This thesis aims to uncover music’s important role in shaping and defining the selfidentity of ancient Israel. Functional music was integrated into Israel’s daily life, accompanying activities as diverse as manual labor and royal processionals. At key junctures and in core institutions, musical tones were used to formulate and deliver messages, convey and heighten emotions, assert and strengthen communal bonds, and establish and intensify human-divine contact. The intricate and multi-faceted nature of this music will be demonstrated through a detailed look into four main episodes and genres: the Song of the Sea (Exod. 15), King Saul and David’s harp (1 Sam. 16), the use of music in prophecy, and the Book of Psalms. Specifically, it will be argued that Israel’s birth as a free nation was marked by the Song of the Sea, its monarchic system was defined by the archetypical musician-king David, it depended on God’s word delivered through the often musical messages of prophecy, and its appointed institution for mediating worship was designed and officiated by a class of priestly musicians. Moreover, three of these four areas involve the main leadership categories of Old Testament society—king, prophet and priest—giving added support to the view that music held a prominent place and played a defining role within that civilization. The conception of music as a central element of biblical society will be developed using an interdisciplinary approach, wherein pertinent information from an array of specializations and sources is put into conversation and Old Testament passages are analyzed through a modern-scientific lens. Rather than relying on a single methodology, this study is rooted in the premise that by applying a variety of contemporary theoretical tools to selected Old Testament passages, essential functions of music in biblical life can be illuminated. Such an endeavour requires tools from a number of fields, including but not limited to theology, sociology, anthropology, musicology, cognitive science and music therapy, as well as the classification of musical references into four primary functions: cohesive, therapeutic, emotive/spiritual and didactic. The result is a thesis that identifies reasons for—and not just the existence of—music in biblical life, and, most centrally, shows significant ways music informed Israel’s understanding of itself. / Thesis (PhD (Old Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

This thesis aims to uncover music’s important role in shaping and defining the selfidentity of ancient Israel. Functional music was integrated into Israel’s daily life, accompanying activities as diverse as manual labor and royal processionals. At key junctures and in core institutions, musical tones were used to formulate and deliver messages, convey and heighten emotions, assert and strengthen communal bonds, and establish and intensify human-divine contact. The intricate and multi-faceted nature of this music will be demonstrated through a detailed look into four main episodes and genres: the Song of the Sea (Exod. 15), King Saul and David’s harp (1 Sam. 16), the use of music in prophecy, and the Book of Psalms. Specifically, it will be argued that Israel’s birth as a free nation was marked by the Song of the Sea, its monarchic system was defined by the archetypical musician-king David, it depended on God’s word delivered through the often musical messages of prophecy, and its appointed institution for mediating worship was designed and officiated by a class of priestly musicians. Moreover, three of these four areas involve the main leadership categories of Old Testament society—king, prophet and priest—giving added support to the view that music held a prominent place and played a defining role within that civilization. The conception of music as a central element of biblical society will be developed using an interdisciplinary approach, wherein pertinent information from an array of specializations and sources is put into conversation and Old Testament passages are analyzed through a modern-scientific lens. Rather than relying on a single methodology, this study is rooted in the premise that by applying a variety of contemporary theoretical tools to selected Old Testament passages, essential functions of music in biblical life can be illuminated. Such an endeavour requires tools from a number of fields, including but not limited to theology, sociology, anthropology, musicology, cognitive science and music therapy, as well as the classification of musical references into four primary functions: cohesive, therapeutic, emotive/spiritual and didactic. The result is a thesis that identifies reasons for—and not just the existence of—music in biblical life, and, most centrally, shows significant ways music informed Israel’s understanding of itself. / Thesis (PhD (Old Testament))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Thesis (D.W.S.)--Institute for Worship Studies, 2002. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 189-192).

