Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast
You’ve got questions about sacred music? Here’s your chance to learn what the Church teaches and envisions for music in the sacred liturgy.
Welcome to Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast with your host Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka. We address topics of interest both to priests and liturgical musicians, as well as a general audience of Catholics interested in learning more about the Catholic Church’s teachings and treasury of sacred music. Our topics range from discussion of Church documents on sacred music, to the music of certain composers or eras, Gregorian chant, the role of music in Catholic education, and techniques for directing a better choir rehearsal. We’ll interview bishops, priests, music directors, composers, teachers, philosophers, and theologians. We’ll talk to people who found a home in the Catholic Church because they heard the call of Christ in the Church’s sacred music. We’ll ask questions about how really great music programs are doing their work. We’ll introduce you to Catholics who love their faith and, through sacred music, offer all their efforts for his glory and the sanctification of all who hear them.
We aim for our podcast to be thoughtful, encouraging, and informative. We hope, too, that it will inspire and motivate you to work for the renewal of authentic beauty in sacred music—whether you’re a working church musician or an average Catholic in the pews wondering what’s going on. With the prayers of our patronesses, Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom and Saint Elisabeth of the Trinity, we hope to help draw souls to Christ through the beauty of the Church’s sacred music.
Square Notes is the official podcast of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music. http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/
Latest episodes
May 30, 2025 • 34min
SE07 EP12 - A Feast for Ear and Eye: The Alamire Manuscripts - with Dr. Emily Thelen
Join Dr. Emily Thelen as she takes us on a tour of the masterfully illuminated manuscripts of the Alamire collection of Renaissance manuscripts from the Low Countries, and explains to us the Confraternity culture of Catholic society that brought about such wonderful masterpieces. Learn more about Dr. Thelen's work here: https://independent.academia.edu/EmilyThelen Access the Integrated Database for Early Music here: https://idemdatabase.org/page/home Buy Dr. Thelen's book on Brussels 215-216 here: https://publications.alamirefoundation.org/en/leuven-library-of-music-in-facsimile/1164/llmf/1419/llmf-vol.-2-a-choirbook-for-the-seven-sorrows-study-studie Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: http://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/
Apr 25, 2025 • 57min
SE07 EP11 - A Church Musician’s Guide to the History of the Pronunciation of Latin - with Dr. John Pepino
Dr. John Pepino, a Greek and Latin instructor at Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary and dean of the Veterum Sapientia Institute, delves into the evolution of Latin pronunciation, tracing its journey from ancient roots to its ecclesiastical use today. He discusses St. Jerome's challenges with the Vulgate and the push against standardized texts. The conversation also highlights fascinating anecdotes about the tensions between traditional and modern pronunciations, revealing how these differences impact sacred music and contemporary liturgical practice.
Apr 23, 2025 • 41min
SE07 EP10 - Should Postludes Be Loud? And Other Organ Repertoire Questions for the Catholic Parish Organist - with Prof. Christopher Berry
Join us as we outline strategies for making playing great repertoire every Sunday and feast day possible, even if you're a really busy parish music director. Prof. Christopher Berry, who will be teaching the Organ Literature course this summer at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music takes us through some of the foundations for developing a game plan, the role the organist has in cultivating prayerfulness before and after Mass, and how to systematically work through Bach, among other topics. Find out more about Prof. Berry here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/faculty/ Learn more about the Organ Literature class and apply here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/
Apr 14, 2025 • 42min
SE07 EP09 - Meditating on the Mysteries of the Lives of Mary and Jesus: Music of Heinrich Bieber and Franz Joseph Haydn - with Fiona Hughes
Join Fiona Hughes, Artistic Director of Three Notch'd Road: The Virginia Baroque Ensemble as we discuss music which will help you meditate on the lives of Christ and Our Lady, as well as the Passion and Death of Christ. We talk about Heinrich Biber's Rosary Sonatas, as well as Franz Joseph Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ. Learn more about Three Notch'd Road here: https://www.tnrbaroque.org Listen to Three Notch'd Road, including the mentioned album Epiphany here: https://www.tnrbaroque.org/recordings/#epiphany Learn more and apply to the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's Summer Graduate Program here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/
Apr 9, 2025 • 39min
SE07 EP08 - A Catholic Curriculum: A Model Music Program in a Classical High School - with Dr. Alexis Kutarna
Looking for inspiration in building a Catholic school curriculum around the worship of God and the sacred arts? Join us for a discussion about the Ordinariate's Cathedral High School in Houston, Texas as Dr. Alexis Kutarna, Head of School, explains how they built both the building and structure of the school to support an encounter with Christ in the sacred liturgy, and how they build students up in Catholic culture for a formation in the truth, especially through beauty, virtue, and true leisure. Learn more about Cathedral High here: https://cathedral-hs.org/ Learn more about Dr. Kutarna here: https://cathedral-hs.org/people/alexis-kutarna Learn more about summer graduate study, including the Choral Institute, at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/ Learn more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: https://liturgysummit.org/
Mar 29, 2025 • 43min
SE07 EP07 - Is Formality Inauthentic or Insincere? Understanding Excellence in Ars Celebrandi in American Catholic Parishes - with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone
Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone, a prominent figure in liturgical practice and leader in the Catholic community, discusses the intricate meaning of 'ars celebrandi' and its relevance to worship. He highlights the central role of liturgy in faith and the balance needed for authentic worship. The conversation touches on reclaiming liturgical fasting and the importance of formality in enhancing spirituality. Cordileone also emphasizes the significance of attending the Sacred Liturgy Summit for learning and fellowship to enrich liturgical experiences.
