rome, sharing his breadth of knowledge of the liturgical traditions of the Church with people across the globe.

Robert Cardinal Sarah was appointed by Pope Francis in 2014 as the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He has said of his efforts for the renewal of the sacred liturgy that "Pope Francis has asked me to continue the extraordinary liturgical work Pope Benedict began."

Cardinal Sarah is the author of three interview books with Nicolas Dait: God or Nothing (2015), The Power of Silence (2017), and The Day is Now Far Spent (2019).

You can follow Cardinal Sarah on Facebook and Twitter.

Robert Cardinal Sarah was appointed by Pope Francis in 2014 as the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He has said of his efforts for the renewal of the sacred liturgy that "Pope Francis has asked me to continue the extraordinary liturgical work Pope Benedict began."

Cardinal Sarah is the author of three interview books with Nicolas Dait: God or Nothing (2015), The Power of Silence (2017), and The Day is Now Far Spent (2019).

You can follow Cardinal Sarah on Facebook and Twitter.

Dr. Charles joins us to bridge the gap between monophonic and polyphonic music through the practice of improvising choral music based on chant melodies. We talk about early techniques and how-to treatises from the 9th century, all the way through Baroque fauxbourdon, as well as the changes in notation that these practices prompted, and the composers in whose music one can hear training in these practices. 

For more information on the class Dr. Weaver is teaching on this practice of improvising polyphony on chant, "cantare super librum," July 27–31 at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/

To attend the March 7th conference at St. Vitus in Northridge, California, visit https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/music-for-worship-and-leisure

To sign up to attend Archbishop Cordileone's Lenten online "retreat" for musicians and admirers of sacred music, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/online-lenten-retreat-with-archbishop-cordileone-for-church-musicians-tickets-1982364153547 

Dr. Timothy P. O'Malley is the Director of Education at the McGrath Institute for Church Life, where he also serves as Academic Director of the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy. He teaches and researches at Notre Dame in the areas of liturgical-sacramental theology, catechesis, and aesthetics. He is the author of numerous articles and books, most recently, the forthcoming Divine Blessing: Liturgical Formation in the RCIA.

Read more about Tim's work at the Church Life Journal, especially this helpful article about the participation of children in the liturgy: "The Liturgy is for (Little) Kids."

Juilliard-trained James Wetzel is one of the most respected Catholic church musicians in New York City. In this episode, we ask James about his work as the director of music and organist at the Dominican parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Catherine of Siena. His professional Schola Cantorum is renowned for keeping very much alive the "Church's treasure of sacred music" for the worship of God in the sacred liturgy. James also shares his perspective and advice on how priests and music directors can take steps to build up the sacred music programs at parishes.

James' Biography

James D. Wetzel is the Director of Music and Organist of the Parish of Saint Vincent Ferrer and Saint Catherine of Siena on Manhattan's Upper East Side where he directs the professional Schola Cantorum in over 70 services annually. James served from 2010-2015 as the Organist and Choirmaster of midtown's Church of Saint Agnes and from 2011-2016 was an adjunct lecturer in Hunter College's music department. Since 2010, he has also been the Assistant Conductor for the Greenwich Choral Society in Connecticut. Additionally, he holds a post as Assisting Organist at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine where he formerly served as Organ Scholar under Bruce Neswick.

Mr. Wetzel is active as an organist and continuo player, having performed at the Berkshire Choral Festival and with the Collegiate Chorale, the Orchestra of Saint Luke's, the American Symphony Orchestra, the American Classical Orchestra, the National Chorale, and the Paul Winter Consort. He is the sub-dean and chairman of the programming committee of the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, a board member of the Catholic Artists Society, and a member of the New York Purgatorial Society and the Society for Catholic Liturgy.

Born in Pittsburgh, James earned a bachelor's degree in organ performance from The Juilliard School where he studied with Paul Jacobs and was the first person ever to graduate with a master's degree and a professional studies certificate in choral conducting from Manhattan School of Music under Kent Tritle. He also studied privately with Donald K. Fellows and Robert Page and spent a year reading Early Christianity and Apologetics at Columbia University.

Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena website: http://www.svsc.info

Rev. Fr. Jude Orakwe is a lecturer at the music department of Anambra State University (a.k.a. Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University). He is also the founder and director of Shanahan Institute of Music of Onitsha Archdiocese (for adults) as well as of the George Handel Music Academy (for the children) of St. Joseph's Parish Odoakpu Onitsha. He directs the Archdiocesan choir and is also the music director of St. Joseph's Parish Choir.