189 p. / Church music has been given relatively little scholarly attention in the study of nineteenth-century music. While there is an array of mass settings that were composed by Romantic-era composers, current musicological research marginalizes them. Paris was one location where a tradition of composing new masses continued well into the nineteenth century. While best known for his works for the stage, Charles Gounod (1818-1893) was a leading French composer of sacred music and one of the most prolific sacred composers of his time. His most important liturgical composition is the Messe solennelle de Sainte-Cecile, which once enjoyed considerable international success. This thesis focuses on the history of this mass in biographical and historical context. I discuss the topics of music and religion in France from the Revolution to Gounod's time, the composer's long musical relationship with the church, the music of the Messe de Sainte-Cecile, and its reception.

Joseph Ratzinger, who led the Catholic Church as Pope Benedict XVI from 2005 to 2013, is a well-respected and published theologian. Much of his writing centers on the liturgy, and he has addressed the topic of music several times. His theological understanding of liturgical music and its application to the pipe organ together with its repertoire is the focus of this dissertation. The first two chapters deal with Ratzinger’s theological writings on the liturgy and sacred music as well as their significance for the pipe organ. Several themes emerge in his writings. These reveal Ratzinger’s understanding of the liturgy and are identified as characteristics of true liturgical music. Though he rarely speaks directly about the organ, these characteristics, namely, cosmos, logos, mystery, and history can be connected with both the instrument and its repertoire. In chapters three through five, select pieces from the masterworks of the Catholic organ tradition, Frescobaldi’s Fiori Musicali, Tournemire’s L’Orgue Mystique, and Langlais’ Livre Oecumenique, are analyzed and interpreted in light of Ratzinger’s theology. The organ has also been used as an accompanimental instrument and for improvisation in the liturgy. This is considered in chapters six and seven. In chapter eight, attention is given to the pipe organ itself, and the instrument is found to be a symbol of the same theological concepts Ratzinger associates with the liturgy. The last chapter provides a summary and indicates the implications of Ratzinger’s theology for the liturgical role of the pipe organ today. This comprehensive examination of Ratzinger’s theology of liturgical music and the pipe organ with its liturgical repertoire, which includes written compositions, accompaniment, and improvisation, reveals the relationship between them. The organ itself embodies Ratzinger’s themes of cosmos, logos, mystery, and history and is therefore the ideal liturgical instrument, indeed, the king of musical instruments. Through analysis, certain musical characteristics are discovered that can be said to exemplify elements of liturgical theology. Ultimately, Ratzinger’s liturgical theology assigns value to the historic role of the organ in the liturgy and illuminates the worth and relevance of the Church’s treasury of sacred organ music.

Melodram für Sprecher und Orgel, Musik: Matthias Drude (2005), Text: Dietrich Mendt; Informationen zum Komponisten: www.drude.info

Melodram für Sprecher und Orgel; Musik: Matthias Drude (2005); Text: Dietrich Mendt

