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    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/

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    Latest Episodes:
    SE08 EP05 - Lenten Reflection for Church Musicians - with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone Mar 18, 2026
    Show notes

    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


    SE08 EP04 - From Chant to Counterpoint: How to Improvise Polyphony - with Dr. Charles Weaver Feb 25, 2026
    Show notes

    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


    SE08 EP03 - The Art of Organ Improvisation: Insights from Martin Baker Feb 21, 2026
    Show notes

    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/


    SE08 EP02 - From Puebla Cathedral to Today's Spanish-Speaking Pews: The Legacy of Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla - with Fernando Gil Feb 16, 2026
    Show notes

    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:

    https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/545314/727602 https://saintpaulsunday.publicradio.org/features/0210_missamexicana/index.html https://www.ipm.org/show/harmonia/2019-08-21/music-baroque-mexico-fernandes-padilla-murcia https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/americas/article/abs/mexico-city-cathedral-music-16001750/FC6ADFE4D5C6BBF307B9C107BDFDE992 https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1012&context=yjmr https://www.internationalchoralmagazine.com/post/american-music-of-the-early-17th-century-the-cancionero-de-gaspar-fern%C3%A1ndez https://www.bowdoin.edu/news/2021/06/music-scholar-secures-funding-to-study-sacred-sounds-from-the-mexican-baroque.html https://scholarworks.iu.edu/iuswrrest/api/core/bitstreams/59761061-f248-4619-9be2-040bf1cd8f7f/content

    SE08 EP01 - Building a Beautiful Homeschool Curriculum for Art and Music - with Elizabeth Lemme Feb 11, 2026
    Show notes

    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.


    SE07 EP12 - A Feast for Ear and Eye: The Alamire Manuscripts - with Dr. Emily Thelen May 30, 2025
    Show notes

    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/


    SE07 EP11 - A Church Musician's Guide to the History of the Pronunciation of Latin - with Dr. John Pepino Apr 25, 2025
    Show notes

    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/


    SE07 EP10 - Should Postludes Be Loud? And Other Organ Repertoire Questions for the Catholic Parish Organist - with Prof. Christopher Berry Apr 23, 2025
    Show notes

    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/


    SE07 EP09 - Meditating on the Mysteries of the Lives of Mary and Jesus: Music of Heinrich Bieber and Franz Joseph Haydn - with Fiona Hughes Apr 14, 2025
    Show notes

    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/


    SE07 EP08 - A Catholic Curriculum: A Model Music Program in a Classical High School - with Dr. Alexis Kutarna Apr 09, 2025
    Show notes

    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/


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