Fr. Orakwe has his doctorate in ethnomusicology from Indiana University, Bloomington, United States, as well as a Master's degree in Sacred Music from the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music Rome, Italy.

In this episode, we discuss Fr. Jude Orakwe's musical initiatives in Nigeria, his personal experiences of music and faith, and also aspects of musical and liturgical inculturation.

If you would like to financially support Fr. Jude Orakwe's musical initiatives you can do so via Paypal, either at jorakwe@indiana.edu or jatomaria@gmail.com.

For this episode, we are joined by the renowned Catholic composer Kevin Allen. Kevin has written a large repertoire of sacred choral music for the Church's liturgy and shares with us his insights into creating new works of art for the liturgy, as well as his advice for Catholic artists today.

Kevin Allen's O Sacrum Convivium

Kevin Allen's Domine Non Sum Dignus

Kevin Allen's sheet music

Kevin Allen's on Facebook

Kevin Allen's choir, Schola Laudis

We're joined by Philadelphia musician and educator Lisa Knutson for a discussion of the Jesuit missions in South America and how the missionary spirit, artistic craftsmanship, and education in beauty offered by the Jesuits in the 17th century can inspire the heart of the modern missionary to bring Christ to the poor through sacred music and music education.

The Zipoli Institute has a lot of great resources available for musicians, especially for those working with Spanish-language choirs and liturgies. Check out the work of Lisa and her husband Nathan in the Zipoli Institute here: https://domenicozipoli.org

This article from the New York Times on the legacy of the music education of the Jesuits in Bolivia is also an interesting glimpse into the continuing fruits of the work of the missionaries: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/08/world/americas/bolivia-baroque-music.html

And here are some great recordings of the music of Domenico Zipoli, SJ:
Vespers for the Feast of St. Ignatius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRSGo6hgn3k
Sacred Opera on the Life of St. Ignatius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARlTk7UJjbs

Listen to a bit of a concert sung by the sisters, brothers, and priests of the Institute of the Incarnate Word: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6YqTr7yPsY

Episode 7 – The Role of Sacred Art in Evangelization and Church Patronage of Art – with Dr. Elizabeth Lev

This episode is an exploration of how the Church has used art and beauty to evangelize in the past and how it can do so again today. Dr. Elizabeth Lev is a renowned art historian and dynamic speaker who communicates the awesome power of religious art and why becoming aware of this power is so important for the Church and the world today. We discuss her recently published book, How Catholic Art Saved the Faith, and how music, like the visual arts, can lead people to understand and love the truths of the Faith by presenting them with artistic beauty.

Buy How Catholic Art Saved the Faith at Sophia Institute or Amazon

Dr. Elizabeth Lev's website: elizabeth-lev.com

Twitter: twitter.com/lizlevrome

On today's episode, we'll look at how choristers learned music in times past. Our guest is Charles Weaver. Charlie is on the faculty at the Juilliard School, where he teaches performance practice on plucked instruments. He has performed with Quicksilver, Piffaro, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Folger Consort, Apollo's Fire, Blue Heron, Musica Pacifica, the New York Continuo Collective, and Tenet. He is the associate schola director at the Church of St. Mary in Norwalk, Connecticut, where he has worked in the past with the student schola program, and where he continues to sing and do some directing with the St. Mary's Schola Cantorum, specializing in Renaissance polyphony and Gregorian chant. He is also known for his careful and excellent preparation of performing editions from original manuscripts.

More information about the St. Mary's Schola Cantorum is available here: http://www.stmarynorwalk.net/music/

A recent project for a historically-informed performance of the Monteverdi 1610 Vespers in which Mr Weaver was involved can be heard here: https://youtu.be/ifchV9VBA20

A recent recording of the St. Mary's Schola Cantorum can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP-qiggAd28&list=OLAK5uy_kK9s1nHuds5I54uQD6ckiVfCF9Lu-ayew

More information on the summer courses at St. Joseph's Seminary, including "Teaching Gregorian Chant to Children" can be found here: http://jenniferdonelson.com/classes

Our guest for episode 5 is Fr. Cassian Folsom, OSB, from the Benedictine Monastery in Norcia, Italy. We'll be discussing with him how singing Gregorian chant forms the spiritual life of the monks through the daily prayer of the Divine Office and the Mass. We also touch on the role of Gregorian chant in the spiritual life of lay people, and its role in parish music programs.

