Supporting Sacred Music
he Church Music Association of America (founded in 1874) is an association of Catholic musicians, and those who have a special interest in music and liturgy, active in advancing Gregorian chant, Renaissance polyphony, and other forms of sacred music, including new composition, for liturgical use. The CMAA’s purpose is the advancement of musica sacra in keeping with the norms established by competent ecclesiastical authority.
No cathedral and no parish need be without sacred music. The liturgy is worth every effort to reach for the ideal. To this end, the CMAA is the sponsored of the famed “seven days of musical heaven”: The Sacred Music Colloquium, among many other events.
The CMAA is a non-profit educational organization, 501(c)(3). Contributions, for which we are very grateful, are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Your financial assistance helps teach and promote the cause of authentic sacred music in Catholic liturgy through workshops, publications, and other forms of support. This website, which contains hundreds of beautiful downloads of sacred music, provided to the universal Church at absolutely no charge and no restriction on reproduction, is one of the services provided.
The CMAA is also seeking members, who receive the acclaimed journal Sacred Music and become part of a national network that is making a different on behalf of the beautiful and true in our times, in parish after parish. Who should join? You are reading this site because you are interested in sacred music, which means you should join.
You can join now with a $48 (minimum) per year contribution, but please consider a larger donation.
To receive announcements and stay in touch, join our mailing list:
If you are looking for discussion or have questions about sacred music or liturgical issues, see the MusicaSacra Forum.
The CMAA was formed in 1964 as the Second Vatican Council drew to a close, as the coming together of the American Society of St. Cecilia (founded 1874) and the St. Gregory Society (founded 1913). Thus does it inherit the rich history of these organizations. The amalgam in 1964 began a new chapter in the history of American Catholic music, alongside an affiliation with the Consociatio Internationalis Musicae Sacrae (Roma), established by Paul VI to shepherd musical developments in the U.S. following the Council.
The Church Music Association of America today provides support for all those interested in participating in the current revival of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony in Catholic liturgy. It is the most active organization today in sponsoring new writing and scholarship in the tradition of sacred music. A good example of our work is the Communio Project that makes available authoritative editions of Gregorian Chant for parish use.
It is the sponsor of the leading music colloquium on sacred music in the English speaking world. It is the publisher of Sacred Music, the oldest continuously published journal of music in North America. It makes possible a network of musicians, seminarians, and priests who are dedicated to the aesthetic and liturgical ideals of the Church.