This paper examines and provides the best model, degrees of preparation, and various steps the Diocese of Manchester can provide and encourage in order to resuscitate parish sacred music programs. In Chapter One, I provide the contextual framework needed in which to fully understand sacred music by first defining liturgy. I also examine the ancient/modern axiom of Lex orandi-Lex credendi-Lex vivendi by discussing the ways which worship shapes our beliefs and, in turn, how we live our lives. Since worship involves codified words, I discuss how the church safeguards her ritual texts and how the process of translations occurs from Latin into various vernacular languages, taking a moment to examine a few texts and compare translations. Because liturgy requires assembly participation, I conclude the chapter by detailing what active participation means and what it does not. Dedicated to sacred music, Chapter Two begins by defining sacred music and its associative qualities. I then move to discuss the attributes and polarity of Apollonian and Dionysian music. Next, I pivot to examine how sacred music serves as an important tool for evangelization. The chapter is concluded by rethinking the musician’s role as vocation versus employment and dissecting the role and function of the position Director of Music. Acknowledging the Church has a particular culture associated with it, Chapter Three traces the affect popular culture has on society and the widespread cultural deficit of attention to beauty. I trace the concept and components of the “culture of mediocrity” gripping the church and how best to reverse the trend. I then speak of the importance of richness found within liturgical texts and how human beings respond to beauty itself. Finally, I propose that parishes must establish a clear cultus Dei within their community in order to undertake authentic evangelization by providing an alternative to secular culture. Highlighting the reality that the path to resuscitate parish music programs, such as attaining both musically and liturgically competent musicians, is a complex situation involving multiple layers, Chapter Four begins with outlining various Diocesan responsibilities beginning with the Bishop, the Cathedral, Diocesan Office for Worship and Liturgical Commission, Diocesan Director of Music and the necessity for the Diocesan Office for Worship to collaborate with the Catholic Schools Office to cultivate a new generation of church musicians. The chapter ends with discussing the importance of continuing education and surveying both national and local structures, programs and initiatives for ministerial formation. Although our present time is complex and full of various seemingly insurmountable challenges, Chapter Five speaks of the unending hope for continued restoration within the liturgical and sacred music apostolate. Recapping some of the major themes found in the paper, I remind the reader that the journey towards total parish renewal is possibly for everyone and not just for a select few. The paper culminates in Chapter Six where I offer a strategic plan that supplies a model for the resuscitation of church music programs in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Manchester, New Hampshire. The paper concludes with several appendixes. Appendix A details various chant resources, Appendix B lists various choral resources applicable for smaller and medium-sized choirs, a comparison/contrast of the 1970 and 2010 English translations of the Latin text of the Exsultet are in Appendix C, and Appendix D offers a model course focused on the history of sacred music and of liturgical theology. / 2026-09-30

