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Title: |
Musicae Sacrae
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Descr.: |
On Sacred Music
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Pope: |
Pope Pius XII
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Date: |
December 25, 1955
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To
Our Venerable Brethren, the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops,
Bishops, and Other Local Ordinaries in Peace and Communion with
the Apostolic See
Health
and Apostolic Benediction.
1.
The subject of sacred music has always been very close to Our
heart. Hence it has seemed appropriate to us in this encyclical
letter to give an orderly explanation of the topic and also to
answer somewhat more completely several questions which have been
raised and discussed during the past decades. We are doing so in
order that this noble and distinguished art may contribute more
every day to greater splendor in the celebration of divine worship
and to the more effective nourishment of spiritual life among the
faithful.
2.
At the same time We have desired to grant what many of you,
venerable brethren, have requested in our wisdom and also what has
been asked by outstanding masters of this liberal art and
distinguished students of sacred music at meetings devoted to the
subject. The experience of pastoral life and the advances being
made in the study of this art have persuaded Us that this step is
timely.
3.
We hope, therefore, that what St. Pius X rightly decreed in the
document which he accurately called the "legal code of sacred
music(1) may be confirmed and inculcated anew, shown in a new
light and strengthened by new proofs. We hope that the noble art
of sacred music - adapted to contemporary conditions and in some
way enriched - may ever more perfectly accomplish its mission.
4.
Music is among the many and great gifts of nature with which God,
in Whom is the harmony of the most perfect concord and the most
perfect order, has enriched men, whom He has created in His image
and likeness.(2) Together with the other liberal arts, music
contributes to spiritual joy and the delight of the soul.
5.
On this subject St. Augustine has accurately written: "Music,
that is the science or the sense of proper modulation, is likewise
given by God's generosity to mortals having rational souls in
order to lead them to higher things."(3)
6.
No one, therefore, will be astonished that always and everywhere,
even among pagan peoples, sacred song and the art of music have
been used to ornament and decorate religious ceremonies. This is
proved by many documents, both ancient and new. No one will be
astonished that these arts have been used especially for the
worship of the true and sovereign God from the earliest times.
Miraculously preserved unharmed from the Red Sea by God's power,
the people of God sang a song of victory to the Lord, and Miriam,
the sister of Moses, their leader, endowed with prophetic
inspiration, sang with the people while playing a tambourine.(4)
7.
Later, when the ark of God was taken from the house of Abinadab to
the city of David, the king himself and "all Israel played
before the Lord on all manner of instruments made of wood, on
harps and lutes and timbrels and cornets and cymbals."(5)
King David himself established the order of the music and singing
used for sacred worship.(6) This order was restored after the
people's return from exile and was observed faithfully until the
Divine Redeemer's coming.
8.
St. Paul showed us clearly that sacred chant was used and held in
honor from the very beginning in the Church founded by the Divine
Redeemer when he wrote to the Ephesians: "Be filled with the
Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs."(7) He indicates that this custom of singing hymns was
in force in the assemblies of Christians when he says: "When
you come together each of you has a hymn."(8)
9.
Pliny testifies that the same thing held true after apostolic
times. He writes that apostates from the Faith said that
"this was their greatest fault or error, that they were
accustomed to gather before dawn on a certain day and sing a hymn
to Christ as if He were God."(9) These words of the Roman
proconsul in Bithynia show very clearly that the sound of church
singing was not completely silenced even in times of persecution.
10.
Tertullian confirms this when he says that in the assemblies of
the Christians "the Scriptures are read, the psalms are sung,
sermons are preached."(10)
11.
There are many statements of the fathers and ecclesiastical
writers testifying that after freedom and peace had been restored
to the Church the psalms and hymns of liturgical worship were in
almost daily use. Moreover, new forms of sacred chant were
gradually created and new types of songs were invented. These were
developed more and more by the choir schools attached to
cathedrals and other important churches, especially by the School
of Singers in Rome.
12.
According to tradition, Our predecessor of happy memory, St.
Gregory the Great, carefully collected and wisely arranged all
that had been handed down by the elders and protected the purity
and integrity of sacred chant with fitting laws and regulations.
13.
From Rome, the Roman mode of singing gradually spread to other
parts of the West. Not only was it enriched by new forms and
modes, but a new kind of sacred singing, the religious song,
frequently sung in the vernacular, was also brought into use.
14.
