Music in the early Church was a quiet affair, as we can easily understand when we think of the Roman persecutions that lasted 300 years. Catholics could hardly sing and play instruments at full volume during that time!
The Eastern Church—in Syria and Greece—wrote and sang hymns early on, but it was not until St. Hilary of Poitiers and St. Ambrose of Milan in the latter half of the 4th century that hymns traveled westward.
St. Hilary spent time among the Eastern Churches, and their hymns inspired him to write similar songs in Latin, set to a classic Latin meter.
After St. Hilary, St. Ambrose of Milan took up writing music. He modified the classic Latin meter to make his hymns appeal more readily to the laity. He used the hymns primarily as a weapon against heresy—especially the rampant Arianism—combining correct theology with elegant and appealing language. His hymns were so instrumental that he is known as the “Father of Church-song,” and hymns which followed his methods are called “Ambrosian Chant.”
Ambrose encouraged the laity to sing during the liturgy, as a joyful and solemn addition to prayer. For centuries, the song of the Church continued to be simple, beautiful hymns unaccompanied by any instrument.
The first instrument admitted into Church music was an ancestor of the pipe organ. Legend says that it was introduced by Pope Vitalian in the mid-6th century, but it did not become a popular ecclesiastical instrument until the 12th century—about a millennium after singing in church became widespread!
The influence of music in the Church continues to be strongly felt. Why is music so powerful? Why is it important for the music of the liturgy to be sacred music? Find the answers to these and many other questions about the Church’s music in Good Music, Sacred Music, and Silence. Compiled from the experience, knowledge, and research of Dr. Peter Kwasniewski—theologian, composer, and philosopher, to name a few of his designations—this book reveals the importance of music to the human soul. This impactful work is yours today from The Catholic Company!
