https://tanbooks.com/content/3006_Preview.pdf

{"num_reviews":6,"url":"https://tanbooks.com/products/books/good-music-sacred-music-and-silence-three-gifts-of-god-for-liturgy-and-for-life/","add_this":[{"service":"","annotation":""}],"gtin":null,"id":"3759","can_purchase":true,"meta_description":"Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence: Three Gifts of God for liturgy and for Life","category":["Books/Become a Saint/Spiritual Direction","Books/Occasions /Gifts","Books/Become a Saint/Prayer & Meditation","St. Benedict's Feast Day Sale","Keep Your Lenten Promises"],"AddThisServiceButtonMeta":"","main_image":{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/3759/9228/3006__00845.1677085862.jpg?c=1","alt":"Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence: Three Gifts of God for Liturgy and for Life"},"add_to_wishlist_url":"/wishlist.php?action=add&product_id=3759","custom_fields":[{"id":"50446","name":"Product Format","value":"Hardcover"},{"id":"50447","name":"Author","value":"Peter Kwasniewski, PhD"},{"id":"50448","name":"Publish Date","value":"6/20/2023"},{"id":"55983","name":"Pages","value":"344"},{"id":"56003","name":"Pdf","value":"https://tanbooks.com/content/3006_Preview.pdf"},{"id":"56279","name":"Imprint","value":"TAN Books"}],"sku":"3006","description":"<p>More is at stake in the music we listen to or perform than most people are aware. In this vivacious and challenging work, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski&mdash;a philosopher, theologian, composer, conductor, and singer&mdash;explains why the great classical music of Western civilization is morally and intellectually good for us, as well as why certain other forms of music can actually be harmful.</p>\n<p>Kwasniewski then offers a defense of the magnificent treasury of sacred music in the Latin-rite Catholic Church and shows how well-suited it is to divine worship, especially the incomparable art form known as Gregorian chant. Questioned and abandoned in recent tumultuous decades, this outstanding heritage of beauty&nbsp;deserves to&nbsp;be restored for profound theological and spiritual reasons, a restoration our times are at last beginning to see as old prejudices fade away. Kwasniewski issues a poignant <em>crie de c&oelig;ur</em> in favor of restoring the glorious sacred music of our tradition to every Roman Catholic church on the earth. No genuine liturgical renewal or deep Eucharistic revival can occur until this happens: music is&nbsp;<em>that important.</em></p>\n<p>Finally, Kwasniewski shows how silence is&nbsp;as valuable as&mdash;indeed,&nbsp;at times,&nbsp;more valuable than&mdash;even the greatest music, precisely because music at its best opens the way to&nbsp;encountering&nbsp;a reality that transcends all we can say or sing.</p>\n<p>Written to be accessible to the non-specialist, <strong><em>Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence: Three Gifts of God for Liturgy and for Life</em></strong> will benefit all Catholics, other Christians, and even aesthetically curious nonbelievers who wish to explore the art of music in general, its role in human life, its effects on morality, and its inspired and inspiring function in religion. Kwasniewski's wide-ranging erudition and sound argumentation provide essential musical guidance for clergy, musicians, teachers, and parents.</p>\n<p>\n<script src=\"https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/jj9e3j6clz.jsonp\" async=\"\"></script>\n<script src=\"https://fast.wistia.com/assets/external/E-v1.js\" async=\"\"></script>\n</p>\n<p><span class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_jj9e3j6clz popover=true popoverAnimateThumbnail=true\" style=\"display: inline-block; height: 225px; position: relative; width: 400px;\">&nbsp;</span></p>\n<p>&nbsp;</p>\n<p>\n<script src=\"https://fast.wistia.com/embed/medias/8tforzd16w.jsonp\" async=\"\"></script>\n<script src=\"https://fast.wistia.com/assets/external/E-v1.js\" async=\"\"></script>\n</p>\n<p><span class=\"wistia_embed wistia_async_8tforzd16w popover=true\" style=\"display: inline-block; height: 224px; position: relative; width: 398px;\">&nbsp;</span></p>","tags":[],"warranty":"","price":{"without_tax":{"formatted":"$29.95","value":29.95,"currency":"USD"},"tax_label":"Tax"},"height":"9.00","detail_messages":"","availability":"","page_title":"Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence: Three Gifts of God for Liturgy and for Life","cart_url":"https://tanbooks.com/cart.php","max_purchase_quantity":0,"mpn":null,"upc":"9781505122282","options":[{"id":4331,"type":"Configurable_PickList_Set","display_name":"Format","required":true,"state":"variant_option","partial":"set-rectangle","condition":true,"values":[{"id":8470,"label":"Hardcover","selected":true,"data":"Hardcover"},{"id":10609,"label":"eBook","selected":false,"data":"eBook"},{"id":10683,"label":"MP3 Audio Download","selected":false,"data":"MP3 Audio Download"}]}],"related_products":[{"id":3862,"sku":"TE2305","name":"Good Music (eBook)","url":"https://tanbooks.com/digital/ebooks-audiobooks/good-music-sacred-music-and-silence-ebook/","availability":"","rating":0,"brand":null,"category":["Books/General /eBooks & Audiobooks"],"summary":"How do I live a truly good life?