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Title: |
Inter Sollicitudines (also called "Tra Le Sollecitudini")
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Descr.: |
On Sacred Music
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Pope: |
Pope St. Pius X
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Date: |
November 22, 1903
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Among
the cares of the pastoral office, not only of this Supreme Chair,
which We, though unworthy, occupy through the inscrutable
dispositions of Providence, but of every local church, a leading
one is without question that of maintaining and promoting the
decorum of the House of God in which the august mysteries of
religion are celebrated, and where the Christian people assemble
to receive the grace of the Sacraments, to assist at the Holy
Sacrifice of the Altar, to adore the most august Sacrament of the
Lord's Body and to unite in the common prayer of the Church in the
public and solemn liturgical offices. Nothing should have place,
therefore, in the temple calculated to disturb or even merely to
diminish the piety and devotion of the faithful, nothing that may
give reasonable cause for disgust or scandal, nothing, above all,
which directly offends the decorum and sanctity of the sacred
functions and is thus unworthy of the House of Prayer and of the
Majesty of God. We do not touch separately on the abuses in this
matter which may arise. Today Our attention is directed to one of
the most common of them, one of the most difficult to eradicate,
and the existence of which is sometimes to be deplored in places
where everything else is deserving of the highest praise - the
beauty and sumptuousness of the temple, the splendor and the
accurate performance of the ceremonies, the attendance of the
clergy, the gravity and piety of the officiating ministers. Such
is the abuse affecting sacred chant and music. And indeed, whether
it is owing to the very nature of this art, fluctuating and
variable as it is in itself, or to the succeeding changes in
tastes and habits with the course of time, or to the fatal
influence exercised on sacred art by profane and theatrical art,
or to the pleasure that music directly produces, and that is not
always easily contained within the right limits, or finally to the
many prejudices on the matter, so lightly introduced and so
tenaciously maintained even among responsible and pious persons,
the fact remains that there is a general tendency to deviate from
the right rule, prescribed by the end for which art is admitted to
the service of public worship and which is set forth very clearly
in the ecclesiastical Canons, in the Ordinances of the General and
Provincial Councils, in the prescriptions which have at various
times emanated from the Sacred Roman Congregations, and from Our
Predecessors the Sovereign Pontiffs.
It
is with real satisfaction that We acknowledge the large amount of
good that has been effected in this respect during the last decade
in this Our fostering city of Rome, and in many churches in Our
country, but in a more especial way among some nations in which
illustrious men, full of zeal for the worship of God, have, with
the approval of the Holy See and under the direction of the
Bishops, united in flourishing Societies and restored sacred music
to the fullest honor in all their churches and chapels. Still the
good work that has been done is very far indeed from being common
to all, and when We consult Our own personal experience and take
into account the great number of complaints that have reached Us
during the short time that has elapsed since it pleased the Lord
to elevate Our humility to the supreme summit of the Roman
Pontificate, We consider it Our first duty, without further delay,
to raise Our voice at once in reproof and condemnation of all that
is seen to be out of harmony with the right rule above indicated,
in the functions of public worship and in the performance of the
ecclesiastical offices. Filled as We are with a most ardent desire
to see the true Christian spirit flourish in every respect and be
preserved by all the faithful, We deem it necessary to provide
before anything else for the sanctity and dignity of the temple,
in which the faithful assemble for no other object than that of
acquiring this spirit from its foremost and indispensable font,
which is the active participation in the most holy mysteries and
in the public and solemn prayer of the Church. And it is vain to
hope that the blessing of heaven will descend abundantly upon us,
when our homage to the Most High, instead of ascending in the odor
of sweetness, puts into the hand of the Lord the scourges
wherewith of old the Divine Redeemer drove the unworthy profaners
from the Temple.
Hence,
in order that no one for the future may be able to plead in excuse
that he did not clearly understand his duty and that all vagueness
may be eliminated from the interpretation of matters which have
already been commanded, We have deemed it expedient to point out
briefly the principles regulating sacred music in the functions of
public worship, and to gather together in a general survey the
principal prescriptions of the Church against the more common
abuses in this subject. We do therefore publish, motu proprio and
with certain knowledge, Our present Instruction to which, as to a
juridical code of sacred music (quasi a codice giuridice della
musica sacra), We will with the fullness of Our Apostolic
Authority that the force of law be given, and We do by Our present
handwriting impose its scrupulous observance on all.