The choral chant began to be called "Gregorian" after
St. Gregory, the man who revived it. It attained new beauty in
almost all parts of Christian Europe after the 8th or 9th century
because of its accompaniment by a new musical instrument called
the "organ." Little by little, beginning in the 9th
century, polyphonic singing was added to this choral chant. The
study and use of polyphonic singing were developed more and more
during the centuries that followed and were raised to a marvelous
perfection under the guidance of magnificent composers during the
15th and 16th centuries.
15.
Since the Church always held this polyphonic chant in the highest
esteem, it willingly admitted this type of music even in the Roman
basilicas and in pontifical ceremonies in order to increase the
glory of the sacred rites. Its power and splendor were increased
when the sounds of the organ and other musical instruments were
joined with the voices of the singers.
16.
Thus, with the favor and under the auspices of the Church the
study of sacred music has gone a long way over the course of the
centuries. In this journey, although sometimes slowly and
laboriously, it has gradually progressed from the simple and
ingenuous Gregorian modes to great and magnificent works of art.
To these works not only the human voice, but also the organ and
other musical instruments, add dignity, majesty and a prodigious
richness.
17.
The progress of this musical art clearly shows how sincerely the
Church has desired to render divine worship ever more splendid and
more pleasing to the Christian people. It likewise shows why the
Church must insist that this art remain within its proper limits
and must prevent anything profane and foreign to divine worship
from entering into sacred music along with genuine progress, and
perverting it.
18.
The Sovereign Pontiffs have always diligently fulfilled their
obligation to be vigilant in this matter. The Council of Trent
also forbids "those musical works in which something
lascivious or impure is mixed with organ music or
singing."(11) In addition, not to mention numerous other
Sovereign Pontiffs, Our predecessor Benedict XIV of happy memory
in an encyclical letter dated February 19, 1749, which prepared
for a Holy Year and was outstanding for its great learning and
abundance of proofs, particularly urged Bishops to firmly forbid
the illicit and immoderate elements which had arrogantly been
inserted into sacred music.(12)
19.
Our predecessors Leo XII, Pius VII, Gregory XVI, Pius IX, and Leo
XIII (13) followed the same line.
20.
Nevertheless it can rightly be said that Our predecessor of
immortal memory, St. Pius X, made as it were the highest
contribution to the reform and renewal of sacred music when he
restated the principles and standards handed down from the elders
and wisely brought them together as the conditions of modern times
demanded.(14) Finally, like Our immediate predecessor of happy
memory, Pius XI, in his Apostolic Constitution Divini cultus
sanctitatem (The Holiness of Divine Worship), issued December 20,
1929,(15) We ourself in the encyclical Mediator Dei (On the Sacred
Liturgy), issued November 20, 1947,(16) have enriched and
confirmed the orders of the older Pontiffs.
21.
Certainly no one will be astonished that the Church is so vigilant
and careful about sacred music. It is not a case of drawing up
laws of aesthetics or technical rules that apply to the subject of
music. It is the intention of the Church, however, to protect
sacred music against anything that might lessen its dignity, since
it is called upon to take part in something as important as divine
worship.
22.
On this score sacred music obeys laws and rules which are no
different from those prescribed for all religious art and, indeed,
for art in general. Now we are aware of the fact that during
recent years some artists, gravely offending against Christian
piety, have dared to bring into churches works devoid of any
religious inspiration and completely at variance with the right
rules of art. They try to justify this deplorable conduct by
plausible-looking arguments which they claim are based on the
nature and character of art itself. They go on to say that
artistic inspiration is free and that it is wrong to impose upon
it laws and standards extraneous to art, whether they are
religious or moral, since such rules seriously hurt the dignity of
art and place bonds and shackles on the activity of an inspired
artist.
23.
Arguments of this kind raise a question which is certainly
difficult and serious, and which affects all art and every artist.
It is a question which is not to be answered by an appeal to the
principles of art or of aesthetics, but which must be decided in
terms of the supreme principle of the final end, which is the
inviolate and sacred rule for every man and every human act.
24.
The ordination and direction of man to his ultimate end - which is
God - by absolute and necessary law based on the nature and the
infinite perfection of God Himself is so solid that not even God
could exempt anyone from it. This eternal and unchangeable law
commands that man himself and all his actions should manifest and
imitate, so far as possible, God's infinite perfection for the
praise and glory of the Creator. Since man is born to attain this
supreme end, he ought to conform himself and through his actions
direct all powers of his body and his soul, rightly ordered among
themselves and duly subjected to the end they are meant to attain,
to the divine Model. Therefore even art and works of art must be
judged in the light of their conformity and concord with man's
last end.