&nbsp;That, in many respects, is&nbsp;the&nbsp;question we all must ask ourselves and answer. As always, even in our post-Christian society, Christ is the answer, and...","image":{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/3862/9747/3006__00845__79322.1686248122.jpg?c=1","alt":"Good Music (eBook)"},"images":[{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/3862/9747/3006__00845__79322.1686248122.jpg?c=1","alt":"Good Music (eBook)"}],"date_added":"Feb 13th 2023","pre_order":false,"show_cart_action":true,"has_options":false,"stock_level":null,"low_stock_level":null,"qty_in_cart":0,"custom_fields":[{"id":55981,"name":"Product Format","value":"eBook"}],"num_reviews":0,"weight":{"formatted":"0.00 LBS","value":0},"demo":false,"add_to_cart_url":"https://tanbooks.com/cart.php?action=add&product_id=3862","price":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$9.98","value":9.98},"tax_label":"Tax"},"add_to_wishlist_url":"/wishlist.php?action=add&product_id=3862"},{"id":3904,"sku":"TA2656","name":"Good Music (MP3 Audio Download)","url":"https://tanbooks.com/digital/good-music-mp3-audio-download/","availability":"","rating":0,"brand":null,"category":["Books/General /eBooks & Audiobooks"],"summary":"How do I live a truly good life?&nbsp;That, in many respects, is&nbsp;the&nbsp;question we all must ask ourselves and answer. As always, even in our post-Christian society, Christ is the answer, and...","image":{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/3904/10192/GoodMusic_AudioCover__37656.1694701469.jpg?c=1","alt":"Good Music (MP3 Audio Download)"},"images":[{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/3904/10192/GoodMusic_AudioCover__37656.1694701469.jpg?c=1","alt":"Good Music (MP3 Audio Download)"}],"date_added":"Mar 27th 2023","pre_order":false,"show_cart_action":true,"has_options":false,"stock_level":null,"low_stock_level":null,"qty_in_cart":0,"custom_fields":[{"id":56089,"name":"Product Format","value":"MP3 Audio Download"}],"num_reviews":0,"weight":{"formatted":"0.00 LBS","value":0},"demo":false,"add_to_cart_url":"https://tanbooks.com/cart.php?action=add&product_id=3904","price":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$14.95","value":14.95},"tax_label":"Tax"},"add_to_wishlist_url":"/wishlist.php?action=add&product_id=3904"},{"id":2554,"sku":"2124-GROUPED","name":"The Gift of Oneself: Surrendering Oneself to God as a Way of Life","url":"https://tanbooks.com/products/books/the-gift-of-oneself/","availability":"","rating":5,"brand":null,"category":["Books/General /Life & Family"],"summary":"The Gift of Oneself will be for many a fresh, new approach to spirituality: an appeal to generous souls to offer themselves to God as a gift that is at once fitting—since He has given us all we are...","image":{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2554/1564/1564__39601.1675951610.jpg?c=1","alt":"The Gift of Oneself: Surrendering Oneself to God as a Way of Life"},"images":[{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2554/1564/1564__39601.1675951610.jpg?c=1","alt":"The Gift of Oneself: Surrendering Oneself to God as a Way of Life"}],"date_added":"Jul 22nd 2020","pre_order":false,"show_cart_action":true,"has_options":true,"stock_level":null,"low_stock_level":null,"qty_in_cart":0,"custom_fields":[{"id":52401,"name":"Author","value":"Fr. Joseph Schryvers, CSsR"},{"id":52403,"name":"Imprint","value":"TAN Books"},{"id":52406,"name":"Pages","value":"208"},{"id":52408,"name":"Publication Date","value":"11/1/2008"},{"id":52411,"name":"Product Format","value":"Paperbound"}],"num_reviews":1,"weight":{"formatted":"0.60 LBS","value":0.6},"demo":false,"price":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$15.95","value":15.95},"price_range":{"min":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$9.95","value":9.95},"tax_label":"Tax"},"max":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$15.95","value":15.95},"tax_label":"Tax"}},"tax_label":"Tax"},"add_to_wishlist_url":"/wishlist.php?action=add&product_id=2554"},{"id":2652,"sku":"2428-GROUPED","name":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church","url":"https://tanbooks.com/products/books/real-music-a-guide-to-the-timeless-hymns-of-the-church/","availability":"","rating":0,"brand":null,"category":["Books/Tradition/Church History","Books/General /Life & Family"],"summary":"Real Music is a comprehensive and fascinating guide, in print and song, to the great hymns of the Church. It shows that, unlike much of what is sung in too many Catholic churches today, good music,...","image":{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2652/7629/7629__00776.1675951621.