Fr. Cassian is American-born and studied music prior to entering the monastic community of St. Meinrad in Indiana. In 1998, he founded his monastic community in Rome. The community eventually moved to Norcia in 2000. Being steeped in medieval monastic tradition, the monastery is known not only for its 2015 best-selling CD Benedicta: Marian Chant from Norcia, but also for its production of artisan beer.

The monastery's website is: https://en.nursia.org

Buy the monks' CD "Benedicta: Marian Chant from Norcia" here: https://www.amazon.com/BENEDICTA-Marian-Chant-Norcia-Monks/dp/B00V66GNMQ

Buy the monks' beer here: https://birranursia.com

In our fourth episode, we are joined by Professor William Mahrt of Stanford University who gives an introduction to the history, music, liturgical role, and spiritual value of Gregorian chant.

Dr Mahrt is the president of the Church Music Association of America (the CMAA), and the editor of Sacred Music, the journal of the CMAA. He's a respected scholar of Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony who's published numerous articles, and he also publishes a really helpful and interesting editorial in each issue of Sacred Music. More than all that, though, Professor Mahrt is a man who loves the sacred liturgy and its music, and has spent decades learning how to pray through the Church's treasury of sacred music. He's inspired countless people, your hosts of this podcast included, to really learn what the Church teaches about sacred music, and how these teachings lead us into the heart of the sacred liturgy as the communal encounter between man and the Blessed Trinity.

Dr. Mahrt's book can be downloaded for free here: https://media.musicasacra.com/books/musicalshape_mahrt.pdf

Or a hardcover copy can be bought here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0984865209/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_LN.LCb7596EDT

To subscribe to the journal Sacred Music, click here: https://musicasacra.com/journal/sacred-music/ 

Episode 3 – The Role of Sacred Music in Catholic Education – with Charles Cole

We take an inside look at a British choir school, and discuss the role of sacred music in an authentically Catholic education. You've already heard just a bit of his work as a listener to this podcast; he's the director of the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School singing the opening track for our show.

Charles Cole began his musical training as a chorister at Westminster Cathedral. He went on to win a major music scholarship to Ampleforth and organ scholarships at Exeter College of Oxford and Westminster Cathedral. He is Assistant Director of Music at Brompton Oratory where he directs the London Oratory Junior Choir which, in addition to its liturgical duties, provides the Children's Chorus for the Royal Ballet's productions at Covent Garden. In addition, he is Director of the Schola Cantorum of the London Oratory School, a choir of boys aged 8-18 which sings the Saturday evening mass at Brompton Oratory, as well as concerts, tour and recordings. He is a regular member of the faculty for the Church Music Association of America's annual Colloquiums, specializing in Gregorian Chant and Choral Direction. He regularly gives choral workshops for choirs in Jerusalem, Nazareth and Bethlehem. In recent years he has given organ recitals in St Petersburg, at Notre Dame, Paris (as part of the 850th anniversary year celebrations), at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City and at St Saviour's Church, Jerusalem.

Charles Cole's Website: https://charlescole.com

Charles Cole's Twitter: https://twitter.com/schola_cantorum

London Oratory Schola Website: https://www.londonoratoryschola.com

London Oratory Schola Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/londonoratoryscholacantorum/

London Oratory Schola's CD, Sacred Treasures of England: http://smarturl.it/LondonOratory

London Oratory Website: https://www.bromptonoratory.co.uk 

Martin Baker, a distinguished choral conductor and organist, joins us to share insights on his improvisation at the organ, from his time as a young child, through his winning of the Tournemire Prize at the St. Alban's Competition and his time at Westminster Cathedral, through his current work as a concert organist and composer.

To learn more and apply for the July 20-24, 2026 Organ Improvisation class Baker is offering at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/

Episode 2 – Beauty and Catholic Culture: a Story of Conversion – with Vida and Josh Hernandez

In our second episode, we look at the power of beauty to draw people to Christ and the Catholic faith. We interview two of Dr. Donelson's dear friends who encountered the radiance and power of Christ in the sacred liturgy, in sacred music, and through an immersion in literature and Catholic culture. Vida and Josh Hernandez were received into the Catholic Church in 2010 after a profound conversion experience and they join us to share their story.

We reference an article in Crisis magazine by Bishop James D. Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska in the interview. Check out the article here: https://www.crisismagazine.com/2013/ever-ancient-ever-new-the-role-of-beauty-in-the-restoration-of-catholic-culture

In our inaugural episode, we interview His Excellency, Archbishop Alexander K. Sample, Archbishop of Portland, Oregon. 