25.
Art certainly must be listed among the noblest manifestations of
human genius. Its purpose is to express in human works the
infinite divine beauty of which it is, as it were, the reflection.
Hence that outworn dictum "art for art's sake" entirely
neglects the end for which every creature is made. Some people
wrongly assert that art should be exempted entirely from every
rule which does not spring from art itself. Thus this dictum
either has no worth at all or is gravely offensive to God Himself,
the Creator and Ultimate End.
26.
Since the freedom of the artist is not a blind instinct to act in
accordance with his own whim or some desire for novelty, it is in
no way restricted or destroyed, but actually ennobled and
perfected, when it is made subject to the divine law.
27.
Since this is true of works of art in general, it obviously
applies also to religious and sacred art. Actually religious art
is even more closely bound to God and the promotion of His praise
and glory, because its only purpose is to give the faithful the
greatest aid in turning their minds piously to God through the
works it directs to their senses of sight and hearing.
Consequently the artist who does not profess the truths of the
faith or who strays far from God in his attitude or conduct should
never turn his hand to religious art. He lacks, as it were, that
inward eye with which he might see what God's majesty and His
worship demand. Nor can he hope that his works, devoid of religion
as they are, will ever really breathe the piety and faith that
befit God's temple and His holiness, even though they may show him
to be an expert artist who is endowed with visible talent. Thus he
cannot hope that his works will be worthy of admission into the
sacred buildings of the Church, the guardian and arbiter of
religious life.
28.
But the artist who is firm in his faith and leads a life worthy of
a Christian, who is motivated by the love of God and reverently
uses the powers the Creator has given him, expresses and manifests
the truths he holds and the piety he possesses so skillfully,
beautifully and pleasingly in colors and lines or sounds and
harmonies that this sacred labor of art is an act of worship and
religion for him. It also effectively arouses and inspires people
to profess the faith and cultivate piety.
29.
The Church has always honored and always will honor this kind of
artist. It opens wide the doors of its temples to them because
what these people contribute through their art and industry is a
welcome and important help to the Church in carrying out its
apostolic ministry more effectively.
30.
These laws and standards for religious art apply in a stricter and
holier way to sacred music because sacred music enters more
intimately into divine worship than many other liberal arts, such
as architecture, painting and sculpture. These last serve to
prepare a worthy setting for the sacred ceremonies. Sacred music,
however, has an important place in the actual performance of the
sacred ceremonies and rites themselves. Hence the Church must take
the greatest care to prevent whatever might be unbecoming to
sacred worship or anything that might distract the faithful in
attendance from lifting their minds up to God from entering into
sacred music, which is the servant, as it were, of the sacred
liturgy.
31.
The dignity and lofty purpose of sacred music consist in the fact
that its lovely melodies and splendor beautify and embellish the
voices of the priest who offers Mass and of the Christian people
who praise the Sovereign God. Its special power and excellence
should lift up to God the minds of the faithful who are present.
It should make the liturgical prayers of the Christian community
more alive and fervent so that everyone can praise and beseech the
Triune God more powerfully, more intently and more effectively.
32.
The power of sacred music increases the honor given to God by the
Church in union with Christ, its Head. Sacred music likewise helps
to increase the fruits which the faithful, moved by the sacred
harmonies, derive from the holy liturgy. These fruits, as daily
experience and many ancient and modern literary sources show,
manifest themselves in a life and conduct worthy of a Christian.
33.
St. Augustine, speaking of chants characterized by "beautiful
voice and most apt melody," says: "I feel that our souls
are moved to the ardor of piety by the sacred words more piously
and powerfully when these words are sung than when they are not
sung, and that all the affections of our soul in their variety
have modes of their own in song and chant by which they are
stirred up by an indescribable and secret sympathy."(17)
34.
It is easy to infer from what has just been said that the dignity
and force of sacred music are greater the closer sacred music
itself approaches to the supreme act of Christian worship, the
Eucharistic sacrifice of the altar. There can be nothing more
exalted or sublime than its function of accompanying with
beautiful sound the voice of the priest offering up the Divine
Victim, answering him joyfully with the people who are present and
enhancing the whole liturgical ceremony with its noble art.
35.
