IN THIS LESSON
In this final section, we look at the church's guidance for composers specifically.
Role of the Catholic musician: to steward the treasury and increase its store of treasures. Sacrosanctum Concilium states:
112. The musical tradition of the Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art.
114. The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care.
121. Composers, filled with the Christian spirit, should feel that their vocation is to cultivate sacred music and increase its store of treasures. Let them produce compositions which have the qualities proper to genuine sacred music, not confining themselves to works which can be sung only by large choirs, but providing also for the needs of small choirs and for the active participation of the entire assembly of the faithful.The texts intended to be sung must always be in conformity with Catholic doctrine; indeed they should be drawn chiefly from holy scripture and from liturgical sources.
MS: 53. As for those pieces which do not correspond to the nature of the liturgy, they may be profitably transferred to popular devotions.
The Church has said much about liturgical music beyond the documents we referenced in this course. In the download below, you will find a hyperlinked list of more documents (certainly not an exhaustive list), and key points from across the documents on various topics. We hope this is a helpful guide in understanding the similarities across documents and can serve as a reference point when you have questions.