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church"},"images":[{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2652/7629/7629__00776.1675951621.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church"},{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2652/4152/4152__26576.1675951614.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church"},{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2652/4151/4151__77067.1675951613.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church"},{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2652/4150/4150__14115.1675951612.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church"},{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2652/4155/4155__70476.1675951618.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church"}],"date_added":"Jul 22nd 2020","pre_order":false,"show_cart_action":true,"has_options":true,"stock_level":null,"low_stock_level":null,"qty_in_cart":0,"custom_fields":[{"id":52593,"name":"Author","value":"Anthony Esolen, PhD"},{"id":52594,"name":"Imprint","value":"TAN Books"},{"id":52595,"name":"Pages","value":"296"},{"id":52596,"name":"Publication Date","value":"12/7/2016"},{"id":52597,"name":"Product Format","value":"Paperbound"}],"num_reviews":0,"weight":{"formatted":"1.05 LBS","value":1.05},"demo":false,"price":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$24.95","value":24.95},"price_range":{"min":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$9.95","value":9.95},"tax_label":"Tax"},"max":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$24.95","value":24.95},"tax_label":"Tax"}},"tax_label":"Tax"},"add_to_wishlist_url":"/wishlist.php?action=add&product_id=2652"},{"id":2486,"sku":"TE7042","name":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church (eBook)","url":"https://tanbooks.com/products/books/real-music-a-guide-to-the-timeless-hymns-of-the-church-ebook/","availability":"","rating":0,"brand":null,"category":["Books/Tradition/Church History","Books/General /eBooks & Audiobooks"],"summary":"Real Music is a comprehensive and fascinating guide, in print and song, to the great hymns of the Church. It shows that, unlike much of what is sung in too many Catholic churches today, good music,...","image":{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2486/7630/7630__26290.1666799909.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church (eBook)"},"images":[{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/2486/7630/7630__26290.1666799909.jpg?c=1","alt":"Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church (eBook)"}],"date_added":"Jul 22nd 2020","pre_order":false,"show_cart_action":true,"has_options":false,"stock_level":null,"low_stock_level":null,"qty_in_cart":0,"custom_fields":[{"id":49390,"name":"Product Format","value":"eBook"},{"id":49394,"name":"File URL","value":"2426-Real-Music.epub"}],"num_reviews":0,"weight":{"formatted":"0.00 LBS","value":0},"demo":false,"add_to_cart_url":"https://tanbooks.com/cart.php?action=add&product_id=2486","price":{"without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$5.00","value":5},"non_sale_price_without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$9.95","value":9.95},"sale_price_without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$5.00","value":5},"rrp_without_tax":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$9.95","value":9.95},"saved":{"currency":"USD","formatted":"$4.95","value":4.95},"tax_label":"Tax"},"add_to_wishlist_url":"/wishlist.php?action=add&product_id=2486"}],"shipping_messages":[],"rating":5,"reviews":{"messages":[],"total":6,"end":6,"start":1,"list":[{"name":"Christine Guarnieri, OFS","rating":"5","title":"A very interesting proposal. Dr. K delves into the philosophy of music. As always, Dr. K is eminently readable.","text":"I have earned a post-grad degree in Music and was never taught many of the ideas in this book. I highly recommend it.","date":"Oct 25th 2023"},{"name":"David Bissonnette","rating":"5","title":"Goodness of Musical Form Inspires Ascendency to Holiness","text":"This book is a true treasure-trove of beauty and spiritual insight. Kwasniewski’s masterpiece, its far-reaching influence, is rooted in a deep understanding of the importance of nourishing our souls on