Music literacy in the Church – an historical argument

In 1903, St Pius X wrote:

Special efforts are to be made to restore the use of the Gregorian Chant by the people, so that the faithful may again take a more active part in the ecclesiastical offices, as was the case in ancient times.

Motu Proprio Tra Le sollecitudini II.3. November 22, 1903

First, St Pius X clearly associated Gregorian Chant and a broad participation of the faithful in singing. Secondly, the singing in question is an “ecclesiastical office”. In other words, the liturgical, or ritual, nature of chant is emphasized.

The “Gregorian Chant” of the Motu Proprio was detailed in the 1898 Liber Usualis and 1908 Graduale Romanum, and its use “by the people” assumes the use of two Catholic inventions from the 11th century:

1- music notation was written on lines (staff), and

2- solfege which gave names to each note on the staff.

• Before these inventions, it took decades for a cantor to learn the music of the mass, and it could only be done orally.
• Staff lines and solfege allowed music to be printed and learned from books, at much greater speed. Music literacy was born. The short video at this link tells that story in details. The success of Western music in the past ten centuries, across all world cultures would not have been possible without staff lines and solfege.

They were also used in Catholic worship, of course: the two pictures above illustrate church choirs of laypeople at different periods (19th century in the center, 18th on the left, the book on the right is from the 16th century). In Catholic France, liturgical choirs were even called “Lutrin” from the lectern they were reading from. Music literacy is as Catholic as it gets.

St Pius X’s vision for sacred music was re-affirmed by the Second Vatican Council in 1963, on the 60th anniversary of Tra Le Solicitudine:

112. Roman Ponfiffs, (…) in recent times, led by St Pius X, have explained more precisely the ministerial function supplied by sacred music in the service of the Lord.

116. The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy, therefore (…) it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.

117. The typical edition of the books of Gregorian Chant is to be completed; and a more critical edition is to be prepared of those books already published since the restoration by St Pius X.

Sacrosanctum Concilium, Second Vatican Council, December 4th 1963

Yet, most catholic choirs in our 21st century learn music mostly orally, mostly by rote, the same way pre-11th century cantors were trained. As a consequence, 120 years after his Motu Proprio, the “people” are singing a minuscule portion of the “Ecclesiastical offices” envisioned by St Pius X. And the Church’s liturgy books (see the 1962 or 1974 Roman Gradual) are reserved to experts, just as they were before solfege was popularized.

Why? It is beyond our scope to answer definitely. However it is important to realize the implications of considering music as an Ecclesiastical office, that is liturgical, ritual in contrast to music as an art. When it is liturgical, music serves the creator of the universe. When an art, music serves mankind, a creature. The same music can be both ritual and artistic. But from an artistic viewpoint, ritual music is indeed a limited use of something much larger, while from a liturgical viewpoint, music is a “necessary and integral part of the solemn liturgy” (SC.112), itself the source and summit of life as a christian. As an art, it can be reserved for experts, but every faithful catholic needs music for their edification, to foster their piety and for their religious formation. (To read more on this topic, read here an excerpt from Joseph Gelineau’s “Voices and Instruments in Christian worship” or St John Paul II’s “letter to the artists”).

This is why the Church has trained her own musicians throughout her history. Except recently. Most musicians active in the church today were trained in secular universities, with an artistic viewpoint of music, not a liturgical one.

So is music literacy out of reach to 21st century catholics who do not graduate in music? No. Now as in the 11th century, Square notes and solfege, which we present here as the “Movable Do” method, are the simplest technologies to learn to sing the mass. The Movable Do can even be practiced following the hierarchy in degrees in the liturgical books: first, second and third degrees (See Musicam Sacram 28-31).

Ready to start on the path to music literacy? It is as easy as following 1-2-3 below.

Want to read more? Try our Pragmatic argument and our Moral argument for music literacy (links coming soon).

1- Test yourself: can you learn solfege?

2- Introduction the MOVABLE DO METHOD

3- MOVABLE DO EXERCISES – A SUM-UP

Practicing solfege with the Parish Book of Chant (dialogues and ordinary)

Practicing solfege with the Parish Book of Chant (Latin chant hymns)

Practicing solfege with the 2011 Roman Missal (ICEL)

Practicing solfege with the book of compline

Practicing solfege with a Catholic Book of Hymns

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