This doctoral thesis investigates the dynamics of reform of liturgical sacred music - the so-called "Cecilian" period - which affected the European Catholic world from the end of the 19th century, and In Trentino it was characterized by an intense and peculiar dialogue between Germany - place of origin of the main inspirers of the reform - and Italy. The research was based on several aspects. The assumption on which this thesis is based is the knowledge of the diocesan music collections kept at the Vigilianum Diocesan Library, of which the candidate personally oversaw the cataloging. These are four musical collections that in total they cover a time span of almost two centuries (from the end of the 18th century to the mid-twentieth century) and testify to the nature and consistency of musical training in the ecclesiastical circles of Trentino, but also the dynamics and results of the Cecilian reform. Initially it was necessary to carry out a census of the sources - never dealt with before - which brought to light, on the one hand, the documents kept in the archives and libraries of Trentino concerning the activity of the Cecilian Society of Trentino, of the Musical Chapel of the Trento Cathedral, of the Local Cecilian societies and other institutions involved. On the other hand the correspondence relating to exchanges with the Trentino and Italian environment preserved in the Bischöfliches Zentralarchiv und Bischöfliche Zentralbibliothek Regensburg. Fundamental to the historical reconstruction of this reform was, moreover, the systematic analysis of the main newspapers of the time in the period in question, i.e. from 1889 to 1920, which made it possible to create a conspicuous archive of musical chronicles, of news of reception of the reform and performance of various kinds of music in Trentino. Finally, to complete this musicological thesis, some of the many passages of the sacred and liturgical popular tradition in use at the time were collected and transcribed. Part of this rich documentation has been collected in the second volume (documentary appendix) and in the third volume (musical appendix) that complete the dissertation. The actual treatment (volume I) approaches the research subject with a multidisciplinary look: the Cecilian reform itself, in fact, did not limit itself to reforming liturgical chant, sacred music and organ building, but in fact intertwined with the history of institutions, with school, theater and popular singing. The setting of the thesis takes into account the supranational dimension of the reform (introduction) with which the small local societies had to confront, and then deepen, with a reading from the particular to the general, the history of the Trentino Cecilian Society, one of the longest-lived Cecilian associations (chapter I), the specific areas of activity of the reformers from Trentino, namely Christian liturgical chant, polyphony and sacred music and organ building (chapter II). Chapter III explores some collateral areas with which the reform interacted and investigates more deeply the relationship with the German environment from an institutional, ideological point of view and about the spread of the repertoire. Finally, the closing epilogue outlines the subsequent outcomes of the reform in the first half of the twentieth century, which remains, however, a partially unexplored era, with possible traces for new research. / La presente tesi dottorale indaga le dinamiche di riforma della musica sacra liturgica – il cosiddetto periodo “ceciliano” – che interessò il mondo cattolico europeo a partire dalla fine del XIX secolo, e che in Trentino fu caratterizzato da un intenso e peculiare dialogo con la Germania – luogo di origine dei principali ispiratori della riforma – e con l’Italia. La ricerca che ha condotto alla stesura di questa dissertazione è stata varia e articolata su più fronti. Il presupposto su cui questa tesi si basa è la conoscenza delle collezioni musicali diocesane conservate presso la Biblioteca Diocesana Vigilianum, di cui la candidata ha curato personalmente il riordino e la catalogazione, tra il 2016 e il 2019: si tratta di quattro fondi musicali che complessivamente coprono un arco temporale di quasi due secoli (dalla fine del Settecento alla metà del Novecento) e che testimoniano la natura e la consistenza della formazione musicale negli ambienti ecclesiastici trentini, ma anche le dinamiche e gli esiti della riforma ceciliana. Inizialmente è stato necessario svolgere un censimento delle fonti – mai affrontato prima – che ha portato alla luce, da un lato i documenti conservati negli archivi e nelle biblioteche trentine inerenti l’attività della Società Ceciliana Trentina, della Cappella Musicale della Cattedrale di Trento, delle Società Ceciliane territoriali e di altre istituzioni coinvolte; dall’altro i carteggi relativi alle relazioni e agli scambi con l’ambiente trentino e italiano conservati nella Bischöfliches Zentralarchiv und Bischöfliche Zentralbibliothek Regensburg. Fondamentale ai fini della ricostruzione storica di questa riforma è stato, inoltre, lo spoglio sistematico dei principali giornali dell’epoca nel periodo interessato, ovvero dal 1889 al 1920, che ha consentito di creare un cospicuo archivio di cronache musicali, di notizie di recezione della riforma e di esecuzione di musica di vario genere nelle valli trentine. Infine, a completamento di questa tesi musicologica, si è raccolto e trascritto alcuni dei moltissimi brani della tradizione popolare sacra e liturgica in uso all’epoca. Parte di questa ricca documentazione è stata raccolta nel secondo volume (appendice documentaria) e nel terzo volume (appendice musicale) che corredano la dissertazione. La trattazione vera e propria (I volume) approccia la materia di ricerca con uno sguardo multidisciplinare: la riforma ceciliana stessa, infatti, non si limitò a riformare canto liturgico, musica sacra e organaria ma di fatto si intrecciò con la storia delle istituzioni, con la scuola, il teatro e il canto popolare. L’impostazione della tesi tiene conto della dimensione sovranazionale propria della riforma (introduzione) con cui le piccole Società locali dovettero confrontarsi, per poi approfondire, con una lettura dal particolare al generale, la storia della Società Ceciliana Trentina, una delle più longeve associazioni ceciliane (capitolo I), gli ambiti specifici di attività dei riformatori trentini, ovvero canto liturgico cristiano, polifonia e musica sacra e organaria (capitolo II). Nel capitolo III vengono approfonditi alcuni ambiti collaterali con cui la riforma interagì e indagato più a fondo il rapporto con l’ambiente tedesco dal punto di vista istituzionale, ideologico e circa la diffusione del repertorio. Infine nell’epilogo di chiusura si tratteggiano gli esiti successivi della riforma nella prima metà del XX secolo, che rimane, tuttavia, un’epoca in parte inesplorata, con possibili tracce per nuove ricerche.

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