

Square Notes: The Sacred Music Podcast
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/
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/
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 12, 2022 • 51min
Capturing the Classical Polyphonic Sound: Historical Performance Practice for Parish Choirs - with Charles Weaver
What can a parish music director take away from historical research in terms of performance practice? Join Prof. Charles Weaver (Juilliard, CUNY) as we discuss phrasing, rhythm, vibrato, pitch, tuning, and other issues which inform the performance of Renaissance polyphony. To learn more about Prof. Weaver's work, please visit: https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/weaver-charles To download the app Prof. Weaver mentions, click here: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/pitch-trainer-harmonize/id965614965 To find out more about Prof. Weaver's summer class at St. Joseph's Seminary, please go to: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

May 8, 2022 • 39min
New Jobs and Early-Career Church Musicians: Starting Off on the Right Foot - with Sam Rowe
We can learn so much from listening to the experiences of others, and this is particularly true when it comes to starting a new job, or just getting started in a professional field. Join us for this episode as we discuss training and formative experiences that help church musicians start off on the right foot in a new job or in the field more generally. Samuel Rowe is here to discuss his journey to Catholicism, things he learned in college and grad school that were important in his development, and how he has been working to invest his time and talents as the director of music at the Basilica of the Assumption in Baltimore. To learn more about Sam's work, please visit: https://www.americasfirstcathedral.org/music/ To find out more about summer sacred music study at St. Joseph's Seminary, check out: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

May 6, 2022 • 44min
The Beuron School of Art: The Invention of a Modern Canon for Liturgical Art - with Emily Sottile
The search for new styles or canons of artistic expression in the liturgy throughout the 19th and 20th centuries produced varied results, with some styles possessing little beauty or appropriateness for the sacred liturgy, while others captured something timeless and beautiful while utilizing a modern artistic grammar. The Beuron School, centered at a German Benedictine abbey, is a representative of the latter, and produced artworks of enduring beauty. Join Emily Sottile, the director of the Sacred Space Studio at Evergreene Architectural Arts, as we explore the ideas and canons of Desiderius Lenz and Gabriel Wüger, the founders of the Beuronese School. To learn more about Emily's work, please visit: https://evergreene.com/people/emily-sottile/ To learn more about the summer sacred music program at St. Joseph's Seminary, go to: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

May 5, 2022 • 36min
Building Your Parish Choir’s Repertoire: Great Motets and Helpful Tips - with Dr. Aaron James
Looking for some great new repertoire for your parish choir? Join Dr. Aaron James from the Toronto Oratory as we discuss resources and tips for building up a body of pieces that your choir can sing well, and his suggestions for a few lesser-known motets that work well with amateur choirs. Check out the YouTube page of the Toronto Oratory here: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheTorontoOratory Learn more about Dr. James' music program here: https://oratory-toronto.org/holy-family-parish/choirs/ Find out more about summer sacred music courses at St. Joseph's Seminary here: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

May 2, 2022 • 59min
Secular Music at Mass: Understanding the Use of Worldly Tunes in Renaissance Polyphony - with Dr. Andrew Kirkman
Secular Music at Mass? In looking at how to deal with this issue now, it's important to understand how the Church and composers dealt with this issue in the past. Join us for an interview with Prof. Andrew Kirkman (University of Birmingham, Binchois Consort) as we look at the use of secular tunes in polyphonic masses of the 15th and early 16th centuries. Learn more about Prof. Andrew Kirkman here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/music/kirkman-andrew.aspx Check out the Binchois Consort here: https://www.binchoisconsort.com Find out more about the summer music program at St. Joseph's Seminary here: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

Apr 27, 2022 • 38min
Introducing People to Sacred Music: How to Plan a Great Event - with Janet Gorbitz
Are you interested in planning a really great event to introduce people to sacred music? This is the episode for you. We talk with Janet Gorbitz, General Manager of the Church Music Association of America, about the big idea behind an event, as well as the nuts and bolts of planning a successful workshop. Janet's project-planning booklet: https://sacredmusicpodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Chant-Workshop-Planning.pdf Check out the website of the CMAA here: https://musicasacra.com To learn more about summer sacred music courses at St. Joseph's Seminary, please visit https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

Apr 21, 2022 • 40min
What Does "Pastoral" Mean? Leadership and Service in Sacred Music with Archbishop Salvatore J Cordileone
Join us for our season opener as we discuss leadership, service, formation, and what the word "pastoral" really means with the Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone. For more information on the graduate summer sacred music program at St. Joseph's Seminary, visit https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

May 31, 2021 • 37min
SE03 EP14 – Historical Notation, and the Link between Meaning and Notation in Sacred Music – with Charles Weaver
What is the fundamental experience of music? How does a notated piece of music relate to that fundamental experience? What are the limits of musical notation in conveying sound? Why does all this matter for the Catholic musician? We look at these topics and more with Charles Weaver, who teaches in the historical performance program at Juilliard. To learn more about the class Professor Weaver is teaching this summer, Medieval & Renaissance Music Notation Practicum, please visit: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes

May 30, 2021 • 43min
SE03 EP13 – Meeting Your Spouse in Choir, Weddings, and Babies - with Theresa and Ben Volpe, Sam and Lauren Rowe, and Drs. Jacek and Jennifer Nowiccy
Join us for some good, old-fashioned love stories, the history behind finding a spouse in a Catholic choir, inspiration for lay vocations and family life, and the role singing can play in it all. Check out summer sacred music study at St. Joseph's Seminary: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes Take a look at the mission and work of the New York Metropolitan Catholic Chorale: https://nymcc.org

May 3, 2021 • 34min
SE03 EP12 – Saint Juan de Ribera, Devotion to the Eucharist, and the Importance of Prayer in Liturgical and Musical Renewal – with James Monti
We look to a great Spanish saint for inspiration in his holy life, devotion to the Most Blessed Sacrament, and his care for the sacred liturgy and its accompanying sacred arts. St. Juan de Ribera (1532–1611) is an inspiring example of establishing foundations which take seriously the role of beauty in cultivating worship in the faithful, and inspiring them to love Christ in all they do, and especially in the Eucharist. Join us for this conversation with James Monti, a true devotee of this great saint, as we look for inspiration in prayer and patronage of the sacred arts. Articles about St. Juan de Ribera: https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.14315/arg-2004-0108/html https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=4541898 Books about St. Juan de Ribera: https://www.google.com/books/edition/El_B_Juan_de_Ribera_y_el_R_Colegio_de_Co/FmkAAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 https://www.google.com/books/edition/Vida_del_beato_Juan_de_Ribera/eFmn2xPm3OUC?hl=en&gbpv=0 Writings of St. Juan de Ribera: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Constituciones_de_la_Capilla_del_Colegio/9gJcQwAACAAJ?hl=en Learn more about summer sacred music study at St. Joseph's Seminary: https://www.dunwoodie.edu/dunwoodie-music-classes