Sacred Music is the official journal of the Church Music Association of America, and the oldest continuously published journal of music in North America. It is the essential resource for every Church musician, professional or amateur, who is interested in the restoration of the sacred in Catholic liturgical life.
Sacred Music is a continuation of Caecilia (archives here), published by the Society of St. Caecilia since 1874, and The Catholic Choirmaster, published by the Society of St. Gregory of America since 1915. It is published quarterly by CMAA.
“The greatest need of liturgy today is the restoration of the sense of the sacred,” writes William Mahrt in his opening editorial to the Spring 2006 issue of Sacred Music (Volume 133, Number 1).
If you are interested in participating in the current revival of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony in Catholic liturgy, you need to join the Church Music Association of America and receive its flagship journal Sacred Music. With writers such as William Mahrt, Fr. Robert Skeris, Peter Phillips, Michael Lawrence, Kurt Poterack, Susan Treacy, Michael Procter, Kerry McCarthy, and many other experts and renowned scholars and journalists, it contains the best analysis on topics important to Catholic musicians:
- The method and theory of chant, with commentary on its theological and musical significance
- The history and meaning of classics in the polyphonic repertoire
- Important Church documents on music
- Articles on starting scholas, and on dealing with the trials, tribulations, and triumphs in parish life
- Commentary on the current state of music in parishes
- Seasonal suggestions for music in liturgy
- What the masters of sacred music from all times can teach us today
- Reviews of new books, music, and recordings
- News and events in the sacred music community
You will learn. You will be inspired. You will find the alternatives you have long sought in the world of Catholic music, and you will discover that you are not in this struggle alone.
You can receive Sacred Music by becoming a member of the CMAA. Who should join? Everyone interested in the cause of beautiful liturgy, including composers, organists, choir directors, cantors, and enthusiastic amateurs.
To join, see our membership page.
Here are some sample articles:
- A Chronicle of Reform, by Msgr. Richard Schuler
- Archives of Sacred Music
- Critical Reflections on the Divine Office, by Laszló Dobszay
- Gregorian Chant as a Paradigm, by William Mahrt
- Ideology and Liturgy, by Robert Skeris
- Liturgy and Church Music by Cardinal Ratzinger
- The Art of Gregorian Music, by Dom Mocquereau (1896)
- The Cult of the Conductor, by Peter Phillips
- The Mystery of the St. Louis Jesuits, by Jeffrey Tucker
- The Question of the Choral Sanctus, by Duane Galles
- The Reform of Church Music, by Justine Bayard Ward
- The Training of a Church Musician, by Schuler
- Theological Problems of Church Music, by Cardinal Ratzinger
- Toward a Revision of Music in Catholic Worship (W. Mahrt)
- William Byrd: A Celebration (ed. Richard Turbet)
Staff
Editor: Professor William Mahrt (Stanford University) (email)
Managing Editor: Professor Jennifer Donelson (St. Joseph’s Seminary, New York) (email)
Editor-at-Large: Professor Kurt Poterack (Christendom College) (email)
Contacts
Office of publication:
322 Roy Foster Rd.
McMinnville, TN 37110
Make checks payable to the Church Music Association of America.
Membership in the Church Music Association of America includes a subscription to Sacred Music. Send membership/subscription fees, and changes of address to the membership, circulation and advertising office:
Office of the Treasurer:
Church Music Association of America
322 Roy Foster Rd.
McMinnville, TN 37110
(email)
Submission information
Sacred Music accepts unsolicited submissions. We are interested in editorials on current topics in church music, analysis of current or historical documents, reports on parish life as it impacts pastoral liturgy, scholarly research concerning gregorian chant and classical polyphony, practical guides to sacred music, reports of concerts, reviews of new and older works, news reports, and letters to the editor. Send to submissions@musicasacra.com (format: .doc, single spaced, embedded footnotes). Here is the style sheet for submissions (updated 8/13/2017). Please note that lead time on publications varies based on multiple factors, and may range from a month or two up to a year.
Archives
We are pleased to offer on-line archives of the following journals:
- Sacred Music
- Caecilia (partial)
- Gregorian Review (partial)