Mar 25, 2025 • 47min
SE07 EP06 - The Liturgical Compositions and Eucharistic Poetry of St. Thomas Aquinas - with Fr. Innocent Smith, OP
Join Fr. Innocent Smith, OP, as he takes us on a tour of St. Thomas Aquinas' poetry and compositions for Corpus Christi. We discuss Aquinas' training in poetics, his liturgical horarium and experience, how the commission to write texts for Corpus Christ came about, and spend time on the rich theology and poetry of his works for the feast. Read more by Fr. Innocent here: https://dhs.academia.edu/InnocentSmithOP Learn more about summer study at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/ Learn more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: http://liturgysummit.org/
Mar 10, 2025 • 34min
SE07 EP05 - Short on Singers or Dough? Enter Concertato Motets. - with Dr. Janet Hunt
Discover a genre designed for choirs with limited forces and money with our guest, Dr. Janet Hunt. We discuss the origins of the concertato motet, various composer who composed in this genre, texts set, and liturgical use of the pieces. Dr. Janet E. Hunt, FAGO, received performance degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Southern Methodist University, and the University of North Texas. Equally proficient on organ and harpsichord, she has been a finalist in the Bodky Competition for Early Music twice, the Edinburgh Festival Harpsichord Competition, the SEHKS competition, and two appearances at the Prix André Marchal Competition in Biarritz, France. She has recorded two compact discs of works by César Franck and Louis Vierne. Dr. Hunt publishes editions of early 17th century sacred music for solo voices and organ at www.huntmusic.us, and had an article on the genre appear in the Summer, 2024 issue of Sacred Music. She is the organist at St. Anthony’s Parish in Allston, MA. Dr. Hunt recommends a few resources to help those who are developing their ability to play basso continuo. Here's a link to the free keyboard accompaniment book: https://forschung.schola-cantorum-basiliensis.ch/en/forschung/keyboard-accompaniment-1600.html The website for all things continuo is https://bassus-generalis.org Learn more about Catholic Institute of Sacred Music's summer graduate program here: https://forschung.schola-cantorum-basiliensis.ch/en/forschung/keyboard-accompaniment-1600.html
Mar 3, 2025 • 41min
SE07 EP04 - When and Why Did Ut Change to Do? And Other Historical Questions about Solfège - with Dr. Charles Weaver
Dr. Charles Weaver joins us to outline a history of solfège and the practical and theoretical knowledge that arises from employing the early hexachordal system to understanding and singing Gregorian chant. Learn more about Dr. Weaver here: https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/weaver-charles and here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/faculty/ Find out more about the summer graduate courses at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/
Feb 24, 2025 • 44min
SE07 EP03 - Singing the Credo: Historical Origins and Development - with Dr. Harrison Russin
What are the origins of the liturgical use of the Credo? Do we still have the original melodies to which it was sung? How did the singing of the Credo develop during the medieval period into the Renaissance? Dr. Harrison Russin joins us to answer these questions. Learn more about Dr. Russin here: https://www.svots.edu/people/rev-dn-dr-harrison-basil-russin Join the CMAA and get a subscription to Sacred Music journal here: https://churchmusicassociation.org/journal/ Find out more about the Fons et Culmen Sacred Liturgy Summit here: http://liturgysummit.org/ Find out more about summer graduate study at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/summer-courses/
