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Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast — Religion & Spirituality
Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast

You’ve got questions about sacred music? Here’s your chance to learn what the Church teaches and envisions for music in the sacred liturgy.

Welcome to Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast with your host Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka. We address topics of interest both to priests and liturgical musicians, as well as a general audience of Catholics interested in learning more about the Catholic Church’s teachings and treasury of sacred music. Our topics range from discussion of Church documents on sacred music, to the music of certain composers or eras, Gregorian chant, the role of music in Catholic education, and techniques for directing a better choir rehearsal. We’ll interview bishops, priests, music directors, composers, teachers, philosophers, and theologians. We’ll talk to people who found a home in the Catholic Church because they heard the call of Christ in the Church’s sacred music. We’ll ask questions about how really great music programs are doing their work. We’ll introduce you to Catholics who love their faith and, through sacred music, offer all their efforts for his glory and the sanctification of all who hear them.

We aim for our podcast to be thoughtful, encouraging, and informative. We hope, too, that it will inspire and motivate you to work for the renewal of authentic beauty in sacred music—whether you’re a working church musician or an average Catholic in the pews wondering what’s going on. With the prayers of our patronesses, Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom and Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity, we hope to help draw souls to Christ through the beauty of the Church’s sacred music.

Square Notes is the official podcast of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/

Latest Episodes:

Episode 12 – The Participation of Little Children in the Sacred Liturgy – with Dr. Timothy O'Malley May 31, 2019

Show notes

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."

Episode 11 – Developing a Sacred Music Program, St Vincent Ferrer, NYC - with James Wetzel May 22, 2019

Show notes

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

Episode 10 – Teaching Sacred Music in Nigeria - with Fr. Jude Orakwe May 14, 2019

Show notes

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.

Episode 9 - Modern Sacred Music - with Kevin Allen May 06, 2019

Show notes

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

Episode 8 – Evangelization and Catechesis through Music: South American Jesuit Missions and Working with Underserved Populations – with Lisa Knutson Apr 30, 2019

Show notes

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 Apr 18, 2019

Show notes

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

Episode 6 – Historical Techniques for Teaching Music to Children – with Charlie Weaver Apr 08, 2019

Show notes

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

Episode 5 – The Spirituality of Gregorian Chant – with Fr. Cassian Folsom, OSB Mar 31, 2019

Show notes

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

Episode 4 – Introduction to Gregorian Chant – with Dr William Mahrt Mar 24, 2019

Show notes

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 Mar 17, 2019

Show notes

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

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