To this highest function of sacred music We must add another which
closely resembles it, that is its function of accompanying and
beautifying other liturgical ceremonies, particularly the
recitation of the Divine Office in choir. Thus the highest honor
and praise must be given to liturgical music.
36.
We must also hold in honor that music which is not primarily a
part of the sacred liturgy, but which by its power and purpose
greatly aids religion. This music is therefore rightly called
religious music. The Church has possessed such music from the
beginning and it has developed happily under the Church's
auspices. As experience shows, it can exercise great and salutary
force and power on the souls of the faithful, both when it is used
in churches during non-liturgical services and ceremonies, or when
it is used outside churches at various solemnities and
celebrations.
37.
The tunes of these hymns, which are often sung in the language of
the people, are memorized with almost no effort or labor. The mind
grasps the words and the music. They are frequently repeated and
completely understood. Hence even boys and girls, learning these
sacred hymns at a tender age, are greatly helped by them to know,
appreciate and memorize the truths of the faith. Therefore they
also serve as a sort of catechism. These religious hymns bring
pure and chaste joy to young people and adults during times of
recreation. They give a kind of religious grandeur to their more
solemn assemblies and gatherings. They bring pious joy, sweet
consolation and spiritual progress to Christian families
themselves. Hence these popular religious hymns are of great help
to the Catholic apostolate and should be carefully cultivated and
promoted.
38.
Therefore when We praised the manifold power and the apostolic
effectiveness of sacred music, We spoke of something that can be a
source of great joy and solace to all who have in any way
dedicated themselves to its study and practice. All who use the
art they possess to compose such musical compositions, to teach
them or to perform them by singing or using musical instruments,
undoubtedly exercise in many ways a true and genuine apostolate.
They will receive from Christ the Lord the generous rewards and
honors of apostles for the work they have done so faithfully.
39.
Consequently they should hold their work in high esteem, not only
as artists and teachers of art, but also as ministers of Christ
the Lord and as His helpers in the work of the apostolate. They
should likewise show in their conduct and their lives the dignity
of their calling.
40.
Since, as We have just shown, the dignity and effectiveness of
sacred music and religious chant are so great, it is very
necessary that all of their parts should be diligently and
carefully arranged to produce their salutary results in a fitting
manner.
41.
First of all the chants and sacred music which are immediately
joined with the Church's liturgical worship should be conducive to
the lofty end for which they are intended. This music - as our
predecessor Pius X has already wisely warned us - "must
possess proper liturgical qualities, primarily holiness and
goodness of form; from which its other note, universality, is
derived."(18)
42.
It must be holy. It must not allow within itself anything that
savors of the profane nor allow any such thing to slip into the
melodies in which it is expressed. The Gregorian chant which has
been used in the Church over the course of so many centuries, and
which may be called, as it were, its patrimony, is gloriously
outstanding for this holiness.
43.
This chant, because of the close adaptation of the melody to the
sacred text, is not only most intimately conformed to the words,
but also in a way interprets their force and efficacy and brings
delight to the minds of the hearers. It does this by the use of
musical modes that are simple and plain, but which are still
composed with such sublime and holy art that they move everyone to
sincere admiration and constitute an almost inexhaustible source
from which musicians and composers draw new melodies.
44.
It is the duty of all those to whom Christ the Lord has entrusted
the task of guarding and dispensing the Church's riches to
preserve this precious treasure of Gregorian chant diligently and
to impart it generously to the Christian people. Hence what Our
predecessors, St. Pius X, who is rightly called the renewer of
Gregorian chant, (19) and Pius XI (20) have wisely ordained and
taught, We also, in view of the outstanding qualities which
genuine Gregorian chant possesses, will and prescribe that this be
done. In the performance of the sacred liturgical rites this same
Gregorian chant should be most widely used and great care should
be taken that it should be performed properly, worthily and
reverently. And if, because of recently instituted feast days, new
Gregorian melodies must be composed, this should be done by true
masters of the art. It should be done in such a way that these new
compositions obey the laws proper to genuine Gregorian chant and
are in worthy harmony with the older melodies in their virtue and
purity.
45.
If these prescriptions are really observed in their entirety, the
requirements of the other property of sacred music - that property
by virtue of which it should be an example of true art - will be
duly satisfied. And if in Catholic churches throughout the entire
world Gregorian chant sounds forth without corruption or
diminution, the chant itself, like the sacred Roman liturgy, will
have a characteristic of universality, so that the faithful,
wherever they may be, will hear music that is familiar to them and
a part of their own home. In this way they may experience, with
much spiritual consolation, the wonderful unity of the Church.
