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Cantica sacra

exploring the rich legacy of sacred singing

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The motets of Anton Bruckner reveal an intense faith and “a mysterious sense of ‘rightness’”

St. Michael and the angels serve as God’s “heroes” and “weapons” in Bach’s stirring Michaelmas cantata

Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem and his four motets based on Gregorian melodies remind us how plainchant developed into polyphony, and demonstrate how the Church’s music can be both traditional and innovative.

The effects of modernity on many aspects of cultural life are widely acknowledged —  except the effects on music.

Heinrich Schütz’s parents wanted him to study law and get a steady job. Something else happened.

Composer Herbert Howells transformed the sound of Anglicanism in the 20th century

Poets & Translators whose words we sing

St. Ambrose (339-397)

Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894)

F. Bland Tucker (1895-1984)

Charles Wesley (1707-1788)

Recent Posts

  • Dec 07, 2019 Second Sunday in Advent (December 8, 2019)
  • Dec 07, 2019 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina: Conditor alme siderum
  • Dec 01, 2019 Celebrating Advent at St. John’s, Cambridge
  • Nov 30, 2019 First Sunday in Advent (December 1, 2019)
  • Nov 23, 2019 Sunday next before Advent (November 24, 2019)
  • Nov 16, 2019 Twenty-second Sunday after Trinity (November 17, 2019)

About our hymns

This mid-19th-century hymn was written to defend the Creed’s claims about the Church

This hymn was written as musical partner for the reading of I Corinthians 13.

There are too few hymns that celebrate Epiphany, but this unfamiliar text and tune deserve more familiarity

The story behind the text and the charming melody to “Dost thou in a manger lie”

Why “While shepherds watched” has been sung to more tunes than any hymn in history

You won’t recognize the original text to “How bright appears the Morning Star”

The origins of “O come, O come, Emmanuel”

The Church’s one Foundation

This hymn was written to defend the Creed’s depiction of the Body of Christ

MORE . . .

Lord, your eyes look for faith!

Bach’s cantata for the 10th Sunday after Trinity is a sober warning against failing to repent

MORE . . .

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