beauty. The quest for beauty in the arts, and more specifically music, can influence and direct a society’s hunger to ascend to virtue and to a well lived life. It was the philosopher A.N. Whitehead who advanced that truth is necessary for the genesis of beauty, but that both truth and goodness become valuable and meaningful only when combined with beauty; in that sense, proposes Kwasniewski, music forms character. So then, when a society or culture begins to reject truth and goodness, it is not long before beauty in that culture begins to erode. Dr Kwasniewski thesis on the importance of good music, sacred music and silence carries these philosophical truths in his depiction of a declining society precipitated by a cultural embrace of impoverished music, reaching deep into divine worship, where the traditional loss of Gregorian chant has set ablaze the framework for souls to move into a deep meditation and contemplation of the divine. Kwasniewski’s book is a brilliant philosophical, theological and sociological examination of popular and modern church music as powerful vectors of disordered change in Western culture, and contemporary Christian, and particularly Catholic worship. He makes the case that modern church music does not have the liturgical purpose and sacral characteristics that have traditionally drawn the faithful into an untroubled and quiet contemplation of God. This book is a masterpiece and a joy to read. I highly recommend it. You will never understand nor appreciate music in the same way again.","date":"Aug 30th 2023"},{"name":"Dr. Patrick J. Brill, Ph.D.","rating":"5","title":"Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence by Dr. Peter Kwasniewski","text":"\r\n REVIEW\r\n\r\n As implied by the title, this work is divided into three parts: the first deals with good music, as opposed to bad music (yes, Virginia, there is bad music). The good music is about the classics of the great Western art music tradition, and the bad music is mostly contemporary pop/rock and its immediate ancestors. The second part of the book is concerned with the highest liturgical sacred music, that is, the traditional sacred music of the Roman Catholic Church; and the third, the implications of periods of silence, both as a means of deeper spiritual contemplation, and in \r\nmusic, in its effect on the liturgy, specifically in the Canon and the Communion of the Catholic High Mass.\r\n In the first part, Dr. Kwasniewski wisely approaches his analysis using the principles and methods of Thomistic scholasticism, with its emphasis on axioms, evidence, logic, experience, and realist epistemology. The author examines the problems with contemporary music from a strictly philosophical perspective, showing us that with the use of human reason, the wisdom of the ancients, and experience, one can discern the root causes of the problems with this ubiquitous contemporary pop/rock music that permeates and pollutes almost every facet of our culture.\r\n Dr. Kwasniewski also shows us that this music is symptomatic of profound cultural decline, precisely what we are now experiencing in the contemporary world, with its widespread rejection of the transcendental properties of being: truth, goodness, and beauty. The rejection of these three transcendentals is due to the fatal embrace of relativism, a false and self-contradictory philosophy that teaches that truth is subjective, and is thus neither subject to the rules of evidence, nor even of self-evident axioms; that moral rectitude (goodness) has no absolute grounding and is thus merely whatever one wants it to be; and third, that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” such that relativized beauty \r\nis whatever you personally want to think is beautiful, and is not based on any objective foundation of reality. All of these points are symptomatic of a corrupt culture in serious decline, and one that many advanced civilizations of the past experienced in the last desperate gasps of existence before their ultimate fall and utter destruction. \r\n Although his work is not the first to criticize pop/rock music, as there are many books, documentaries, and movies in the recent past that have focused on the various problematic aspects of pop/rock music (one thinks immediately of the documentary &quot;Hells Bells&quot;), these many works have explicated primarily extrinsic factors, such as \r\nmixing pop/rock with the use of illicit drugs, illicit sex, the occult, and the blatant devil-worship found in “acid rock” and especially in “heavy metal” rock “music.” However, few analyses have focused on the direct and most serious causes, that is, the intrinsic defects of pop/rock music. Here is the great value of this first