We give a brief introduction to the show and ourselves before diving into the interview. 

Archbishop Alexander Sample was appointed Bishop of Marquette on December 13, 2005, by Pope Benedict XVI, and then the Archbishop of Portland at the beginning of 2013. The Archbishop has degrees in engineering and canon law. He serves on the USCCB's Committee on Pro-Life Activities, the Sub-Committee on the Catechism, and is on the Board of Trustees for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association and Oregon Catholic Press. His love for the sacred liturgy and sacred music were nurtured by the great Msgr. Richard Schuler of Saint Agnes Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Archbishop has become known for his eloquence and pastoral ability in teaching about sacred music and the liturgy.

Since we recorded this episode, the Archbishop has released a pastoral letter on sacred music for the Archdiocese of Portland. You can read it in either English or Spanish by clicking here. 

The letter he issued in the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan, as referenced in this show, is available here. 

Learn more about the Archbishop and his ministry by clicking here. 

Special thanks to Monica Fitzgibbons for her work in securing rights for us to use the music you hear at the beginning of each episode: Byrd's Haec Dies from the album Sacred Treasures of England, sung by the London Oratory Schola Cantorum Boys Choir, directed by Charles Cole. 

Special thanks also to Kevin Collins, who is the voice of our intro and outro. 

Learn about the musical practices, pedagogical processes, maestros de capilla, and composers of Mexico's cathedral in Puebla de los Angeles from Fernando Gil, who directed a schola cantorum there before coming to the United States. Gil, director of music at St. Peter's Cathedral in Kansas City, Kansas, takes us through the masses and villancicos from Padilla, helps us understand the context of missionary Mexico and the colonial styles, and discusses what can be applied to the pastoral context in Spanish-speaking congregations in the United States and Mexico today. 

To sign up for the upcoming online workshops in Spanish offered by the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, please visit: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.regfox.com/talleres-virtuales-primavera-2026

To learn more about Puebla's cathedral, Padilla, and villancicos, check out these publications:

Join us for this inspiring season opener to discuss curriculum which imprints on the child's senses, mind, and soul a longing for the source of all beauty, God himself. Musician, artist, and homeschooling mom Elizabeth Lemme shares her criteria for evaluating the worthiness of a work of art for study, and her lists of composers and painters that make up the daily fare of her children while she teaches them at her kitchen table.

Visit Mrs. Lemme's Etsy shop here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/PelicanPrinteryHouse

Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's graduate program here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/graduate-study/ 

"And therefore, I said, Glaucon, musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful, or of him who is ill-educated ungraceful; and also because he who has received this true education of the inner being will most shrewdly perceive omissions or faults in art and nature, and with a true taste, while he praises and rejoices over and receives into his soul the good, and becomes noble and good, he will justly blame and hate the bad, now in the days of his youth, even before he is able to know the reason why; and when reason comes he will recognise and salute the friend with whom his education has made him long familiar."

Plato's Republic, Book 3, tr. Jowett.  

Join Dr. Emily Thelen as she takes us on a tour of the masterfully illuminated manuscripts of the Alamire collection of Renaissance manuscripts from the Low Countries, and explains to us the Confraternity culture of Catholic society that brought about such wonderful masterpieces. 

Learn more about Dr. Thelen's work here: https://independent.academia.edu/EmilyThelen

Access the Integrated Database for Early Music here: https://idemdatabase.org/page/home

Buy Dr. Thelen's book on Brussels 215-216 here: https://publications.alamirefoundation.org/en/leuven-library-of-music-in-facsimile/1164/llmf/1419/llmf-vol.-2-a-choirbook-for-the-seven-sorrows-study-studie 

Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

Looking for a historical and ecclesiastical framework by which to understand performance decisions about the pronunciation of Latin? Join Dr. John Pepino as he explains the origins of the Latin language and how we know anything about the pronunciation of classical Latin, describes the style and handing on of the golden age of Latin, discusses the relationship between St. Jerome's Vulgate and the Vetus Latina editions, demonstrates the pronunciation of Latin in various European pronunciations of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and clarifies the Vatican's position on the issue. 