Instruction
on Sacred Music
I.
General Principles
1.
Sacred music, being a complementary part of the solemn liturgy,
participates in the general scope of the liturgy, which is the
glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the
faithful. It contributes to the decorum and the splendor of the
ecclesiastical ceremonies, and since its principal office is to
clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the
understanding of the faithful, its proper aim is to add greater
efficacy to the text, in order that through it the faithful may be
the more easily moved to devotion and better disposed for the
reception of the fruits of grace belonging to the celebration of
the most holy mysteries.
2.
Sacred music should consequently possess, in the highest degree,
the qualities proper to the liturgy, and in particular sanctity
and goodness of form, which will spontaneously produce the final
quality of universality.
It
must be holy, and must, therefore, exclude all profanity not only
in itself, but in the manner in which it is presented by those who
execute it.
It
must be true art, for otherwise it will be impossible for it to
exercise on the minds of those who listen to it that efficacy
which the Church aims at obtaining in admitting into her liturgy
the art of musical sounds.
But
it must, at the same time, be universal in the sense that while
every nation is permitted to admit into its ecclesiastical
compositions those special forms which may be said to constitute
its native music, still these forms must be subordinated in such a
manner to the general characteristics of sacred music that nobody
of any nation may receive an impression other than good on hearing
them.
II.
The Different Kinds of Sacred Music
3.
These qualities are to be found, in the highest degree, in
Gregorian Chant, which is, consequently the Chant proper to the
Roman Church, the only chant she has inherited from the ancient
fathers, which she has jealously guarded for centuries in her
liturgical codices, which she directly proposes to the faithful as
her own, which she prescribes exclusively for some parts of the
liturgy, and which the most recent studies have so happily
restored to their integrity and purity.
On
these grounds Gregorian Chant has always been regarded as the
supreme model for sacred music, so that it is fully legitimate to
lay down the following rule: the more closely a composition for
church approaches in its movement, inspiration and savor the
Gregorian form, the more sacred and liturgical it becomes; and the
more out of harmony it is with that supreme model, the less worthy
it is of the temple.
The
ancient traditional Gregorian Chant must, therefore, in a large
measure be restored to the functions of public worship, and the
fact must be accepted by all that an ecclesiastical function loses
none of its solemnity when accompanied by this music alone.
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.
4.
The above-mentioned qualities are also possessed in an excellent
degree by Classic Polyphony, especially of the Roman School, which
reached its greatest perfection in the fifteenth century, owing to
the works of Pierluigi da Palestrina, and continued subsequently
to produce compositions of excellent quality from a liturgical and
musical standpoint. Classic Polyphony agrees admirably with
Gregorian Chant, the supreme model of all sacred music, and hence
it has been found worthy of a place side by side with Gregorian
Chant, in the more solemn functions of the Church, such as those
of the Pontifical Chapel. This, too, must therefore be restored
largely in ecclesiastical functions, especially in the more
important basilicas, in cathedrals, and in the churches and
chapels of seminaries and other ecclesiastical institutions in
which the necessary means are usually not lacking.
5.
The Church has always recognized and favored the progress of the
arts, admitting to the service of religion everything good and
beautiful discovered by genius in the course of ages - always,
however, with due regard to the liturgical laws. Consequently
modern music is also admitted to the Church, since it, too,
furnishes compositions of such excellence, sobriety and gravity,
that they are in no way unworthy of the liturgical functions.
Still,
since modern music has risen mainly to serve profane uses, greater
care must be taken with regard to it, in order that the musical
compositions of modern style which are admitted in the Church may
contain nothing profane, be free from reminiscences of motifs
adopted in the theaters, and be not fashioned even in their
external forms after the manner of profane pieces.
6.
Among the different kinds of modern music, that which appears less
suitable for accompanying the functions of public worship is the
theatrical style, which was in the greatest vogue, especially in
Italy, during the last century. This of its very nature is
diametrically opposed to Gregorian Chant and classic polyphony,
and therefore to the most important law of all good sacred music.
Besides the intrinsic structure, the rhythm and what is known as
the conventionalism of this style adapt themselves but badly to
the requirements of true liturgical music.
III.
The Liturgical Text
7.