part, for it shows beyond all reasonable doubt that the evil in pop/rock music is precisely caused by barbaric, obnoxious, mindless, and relentlessly repeated syncopated rhythmic patterns—incessantly pounded out by loud drums with amplified instruments over and \r\nover again ad nauseam! Long exposure to this defective rhythmic activity can lead, over time, to a kind of subtle hypnosis that, among other things, opens the mind to the influences of the demonic in varying degrees, including, in some cases, actual demonic possession. Even worse, though, it also foments revolution, especially against God’s laws \r\nof truth, moral goodness, and divine beauty, and crowns its rebellion with the fatal Luciferian exclamation: “non serviam” (“I will not serve.”), that reduces to a “do what you like” philosophy of life, which, incidentally, is the first principle of The Satanic Bible and the teachings of British satanist Aleister Crowley: “Do what thou wilt is the whole of the law.”\r\n In order to remedy this situation, Dr. Kwasniewski lays out the vastly superior and magnificent characteristics of the Western classical music tradition (before, of course, the onset of the fatuous cacophony of the early 20th Century avant-garde.) He shows that syncopation, in itself, is not evil, provided that it is balanced properly with non-syncopated rhythms, and other principles such as order, integrity, proportion, and the like: in sum, all of the characteristics of Western classicism as applied to music. He also provides, near the end of this section, a chapter on\r\nmany helpful suggestions for acquiring the exposure, familiarization, and true appreciation of the great works of Western classical music, especially for those without an adequate familiarity of the music of the great composers.\r\n In the second part of his book, Dr. Kwasniewski, who is a devout Roman Catholic, turns to the highest music man can create: the music of the Roman Catholic liturgy. This is the largest section of the book by far, and contains, like the first section, a perspicacious diagnosis of what went wrong, and continues to go wrong, with Catholic sacred music in the wake of the most disastrous general council in the history of Catholicism: Vatican II. He first shows us that many Catholic prelates, as well as all too many Church musicians have gone against the traditional principles of the praxis of Catholic sacred music. This is because wittingly or unwittingly, they have ushered into the Catholic liturgy the very same pop/rock rubbish (only set to sacred texts), that the author so skillfully destroyed in the first section of his work. The primary excuse given for this catastrophe is that it is all done in the name of the “Spirit of Vatican II,” which “spirit” blatantly contradicts the traditional praxis and teachings on the sacred music of the Catholic Church, even though, in some cases, a few of these traditional principles of sacred music (that somehow survived the Modernist evisceration of tradition) find their way into the Vatican II document on the liturgy: &quot;Sacrosanctum Concilium&quot; of 1965. \r\n The author then aims his laser at the two principal fallacies that underpin this insufferable disaster in the Catholic Church: 1) the fallacy that bad music set to bad words can somehow be made good music by re-setting the music to good words, in this case, good words found in Sacred Scripture, or from the approved prayers of the Church; and 2) the fallacy that music without words is of itself harmless, innocent sound with no ill effects, no moral consequences, \r\nno influence, and no spiritual power of any kind over the hearts and minds of human beings. The author then destroys the notion that by setting such abominations as “rap music” or “heavy metal” “music,” or even the standard shallow, insipid, adolescent, and stupid-sounding pop/rock music to sacred texts, that somehow, this music becomes—like magic--appropriate for the liturgy of the Church. Pop/rock music is intrinsically bad music in and of itself, and the \r\nliturgy should never contain any semblance of such music. Bad music can never become good music by merely setting it to good texts, because the texts are not the per se cause of the bad rhythms, and in spite of the texts—good or bad—the music still remains intrinsically bad. Good music set to an evil text would also be bad, but for a different reason—in this case, the evil is caused per se by the text. A bad text set to bad music would be the highest form of bad music. Even worse, all of this is done in the name of being “relevant to the times,” as if the great timeless \r\nCatholic sacred music classics of the past are now today somehow completely irrelevant and meaningless! What insufferable rubbish!