This is one of the most important reasons why the Church so
greatly desires that the Gregorian chant traditionally associated
with the Latin words of the sacred liturgy be used.
46.
We are not unaware that, for serious reasons, some quite definite
exceptions have been conceded by the Apostolic See. We do not want
these exceptions extended or propagated more widely, nor do We
wish to have them transferred to other places without due
permission of the Holy See. Furthermore, even where it is licit to
use these exemptions, local Ordinaries and the other pastors
should take great care that the faithful from their earliest years
should learn at least the easier and more frequently used
Gregorian melodies, and should know how to employ them in the
sacred liturgical rites, so that in this way also the unity and
the universality of the Church may shine forth more powerfully
every day.
47.
Where, according to old or immemorial custom, some popular hymns
are sung in the language of the people after the sacred words of
the liturgy have been sung in Latin during the solemn Eucharistic
sacrifice, local Ordinaries can allow this to be done "if, in
the light of the circumstances of the locality and the people,
they believe that (custom) cannot prudently be removed."(21)
The law by which it is forbidden to sing the liturgical words
themselves in the language of the people remains in force,
according to what has been said.
48.
In order that singers and the Christian people may rightly
understand the meaning of the liturgical words joined to the
musical melodies, it has pleased Us to make Our own the
exhortation made by the Fathers of the Council of Trent.
"Pastors and all those who have care of souls," were
especially urged that "often, during the celebration of Mass,
they or others whom they delegate explain something about what is
read in the Mass and, among other things, tell something about the
mystery of this most holy sacrifice. This is to be done
particularly on Sundays and holy days."(22)
49.
This should be done especially at the time when catechetical
instruction is being given to the Christian people. This may be
done more easily and readily in this age of ours than was possible
in times past, because translations of the liturgical texts into
the vernacular tongues and explanations of these texts in books
and pamphlets are available. These works, produced in almost every
country by learned writers, can effectively help and enlighten the
faithful to understand and share in what is said by the sacred
ministers in the Latin language.
50.
It is quite obvious that what We have said briefly here about
Gregorian chant applies mainly to the Latin Roman Rite of the
Church. It can also, however, be applied to a certain extent to
the liturgical chants of other rites - either to those of the
West, such as the Ambrosian, Gallican or Mozarabic, or to the
various eastern rites.
51.
For as all of these display in their liturgical ceremonies and
formulas of prayer the marvelous abundance of the Church, they
also, in their various liturgical chants, preserve treasures which
must be guarded and defended to prevent not only their complete
disappearance, but also any partial loss or distortion.
52.
Among the oldest and most outstanding monuments of sacred music
the liturgical chants of the different eastern rites hold a highly
important place. Some of the melodies of these chants, modified in
accordance with the character of the Latin liturgy, had a great
influence on the composition of the musical works of the Western
Church itself. It is Our hope that the selection of sacred eastern
rite hymns - which the Pontifical Institute of Oriental Studies,
with the help of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music, is
busily working to complete - will achieve good doctrinal and
practical results. Thus eastern rite seminarians, well trained in
sacred chant, can make a significant contribution to enhancing the
beauty of God's house after they have been ordained priests.
53.
It is not Our intention in what We have just said in praise and
commendation of the Gregorian chant to exclude sacred polyphonic
music from the rites of the Church. If this polyphonic music is
endowed with the proper qualities, it can be of great help in
increasing the magnificence of divine worship and of moving the
faithful to religious dispositions. Everyone certainly knows that
many polyphonic compositions, especially those that date from the
16th century, have an artistic purity and richness of melody which
render them completely worthy of accompanying and beautifying the
Church's sacred rites.
54.
Although over the course of the centuries genuine polyphonic art
gradually declined and profane melodies often crept into it,
during recent decades the indefatigable labors of experts have
brought about a restoration. The works of the old composers have
been carefully studied and proposed as models to be imitated and
rivaled by modern composers.
55.
So it is that in the basilicas, cathedrals and churches of
religious communities these magnificent works of the old masters
and the polyphonic compositions of more recent musicians can be
performed, contributing greatly to the beauty of the sacred rite.
Likewise We know that simpler but genuinely artistic polyphonic
compositions are often sung even in smaller churches.
56.