The language proper to the Roman Church is Latin. Hence it is
forbidden to sing anything whatever in the vernacular in solemn
liturgical functions - much more to sing in the vernacular the
variable or common parts of the Mass and Office.
8.
As the texts that may be rendered in music, and the order in which
they are to be rendered, are determined for every liturgical
function, it is not lawful to confuse this order or to change the
prescribed texts for others selected at will, or to omit them
either entirely or even in part, unless when the rubrics allow
that some versicles of the text be supplied with the organ, while
these versicles are simply recited in the choir. However, it is
permissible, according to the custom of the Roman Church, to sing
a motet to the Blessed Sacrament after the Benedictus in a solemn
Mass. It is also permitted, after the Offertory prescribed for the
Mass has been sung, to execute during the time that remains a
brief motet to words approved by the Church.
9.
The liturgical text must be sung as it is in the books, without
alteration or inversion of the words, without undue repetition,
without breaking syllables, and always in a manner intelligible to
the faithful who listen.
IV.
External Form of the Sacred Compositions
10.
The different parts of the Mass and the Office must retain, even
musically, that particular concept and form which ecclesiastical
tradition has assigned to them, and which is admirably brought out
by Gregorian Chant. The method of composing an introit, a gradual,
an antiphon, a psalm, a hymn, a Gloria in excelsis, etc., must
therefore be distinct from one another.
11.
In particular the following rules are to be observed:
(a)
The Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, etc., of the Mass must preserve the
unity of composition proper to the text. It is not lawful,
therefore, to compose them in separate movements, in such a way
that each of these movements form a complete composition in
itself, and be capable of being detached from the rest and
substituted by another.
(b)
In the office of Vespers it should be the rule to follow the
Caeremoniale Episcoporum, which prescribes Gregorian Chant for the
psalmody and permits figured music for the versicles of the Gloria
Patri and the hymn.
It
will nevertheless be lawful on greater solemnities to alternate
the Gregorian Chant of the choir with the so called falsi-bordoni
or with verses similarly composed in a proper manner.
It
is also permissible occasionally to render single psalms in their
entirety in music, provided the form proper to psalmody be
preserved in such compositions; that is to say, provided the
singers seem to be psalmodising among themselves, either with new
motifs or with those taken from Gregorian Chant or based upon it.
The
psalms known as di concerto are therefore forever excluded and
prohibited.
(c)
In the hymns of the Church the traditional form of the hymn is
preserved. It is not lawful, therefore, to compose, for instance,
a Tantum ergo in such wise that the first strophe presents a
romanza, a cavatina, an adagio and the Genitori an allegro.
(d)
The antiphons of the Vespers must be as a rule rendered with the
Gregorian melody proper to each. Should they, however, in some
special case be sung in figured music, they must never have either
the form of a concert melody or the fullness of a motet or a
cantata.
V.
The Singers
12.
With the exception of the melodies proper to the celebrant at the
altar and to the ministers, which must be always sung in Gregorian
Chant, and without accompaniment of the organ, all the rest of the
liturgical chant belongs to the choir of levites, and, therefore,
singers in the church, even when they are laymen, are really
taking the place of the ecclesiastical choir. Hence the music
rendered by them must, at least for the greater part, retain the
character of choral music.
By
this it is not to be understood that solos are entirely excluded.
But solo singing should never predominate to such an extent as to
have the greater part of the liturgical chant executed in that
manner; the solo phrase should have the character or hint of a
melodic projection (spunto), and be strictly bound up with the
rest of the choral composition.
13.
On the same principle it follows that singers in church have a
real liturgical office, and that therefore women, being incapable
of exercising such office, cannot be admitted to form part of the
choir. Whenever, then, it is desired to employ the acute voices of
sopranos and contraltos, these parts must be taken by boys,
according to the most ancient usage of the Church.
14.
Finally, only men of known piety and probity of life are to be
admitted to form part of the choir of a church, and these men
should by their modest and devout bearing during the liturgical
functions show that they are worthy of the holy office they
exercise. It will also be fitting that singers while singing in
church wear the ecclesiastical habit and surplice, and that they
be hidden behind gratings when the choir is excessively open to
the public gaze.
VI.
Organ and Instruments
15.