\r\n After Dr. Kwasniewski demolishes these fallacies, he takes up the solution for correcting this truly tragic \r\nsituation. In several chapters, the author refers us to the pre-Conciliar documents of Pope St. Pius X, Pope Benedict XV, Pope Pius XI, and Pope Pius XII on the correct praxis of Catholic sacred music. Here, the author begins by showing the importance of Gregorian chant, 16th Century polyphony, and modern Catholic sacred polyphony as defined in these papal documents. Since Gregorian chant is the foundation of Catholic Church music, and indeed, the foundation of Western classical music, he includes some very detailed and fascinating chapters on the chant. \r\nAdditionally, he also recognizes that the Church wishes to promote sacred polyphony (both 16th Century and \r\nmodern), and encourages this music, as do the papal documents, in the traditional sacred liturgy of the Church.\r\n The author also recognizes that some of the traditional praxis of Catholic sacred music finds its way into the principal Vatican II document on the liturgy: &quot;Sacrosanctum Concilium&quot; of 1965, as well as in the documents of certain post-Conciliar popes, such as Paul VI, John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. However, some readers might find this objectionable, as there are some principles that are simply irreconcilable, and thus constitute a rupture, and not a continuity as such, for example, the principle in &quot;Sacrosanctum Concilium&quot; that allows for the use of some vernacular in \r\nthe liturgy. The reform of Pius X would never have allowed this measure. (In my opinion, on this point, the Council Fathers of Vatican II were simply flat out wrong.) Nevertheless, the author shows us that he is cognizant of these problems caused by the ongoing crisis in the Church, with its egregious confusion, and he is sympathetic to the many Catholics who are at different levels of experience and understanding of this crisis. He thus points out that despite the many problems, there are some important correspondences among the Conciliar and post-Conciliar documents to the traditional praxis of Catholic sacred music. This crisis, of course, will take time to be resolved, and will most likely be corrected by a future general council, which will clarify and then formally condemn this great diabolical confusion in the Church.\r\n In the third part, the author examines the concept of silence in general, as well as silence in music, particularly in certain parts of the Catholic liturgy. In this section, Dr. Kwasniewski rightfully criticizes the incessant and obnoxious sounds (both “musical” and non-musical noise), all around us every day, almost everywhere one goes, as if silence has been eternally banned from planet earth. This is because to develop a genuine spiritual life, some silence is truly necessary for one’s spiritual growth. This applies as well to the spiritual life of the Church. \r\n He then relates this to the traditional Latin Tridentine Mass with its organic periods of silence for mystical \r\ncontemplation, as opposed to the typical &quot;Novus Ordo Missae&quot; in which the priests, acolytes, and musicians busy themselves such that there is hardly a moment of silence, as if silence in the liturgy, even for a short time, means that there is somehow a of lack of active participation as defined by the all-omniscient, self-appointed interpreters of the “Spirit of Vatican II.” Never mind that the pre-Conciliar, and even Conciliar and some post-Conciliar documents show us that one very important species of active participation is internal active participation. The “Spirit of Vatican II,” however, would have us believe that active participation is only external, and, God forbid, can never be internal in \r\nany way. This “Spirit of Vatican II” blather, of course, is complete nonsense and obviously contrary to the Church’s true teaching.\r\n Finally, Dr. Kwasniewski gives us some suggestions for utilizing internal, as well as external active participation. He does this in the context of the Traditional Latin High Mass, by suggesting that we study the tradition of the all (or mostly) silent Canon. In the not-so-distant past, this was a more common practice, and for the entire (or almost entire) time it took the priest to say the Canon of the Mass, there was all (or mostly) silence, except for the bell at the &quot;Hanc igitur,&quot; and the several bells at the elevation of the two sacred consecrated species of the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ. The author believes that this practice should be revived and would elicit more contemplation, especially interior active participation, in the traditional High Mass. However, he is not opposed to an occasional Canon with a very soft (and very short) organ post-Elevation meditation, which would then constitute the only sacred music played during the Canon. He also believes that some silence during the Communion, and/or post-Communion would also contribute to this desirable and felicitous contemplation.