Two books are recommended for further reading:

• W. Sydney Allen, Vox Latina: A Guide to the Pronunciation of Classical Latin
• F. Brittain, Latin In Church: The History of Its Pronunciation

To learn more about Dr. Pepino, visit: https://veterumsapientia.org/about/faculty-staff/

To learn more about the Advanced Seminar in Old Roman Chant this summer at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/ 

Join us as we outline strategies for making playing great repertoire every Sunday and feast day possible, even if you're a really busy parish music director. Prof. Christopher Berry, who will be teaching the Organ Literature course this summer at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music takes us through some of the foundations for developing a game plan, the role the organist has in cultivating prayerfulness before and after Mass, and how to systematically work through Bach, among other topics. 

Find out more about Prof. Berry here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/faculty/

Learn more about the Organ Literature class and apply here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/

Join Fiona Hughes, Artistic Director of Three Notch'd Road: The Virginia Baroque Ensemble as we discuss music which will help you meditate on the lives of Christ and Our Lady, as well as the Passion and Death of Christ. We talk about Heinrich Biber's Rosary Sonatas, as well as Franz Joseph Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ. 

Learn more about Three Notch'd Road here: https://www.tnrbaroque.org

Listen to Three Notch'd Road, including the mentioned album Epiphany here: https://www.tnrbaroque.org/recordings/#epiphany

Learn more and apply to the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's Summer Graduate Program here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/ 

Looking for inspiration in building a Catholic school curriculum around the worship of God and the sacred arts? Join us for a discussion about the Ordinariate's Cathedral High School in Houston, Texas as Dr. Alexis Kutarna, Head of School, explains how they built both the building and structure of the school to support an encounter with Christ in the sacred liturgy, and how they build students up in Catholic culture for a formation in the truth, especially through beauty, virtue, and true leisure.

Learn more about Cathedral High here: https://cathedral-hs.org/

Learn more about Dr. Kutarna here: https://cathedral-hs.org/people/alexis-kutarna

Learn more about summer graduate study, including the Choral Institute, at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

Learn more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: https://liturgysummit.org/

Join us for a deep dive on the life and work of the most magisterial of composers, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Thomas Neal narrates a biography of Palestrina, touching on the composers who influenced him, how he learned music, his various posts at the heart of the Church in Rome, his connection with St. Philip Neri, and his successful career. 

Purchase Neal's newest book on "Sacred Music in Early Modern Italy" here: https://www.brepols.net/products/IS-9782503621852-1

Learn more about Neal's work here: https://www.newcollegeschool.org/page/?pid=19&staff=157

Learn more about the graduate program, Choral Institute, and McInnes Fellowship of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/ensembles/mcinnes-fellowship/

What does the phrase ars celebrandi really mean and what does it have to do with the spiritual lives of priests and the lay faithful? What are means of acheiving excellence in ars celebrandi? Are there special challenges that American Catholics face in entering into the sacred liturgy celebrated well? Why is working to cultivate the reverent celebration of the sacred liturgy so important in our time? 

His Excellency, Salvatore J. Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco, tackles these and other questions. 

Join the archbishop, Cardinal Sarah, and other prelates and theologians at the Sacred Liturgy Summit this summer, July 1–4, 2025. More information is available at: https://liturgysummit.org

Join Fr. Innocent Smith, OP, as he takes us on a tour of St. Thomas Aquinas' poetry and compositions for Corpus Christi. We discuss Aquinas' training in poetics, his liturgical horarium and experience, how the commission to write texts for Corpus Christ came about, and spend time on the rich theology and poetry of his works for the feast. 

Read more by Fr. Innocent here: https://dhs.academia.edu/InnocentSmithOP

Learn more about summer study at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/

Learn more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: http://liturgysummit.org/

Dr. Charles Weaver joins us to outline a history of solfège and the practical and theoretical knowledge that arises from employing the early hexachordal system to understanding and singing Gregorian chant. 

Learn more about Dr. Weaver here: https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/weaver-charles and here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/faculty/

Find out more about the summer graduate courses at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/ 

What are the origins of the liturgical use of the Credo? Do we still have the original melodies to which it was sung? How did the singing of the Credo develop during the medieval period into the Renaissance? Dr. Harrison Russin joins us to answer these questions. 

Learn more about Dr. Russin here: https://www.svots.edu/people/rev-dn-dr-harrison-basil-russin

Join the CMAA and get a subscription to Sacred Music journal here: https://churchmusicassociation.org/journal/

Find out more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: http://liturgysummit.org/

Find out more about summer graduate study at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/ 

How did we end up with a Kyriale in the Graduale Romanum, with its 18 Masses, group of Credos, and ad libitum section? Find out the specifics, as well as the general trends and conditions that brought about this organization in the liturgy. 