The Church favors all these enterprises. As Our predecessor of
immortal memory, St. Pius X, says, the Church "unceasingly
encourages and favors the progress of the arts, admitting for
religious use all the good and the beautiful that the mind of man
has discovered over the course of the centuries, but always
respecting the liturgical laws."(23)
57.
These laws warn that great prudence and care should be used in
this serious matter in order to keep out of churches polyphonic
music which, because of its heavy and bombastic style, might
obscure the sacred words of the liturgy by a kind of exaggeration,
interfere with the conduct of the liturgical service or, finally,
lower the skill and competence of the singers to the disadvantage
of sacred worship.
58.
These norms must be applied to the use of the organ or other
musical instruments. Among the musical instruments that have a
place in church the organ rightly holds the principal position,
since it is especially fitted for the sacred chants and sacred
rites. It adds a wonderful splendor and a special magnificence to
the ceremonies of the Church. It moves the souls of the faithful
by the grandeur and sweetness of its tones. It gives minds an
almost heavenly joy and it lifts them up powerfully to God and to
higher things.
59.
Besides the organ, other instruments can be called upon to give
great help in attaining the lofty purpose of sacred music, so long
as they play nothing profane nothing clamorous or strident and
nothing at variance with the sacred services or the dignity of the
place. Among these the violin and other musical instruments that
use the bow are outstanding because, when they are played by
themselves or with other stringed instruments or with the organ,
they express the joyous and sad sentiments of the soul with an
indescribable power. Moreover, in the encyclical Mediator Dei, We
Ourselves gave detailed and clear regulations concerning the
musical modes that are to be admitted into the worship of the
Catholic religion.
60.
"For, if they are not profane or unbecoming to the sacredness
of the place and function and do not spring from a desire to
achieve extraordinary and unusual effects, then our churches must
admit them, since they can contribute in no small way to the
splendor of the sacred ceremonies, can lift the mind to higher
things, and can foster true devotion of the soul."(24)
61.
It should hardly be necessary to add the warning that, when the
means and talent available are unequal to the task, it is better
to forego such attempts than to do something which would be
unworthy of divine worship and sacred gatherings.
62.
As We have said before, besides those things that are intimately
associated with the Church's sacred liturgy, there are also
popular religious hymns which derive their origin from the
liturgical chant itself. Most of these are written in the language
of the people. Since these are closely related to the mentality
and temperament of individual national groups, they differ
considerably among themselves according to the character of
different races and localities.
63.
If hymns of this sort are to bring spiritual fruit and advantage
to the Christian people, they must be in full conformity with the
doctrine of the Catholic faith. They must also express and explain
that doctrine accurately. Likewise they must use plain language
and simple melody and must be free from violent and vain excess of
words. Despite the fact that they are short and easy, they should
manifest a religious dignity and seriousness. When they are
fashioned in this way these sacred canticles, born as they are
from the most profound depths of the people's soul, deeply move
the emotions and spirit and stir up pious sentiments. When they
are sung at religious rites by a great crowd of people singing as
with one voice, they are powerful in raising the minds of the
faithful to higher things.
64.
As we have written above, such hymns cannot be used in Solemn High
Masses without the express permission of the Holy See.
Nevertheless at Masses that are not sung solemnly these hymns can
be a powerful aid in keeping the faithful from attending the Holy
Sacrifice like dumb and idle spectators. They can help to make the
faithful accompany the sacred services both mentally and vocally
and to join their own piety to the prayers of the priest. This
happens when these hymns are properly adapted to the individual
parts of the Mass, as We rejoice to know is being done in many
parts of the Catholic world.
65.
In rites that are not completely liturgical religious hymns of
this kind - when, as We have said, they are endowed with the right
qualities - can be of great help in the salutary work of
attracting the Christian people and enlightening them, in imbuing
them with sincere piety and filling them with holy joy. They can
produce these effects not only within churches, but outside of
them also, especially on the occasion of pious processions and
pilgrimages to shrines and at the time of national or
international congresses. They can be especially useful, as
experience has shown, in the work of instructing boys and girls in
Catholic truth, in societies for youth and in meetings of pious
associations.
66.
Hence We can do no less than urge you, venerable brethren, to
foster and promote diligently popular religious singing of this
kind in the dioceses entrusted to you. There is among you no lack
of experts in this field to gather hymns of this sort into one
collection, where this has not already been done, so that all of
the faithful can learn them more easily, memorize them and sing
them correctly.
67.
