The Great Sacred Music Reform of Pope St. Pius X

What Readers Are Saying...

"Dr. Patrick Brill provides thorough and much-needed support for what many traditional-minded Catholics have long known or at least suspected: that St. Pius X's 1903 motu proprio Tra le Sollectitudini still provides the surest guide for the restoration of Catholic sacred music. Part I of this book provides a detailed commentary on the motu proprio, enlightening for amateur and expert alike, while Part II examines the document's fate from the time of Pius to today, looking at its canonical force and status, positive efforts of implementation, and the neglect it has suffered since Vatican II. As tradition continues to make crucial gains, it will be books like this that serve as practical guides for restoration."-Dr. Andrew Childs, B.Mus, DMA, professional singer and choir conductor

"St. Pius X's motu proprio on sacred music is the bravest, loftiest, most exhaustive attempt ever to protect and promulgate the precious musical riches of our Roman Rite. Brill's work particularly shines by placing this great document in its tumultuous historic context and by thoroughly dismissing the naysayers who attempt to water down the urgency of this holy pope's directives."-Jonathan Bading, B.Mus., Director of Sacred Music, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Parish, Grand Rapids, Michigan

"An indispensable volume for every Catholic-musician or not-who wants to understand the sacred music of the Church.... Provides a detailed exegesis and history of Pius X's 1903 motu proprio on sacred music Tra le Sollecitudini, as well as the subsequent history of Catholic liturgical music through the aftermath of Vatican II.... Also offers a plan to help pastors and musicians restore sacred music in today's Catholic parishes, according to the evergreen reforms of St. Pius X."

-Susan Treacy, PhD, Professor of Music Emerita, Ave Maria University; author of The Music of Christendom: A History

"Despite the sorry state of music in the Church today, the official documents of the Church still clearly proclaim that Gregorian chant has 'first place' (principum locum) in the liturgy. St. Pius X's motu proprio is the definitive teaching on this subject. Brill's book is valuable for Church musicians, an immersion in the fundamentals.... A fascinating and important read."

-Fr. Robert C. Pasley, KCHS, Chaplain to the Church Music Association of America

"Even though they met with certain challenges, these reforms [of Pius X] supported both the twentieth-century revival of chant and a renewed sensitivity to the importance of music in the liturgy.... Patrick Brill's study comes at an opportune moment, when Catholics are increasingly rejecting the banality of much of today's 'church music.' Brill's work conveniently gathers into a slim volume the historical context of Pius X's reforms, the reforms themselves, their implementation, and the place of these reforms in a Church rediscovering tradition. It will be a standard resource."

-Edward Schaefer, DMA, President of Collegium Sanctorum Angelorum; author of Catholic Music Through the Ages