Although the music proper to the Church is purely vocal music,
music with the accompaniment of the organ is also permitted. In
some special cases, within due limits and with proper safeguards,
other instruments may be allowed, but never without the special
permission of the Ordinary, according to prescriptions of the
Caeremoniale Episcoporum.
16.
As the singing should always have the principal place, the organ
or other instruments should merely sustain and never oppress it.
17.
It is not permitted to have the chant preceded by long preludes or
to interrupt it with intermezzo pieces.
18.
The sound of the organ as an accompaniment to the chant in
preludes, interludes, and the like must be not only governed by
the special nature of the instrument, but must participate in all
the qualities proper to sacred music as above enumerated.
19.
The employment of the piano is forbidden in church, as is also
that of noisy or frivolous instruments such as drums, cymbals,
bells and the like.
20.
It is strictly forbidden to have bands play in church, and only in
special cases with the consent of the Ordinary will it be
permissible to admit wind instruments, limited in number,
judiciously used, and proportioned to the size of the place - provided the composition and accompaniment be written in grave and
suitable style, and conform in all respects to that proper to the
organ.
21.
In processions outside the church the Ordinary may give permission
for a band, provided no profane pieces be executed. It would be
desirable in such cases that the band confine itself to
accompanying some spiritual canticle sung in Latin or in the
vernacular by the singers and the pious associations which take
part in the procession.
VII.
The Length of the Liturgical Chant
22.
It is not lawful to keep the priest at the altar waiting on
account of the chant or the music for a length of time not allowed
by the liturgy. According to the ecclesiastical prescriptions the
Sanctus of the Mass should be over before the elevation, and
therefore the priest must here have regard for the singers. The
Gloria and the Credo ought, according to the Gregorian tradition,
to be relatively short.
23.
In general it must be considered a very grave abuse when the
liturgy in ecclesiastical functions is made to appear secondary to
and in a manner at the service of the music, for the music is
merely a part of the liturgy and its humble handmaid.
VIII.
Principal Means
24.
For the exact execution of what has been herein laid down, the
Bishops, if they have not already done so, are to institute in
their dioceses a special Commission composed of persons really
competent in sacred music, and to this Commission let them entrust
in the manner they find most suitable the task of watching over
the music executed in their churches. Nor are they to see merely
that the music is good in itself, but also that it is adapted to
the powers of the singers and be always well executed.
25.
In seminaries of clerics and in ecclesiastical institutions let
the above-mentioned traditional Gregorian Chant be cultivated by
all with diligence and love, according to the Tridentine
prescriptions, and let the superiors be liberal of encouragement
and praise toward their young subjects. In like manner let a
Schola Cantorum be established, whenever possible, among the
clerics for the execution of sacred polyphony and of good
liturgical music.
26.
In the ordinary lessons of Liturgy, Morals, and Canon Law given to
the students of theology, let care be taken to touch on those
points which regard more directly the principles and laws of
sacred music, and let an attempt be made to complete the doctrine
with some particular instruction in the aesthetic side of sacred
art, so that the clerics may not leave the seminary ignorant of
all those subjects so necessary to a full ecclesiastical
education.
27.
Let care be taken to restore, at least in the principal churches,
the ancient Scholae Cantorum, as has been done with excellent
fruit in a great many places. It is not difficult for a zealous
clergy to institute such Scholae even in smaller churches and
country parishes nay, in these last the pastors will find a very
easy means of gathering around them both children and adults, to
their own profit and the edification of the people.
28.
Let efforts be made to support and promote, in the best way
possible, the higher schools of sacred music where these already
exist, and to help in founding them where they do not. It is of
the utmost importance that the Church herself provide for the
instruction of her choirmasters, organists, and singers, according
to the true principles of sacred art.
IX.
Conclusion
29.
Finally, it is recommended to choirmasters, singers, members of
the clergy, superiors of seminaries, ecclesiastical institutions,
and religious communities, parish priests and rectors of churches,
canons of collegiate churches and cathedrals, and, above all, to
the diocesan ordinaries to favor with all zeal these prudent
reforms, long-desired and demanded with united voice by all; so
that the authority of the Church, which herself has repeatedly
proposed them, and now inculcates them, may not fall into
contempt.
Given
from Our Apostolic Palace at the Vatican, on the day of the Virgin
and martyr, St. Cecilia, November 22, 1903, in the first year of
Our Pontificate.
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