Those in charge of the religious instruction of boys and girls
should not neglect the proper use of these effective aids. Those
in charge of Catholic youth should make prudent use of them in the
highly important work entrusted to them. Thus there will be hope
of happily attaining what everyone desires, namely the
disappearance of worldly songs which because of the quality of
their melodies or the frequently voluptuous and lascivious words
that go with them are a danger to Christians, especially the
young, and their replacement by songs that give chaste and pure
pleasure, that foster and increase faith and piety.
68.
May it thus come about that the Christian people begin even on
this earth to sing that song of praise it will sing forever in
heaven: "To Him who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb,
blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and
ever."(25)
69.
What we have written thus far applies primarily to those nations
where the Catholic religion is already firmly established. In
mission lands it will not be possible to accomplish all these
things until the number of Christians has grown sufficiently,
larger church buildings have been erected, the children of
Christians properly attend schools established by the Church and,
finally, until there is an adequate number of sacred ministers.
Still We urgently exhort apostolic workers who are laboring
strenuously in these extensive parts of the Lord's vineyard to pay
careful attention to this matter as one of the serious problems of
their ministry.
70.
Many of the peoples entrusted to the ministry of the missionaries
take great delight in music and beautify the ceremonies dedicated
to the worship of idols with religious singing. It is not prudent,
then, for the heralds of Christ, the true God, to minimize or
neglect entirely this effective help in their apostolate. Hence
the preachers of the Gospel in pagan lands should sedulously and
willingly promote in the course of their apostolic ministry the
love for religious song which is cherished by the men entrusted to
their care. In this way these people can have, in contrast to
their own religious music which is frequently admired even in
cultivated countries, sacred Christian hymns in which the truths
of the faith, the life of Christ the Lord and the praises of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints can be sung in a language and
in melodies familiar to them.
71.
Missionaries should likewise be mindful of the fact that, from the
beginning, when the Catholic Church sent preachers of the Gospel
into lands not yet illumined by the light of faith, it took care
to bring into those countries, along with the sacred liturgical
rites, musical compositions, among which were the Gregorian
melodies. It did this so that the people who were to be converted
might be more easily led to accept the truths of the Christian
religion by the attractiveness of these melodies.
72.
So that the desired effect may be produced by what We have
recommended and ordered in this encyclical, following in the
footsteps of Our predecessors, you, venerable brethren, must
carefully use all the aids offered by the lofty function entrusted
to you by Christ the Lord and committed to you by the Church. As
experience teaches, these aids are employed to great advantage in
many churches throughout the Christian world.
73.
First of all see to it that there is a good school of singers in
the cathedral itself and, as far as possible, in other major
churches of your dioceses. This school should serve as an example
to others and influence them to carefully develop and perfect
sacred chant.
74.
Where it is impossible to have schools of singers or where there
are not enough choir boys, it is allowed that "a group of men
and women or girls, located in a place outside the sanctuary set
apart for the exclusive use of this group, can sing the liturgical
texts at Solemn Mass, as long as the men are completely separated
from the women and girls and everything unbecoming is avoided. The
Ordinary is bound in conscience in this matter."(26)
75.
Great care must be taken that those who are preparing for the
reception of sacred orders in your seminaries and in missionary or
religious houses of study are properly instructed in the doctrine
and use of sacred music and Gregorian chant according to the mind
of the Church by teachers who are experts in this field, who
esteem the traditional customs and teachings and who are entirely
obedient to the precepts and norms of the Holy See.
76.
If, among the students in the seminary or religious house of
study, anyone shows remarkable facility in or liking for this art,
the authorities of the seminary or house of study should not
neglect to inform you about it. Then you may avail yourself of the
opportunity to cultivate these gifts further and send him either
to the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome or to some
other institution of learning in which this subject is taught,
provided that the student manifests the qualities and virtues upon
which one can base a hope that he will become an excellent priest.
77.
In this matter care must also be taken that local Ordinaries and
heads of religious communities have someone whose help they can
use in this important area which, weighed down as they are by so
many occupations, they cannot easily take care of themselves.
78.
It would certainly be best if in diocesan Councils of Christian
Art there were someone especially expert in the fields of
religious music and chant who could carefully watch over what is
being done in the diocese, inform the Ordinary about what has been
done and what is going to be done, receive the Ordinary's commands
and see that they are obeyed. If in any diocese there is one of
these associations, which have been wisely instituted to foster
sacred music and have been greatly praised and commended by the
Sovereign Pontiffs, the Ordinary in his prudence may employ this
association in the task of fulfilling responsibility.