Find out more about Dr. Andrew Kirkman and his work here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/music/kirkman-andrew

Find our more about the summer courses at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/

Find out more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: https://liturgysummit.org 

We're back with season 7 and we've got an inspiring story of building up people, a parish and school, and fostering vocations through a sacred music education program and some elbow grease. 

Listeners can learn more about the program profiled in this episode, and access LaCour's free-use lesson plans and resources by visiting http://epiphanysacredmusic.org, or by visiting their YouTube Channel: @epiphanysacredmusic.

Find out more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: http://liturgysummit.org/

Find out more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

The 18th century orchestral mass repertoire comes with all sorts of questions for the liturgical musician. Is this repertoire properly called "Viennese"? Does this music really fit, in style and length, with the sacred liturgy? What does the Church have to say about this style of music? Are there any of these Masses that I can do with my choir? Dr. Erick Arenas of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music joins us to answer these questions, and to talk about the wonderful oeuvre of Johann Michael Haydn, the younger brother of the more famous Haydn. 

To learn more about Dr. Arenas, click here: https://sfcm.edu/study/faculty/erick-arenas

To learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, please visit: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

For Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, sacred music and the Eucharistic revival are inextricably linked. When he was consecrated bishop at age 49 in 2022, he was the U.S.'s youngest bishop, and his experience with sacred music as a young person involved a mix of typical U.S. parish music, but also special liturgical and musical experiences sought out by his parents, and this has shaped in him a deep understanding of the importance of sacred music. Join us as we discuss the role he sees for sacred music in reviving faith in the presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. 

What do we know about music in the earliest liturgies celebrated in Ireland? Did sacred music and the liturgy develop as a distinguishable "Celtic rite" in Ireland? What impact did the Church in Ireland, and specifically the monastic impact of Ireland, have on the European continent? We discuss these and other questions with Dr. Ann Buckley, a visiting research fellow in the Medieval History Research Centre of Trinity College Dublin. 

To learn more about Dr. Buckley and her work, please visit: https://www.tcd.ie/medieval-history/expertise/ann-buckley.php

To see an edition of the sequence for St. Patrick, edited by Dr. Buckley, click here: https://sacredmusicpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/PATRICK_MS-78_Responsory.and_.prosa_.pdf

To learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, visit: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

A board certified physician in family medicine and in functional, anti-aging and regenerative medicine, Dr. Lizbeth Alter joins us to discuss some of the basics church musicians, often short on time and money, can consider in caring for their health through food, nutrition, and navigation of the immune system. 

Check out Dr. Alter on social media:
https://www.instagram.com/lizbeth_alter_md
https://www.facebook.com/DrAlterCompleteWellness
https://www.youtube.com/@DrAltersCompleteWellness

Or on her websites:
https://lizbethaltermd.wixsite.com/completewellness
https://xyngeniumnx.com/

Learn more about the graduate program at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/graduate-study/

Having worked in Catholic classical education for decades, Mark Langley knows the place of music in Catholic education, and has built schools in which every student is enabled to learn and sing chant and polyphonic works from the Church's sacred music treasury. Join us for a discussion about where music figures into the educational structure, and some problems in the modern conception of the nature of music that prevent Catholic education from giving music its proper due.

Learn more about Mr. Langley and his work here: https://olwclassical.org/faculty/

Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

Join us for a discussion with the Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone, about principles every Catholic should learn so that they can think with the mind of the Church about sacred music. We discuss the purpose and nature of sacred music, how it sounds, what effect it has on us, and how it expresses time, culture, and emotions. 

To learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, please visit: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

Charles Cole joins us with clips from the recent release of the London Oratory Schola's album, Sacred Treasures of Venice. We discuss the crucial role played by Venetian music in the history of sacred choral music, and the particularly fertile atmosphere at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice at the end of the 16th century. 

Learn more about the London Oratory Schola here: https://www.londonoratoryschola.com/

Purchase the new album here: https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA68427 

Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

How does the experience of Mass on Sunday at a parish affect the lives of Catholics, and what role does music play in that experience? How does sacred music bridge the gap between people of different languages, ethnicities, and backgrounds? Why does the Church spend money on beautiful things instead of only on material goods for the poor? We tackle these questions and more in this interview with Bishop Michael C. Barber, SJ, bishop of Oakland, California. 

To find out more about the music program at St. Patrick's Seminary and the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music, please visit http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/.