\r\n In summary, this is an important work for our time, in which the culprit of pop/rock music, as well as the \r\nproliferation of noise in general is exposed and analyzed for its malevolent effects on contemporary society, as well as on the current crisis in the Roman Catholic Church. Yet, we need not despair, for Dr. Kwasniewski demonstrates how all of this can be overcome with prayer, education, experience, exposure, and familiarization with the great musical \r\nclassics of Western civilization, especially the sacred liturgical music of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as with the practice of a well-integrated liturgical silence.\r\n","date":"Aug 7th 2023"},{"name":"Stan Metheny","rating":"5","title":"Excellent summary and helpful advice","text":"Peter Kwaskniewski has assembled a number of his essays and columns on the subject of sacred music and related aspects into a full-length book. Regular readers of Kwaskniewski’s writings in various print publications and online sites will find this book familiar territory. While the book does not weave the individual parts into a smoothly flowing sequence, the overall impact of his ‘medley of meditations and an arsenal of arguments’ is very strong in making the case that the reality of absolute truth in beauty should apply to music, especially in the sacred liturgy, as it should to all the arts. One underlying theme recurrs throughout: the rule of relativism must end in both sacred and secular music. \r\n\r\nIn making this case, he attempts a task that is certainly Herculean and many might think Sisyphean. But he undertakes it, as he does in all his writings, as a labour of love. The essays range from the philosophical basis of his arguments for objectivity to their practical application and back again. Throughout, his passionate love for the authentic good of the Church permeates his writing, even when he is presenting logical, philosophical, and theological arguments for objectivity in evaluating and choosing authentic sacred music. Much of the book flows from his own personal experiences and history, which leads to some limitations of his world view in some narrow aspects. But even if one disagrees over some specifics, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It is an effective and affective apologia pro vita sua. \r\n\r\nNormally I have limited interest in apologetics, which is Kwaskniewski’s stock in trade. I know firsthand the personal and collective pain and suffering described in many of these essays. The harsh trauma of 29 November 1964 is one that caused me great depression over many decades. It’s not something easily or quickly healed. I’ve come to believe that the only real solution to the liturgical malaise resulting from the normative banal disasters that the ever fewer Catholics who still go to Sunday Mass must endure is a return to living the Roman rite day in and day out. Only from this can one truly discovery the power of the liturgy to inform and shape one’s life into conformity with Christ’s body, crucified and risen. \r\n\r\nBut the fact is that this opportunity won’t happen, at least in my lifetime, for more than a relative handful of Catholics. And since very few people living today have had the luxury of growing up with a strong and living liturgical parish life in the Roman rite as I was privileged to enjoy, Kwasniewski’s painstaking descriptions of the problems and his outlines for possible ways forward are vital and necessary to a generation who have now lost their corporate memory after the theft of their birthright. Even fewer have the joy of being part of a lively and growing congregation led by a pastor fully dedicated to the celebration of the traditional Roman rite in both Holy Mass and Divine Office. So I know very well that, after decades of being in a liturgical wilderness then out of it then in again, I am now in a place of rare privilege. For the many, who don’t enjoy that privilege, this book both serves as an important guide to understanding the what and why of the problem we face today in liturgical music and offers practical advice for those who are willing and able to make use of it. The essays offer a rational basis for many things the serious reader feels instinctively as a practicing Catholic. In fact, one of Kwasniewski’s most important contributions to the life of the Church today is that he