Music of the Catholic Rite

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

A study of the music composed for the Mass, the Office hours (primarily Vespers), and the Requiem Mass from the Middle Ages to the present day. The musical repertoire of each era is examined both from a purely musical standpoint and in light of the reactions of various popes, from John XXIII through Pius X, to the sacred music of their day. Documents on sacred music issued after Vatican II also are examined in relation to postconciliar church music for both the choir and the congregation.