79.
Pious associations of this kind, which have been founded to
instruct the people in sacred music or for advanced study in this
subject, can contribute greatly by words and example to the
advance of sacred music.
80.
Help and promote such associations, venerable brethren, so that
they may lead an active life, may employ the best and the most
effective teachers, and so that, throughout the entire diocese,
they may diligently promote the knowledge, love and use of sacred
music and religious harmonies, with due observance of the Church's
laws and due obedience to Ourselves.
81.
Moved by paternal solicitude, We have dealt with this matter at
some length. We are entirely confident that you, venerable
brethren, will diligently apply all of your pastoral solicitude to
this sacred subject which contributes so much to the more worthy
and magnificent conduct of divine worship.
82.
It is Our hope that whoever in the Church supervises and directs
the work of sacred music under your leadership may be influenced
by Our encyclical letter to carry on this glorious apostolate with
new ardor and new effort, generously, enthusiastically and
strenuously.
83.
Hence, We hope that this most noble art, which has been so greatly
esteemed throughout the Church's history and which today has been
brought to real heights of holiness and beauty, will be developed
and continually perfected and that on its own account it will
happily work to bring the children of the Church to give due
praise, expressed in worthy melodies and sweet harmonies, to the
Triune God with stronger faith, more flourishing hope and more
ardent charity.
84.
May it produce even outside the walls of churches - in Christian
families and gatherings of Christians - what St. Cyprian
beautifully spoke of to Donatus, "Let the sober banquet
resound with Psalms. And if your memory by good and your voice
pleasant, approach this work according to custom. You give more
nourishment to those dearest to you if we hear spiritual things
and if religious sweetness delights the ears."(27)
85.
In the meantime, buoyed up by the hope of richer and more joyous
fruits which We are confident will come from this exhortation of
Ours, as a testimony of Our good will and as an omen of heavenly
gifts to each one of you, venerable brethren, to the flock
entrusted to your care and to those who observe Our wishes and
work to promote sacred music, with abundant charity, We impart the
Apostolic Benediction.
Given
at St. Peter's in Rome, December 25, on the feast of the Nativity
of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the year 1955, the 17th of Our
Pontificate.
Endnotes:
1.
Motu proprio, Fra le sollecitudini, Acta Pii X, I, 77. | 2. Cf.
Gen. 1:26. | 3. Epis. 161. De origine animae hominis, 1, 2; PL
XXXIII, 725. | 4. Cf. Ex. 15:1-20. | 5. 2 Sam. 6:5. | 6. Cf. I
Para. 23:5; 25:2-31. | 7. Eph. 5:18ff; cf. Col. 3:16. | 8. 1 Cor.
14:26. | 9. Pliny, Epis. X, 96-97. | 10. Tertullian, De anima, ch.
9; PL II, 701; and Apol. 39; PL I, 540. | 11. Council of Trent,
Session XXII: Decretum de observandis et evitandis in celebratione
Missae. | 12. Cf. encyclical letter of Benedict XIV Annus qui,
Opera omnia. | 13. Cf.
apostolic letter Bonum est confiteri Domino, August 2, 1828; Cf.
Bullarium Romanum, Prati ed., ex Typ. Aldina, IX, 139ff. | 14.
Cf. Acta Pii X, I 75-87; Acta Sanctae Sedis, XXXVI (1903-1904)
329-39, 387-95. | 15. Cf. AAS., XXI, 33ff. | 16. Cf. AAS., XXXIX,
521-95. | 17. St. Augustine, Confessions, Book X, chap. 33, MPL,
XXXII, 799ff. | 18. Acta Pii X, loc. cit., 78. | 19. Letter to
Card. Respighi, Acta Pii X, loc. cit. 68-74, see 73ff.; Acta
Sanctae Sedis, XXXVI (1903-04), 325-29, 395-98. | 20.
Pius XI, apostolic constitution. Divini cultus, AAS, XXI (1929),
33ff. | 21. Code of Canon Law, Can. 5. | 22. Council of Trent,
Session XXII, De Sacrificio Missae, C. VIII. | 23. Acta Pii X,
loc. cit., 80. | 24. AAS, XXXIX (1947), 590. | 25. Apoc. 5:13. |
26. Decrees of the Sacred Congregation of Rites, No's. 3964, 4201,
4231. | 27. St. Cyprian, Letter to Donatus (Letter 1, n. 16) PL,
IV, 227.
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