articulates very well that rational basis, and puts paid to the false notion that the preference for the traditional Roman rite among the old is nostalgia and among the young is an affectation. He explains clearly that there is a very solid basis in reality for its superiority. \r\n\r\nHis practical advice will also be of interest to people who are willing to recognize their need to improve their understanding of and appreciation for great music, secular as well as sacred, and take steps to do so. Most, though obviously not all, of the same principles apply to both. In this regard, his well-written summaries of the philosophical and psychological bases for how music affects us are valuable even apart from its service in the sacred liturgy. It’s not uncommon for the experience of great music to move us from the realm to time to the timeless, a realm eternal. That happens because truly authentic music, like truly authentic liturgy, is timeless. Its effects endure beyond the experience of the moment. We are subtly—or not so subtly—changed: by good music for the better, by bad music for the worse. This is even more the case for music in the sacred liturgy, where our eternal salvation is at stake. His calls for an examination of conscience in this area should be taken seriously. And his bibliography offers a good selection of material for further reading. ","date":"Jul 26th 2023"},{"name":"Books April Reads","rating":"4","title":"Interesting and Thought Provoking","text":"This book is a very in depth look at music, the kind we listen to for pleasure, what we hear at Mass, what messages we are receiving when we listen to music.\r\n\r\nWe also learn about sacred music. This is the part that was most fascinating to me. I love sacred music, often listen to it at home, and love when it is playing in our parish. \r\n\r\nThen there is silence. Silence has its own purpose and I have to admit I agreed several times with the author about how there are times silence is needed, especially at certain points during the Mass. \r\n\r\nI will have to read this book again to take in all that is shared within its pages. Dr. Kwasniewski presents a lot of information on an easy to understand way. I truly believe every music director for a church should read it. I learned so much just from my first reading of it and also had plenty to think about to as it pertains to my own experiences and opinions.\r\n\r\nThank you to TAN Books for the copy of this book. All views are my honest opinion.","date":"Jul 19th 2023"},{"name":"Anthony Jones","rating":"5","title":"Dr. Kwasniewski at his very best","text":"I have found so much to savor in this book. In many ways, it is Dr. Kwasniewski at his best: eloquent writing, a humble but firm exposition of the intersection between liturgy and life (in this case, music), and intrepid conclusions.\r\n\r\nYou can tell Dr. Kwasniewski has spent decades immersed in the world of music, on both an experiential and academic level. His deep familiarity with other sources allows him to integrate the most powerful quotations into his writing. For instance, he mentions Roger Scruton’s description of music as a “character-forming force,” which highlights the power of music to draw us outside of ourselves.\r\nWhile reflecting on this passage, I was reminded of the all-encompassing experience of ecstasy Dr. Kwasniewski wrote about in another great book, “The Ecstasy of Love in the Thought of Thomas Aquinas.” Reading “Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence” has helped me see music—particularly sacred music—as a gateway to union with God, an encounter with divine Love.\r\n\r\nI’m certainly not an expert in music, and my musical habits are not where I want them to be. But I think this book is helpful no matter where you’re at. It will help refine your musical tastes (both sacred and secular) and inspire you to listen to good music. Your ears (&amp; your soul) will be grateful!","date":"Jun 23rd 2023"}]},"bulk_discount_rates":[],"meta_keywords":"","show_quantity_input":1,"title":"Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence: Three Gifts of God for Liturgy and for Life","gift_wrapping_available":false,"min_purchase_quantity":0,"customizations":[],"images":[{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/3759/9228/3006__00845.1677085862.jpg?c=1","alt":"Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence: Three Gifts of God for Liturgy and for Life"},{"data":"https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-iuax7bpgx3/images/stencil/{:size}/products/3759/9227/3006_3D__67238.1677085862.jpg?c=1","alt":"Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence: Three Gifts of God for Liturgy and for Life"}],"width":"6.00"}