Beloved Sons,
We gladly speak to you and We want to thank and praise you for the excellent dispositions with which you will receive these words. Our discourse is prompted by Our deep esteem and affection for you, and also by the consideration and solicitude which Our Pontifical and Pastoral office ceaselessly demands in relation to the sacred Liturgy, "the apex and source of the Church's life" (Const. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 16). They express the need that we have of you, to combine the lofty aims of your movement with the advancement of religious communal life, as well as of the splendour of divine worship; they speak of the timeliness of a renewed "Italian Association of Saint Cecilia", working at the same time with coherence, open-mindedness and fidelity in the glorious tradition of Church singing and music, while it is conscious of the requirements of a living and improved worship and a pastoral liturgy, continually undergoing changes and becoming more effective.
Your work is taking place at an opportune time in the history of a reform, so wisely promoted by Vatican Council II. Already it has yielded excellent results in the field that concerns you more directly. New texts and melodies have been grafted on the old trunk; promising branches sprout under the breath of a spiritual springtime, which has visibly permeated the very life of the Church.
However, in such a renewal of sacred music and liturgical chant, grievous opposition and difficulties are not lacking. In the first place, we have not always succeeded in upholding, with due respect, the ancient and priceless heritage of the past; nor do the recent musical compositions always accord with the worthy tradition of the Church, a tradition which, from the point of view of culture, is still valuable. Moreover, simple and accessible compositions have been introduced; yet, they lack inspiration and nobility of expression; we are also facing a novel and bold experience, which leaves Us, to say the least, perplexed and dubious. It is up to you then to contribute to this difficult and urgent task of reasoning and judging; encouraging or checking, as needs be.
In the pursuit of such a task, it is necessary, above all else, that one keep in mind the function of sacred music and liturgical chant. Otherwise, vain would be the attempts at reform; impossible it would be to utilize in a correct and appropriate manner, the various elements of high and holy undertakings. These are, as you well know: Gregorian chant; sacred and profane polyphony; the organ and other musical instruments; texts in the vernacular or in Latin; sacred ministers, the "scholae cantorum" and the congregation; the official and popular church singing (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, chapter VI; the Sacred Congregation of Rites, Instr. de musica in sacra Liturgia, 1967).
Both music and singing are at the service of worship and subordinate to worship. Therefore they should at all times be fitting: lofty but simple; occasionally solemn and majestic: always as worthy as possible of the infinite sovereignty of God to Whom they are directed, and of the human mind of which they are the expression. They should enable the soul to contact the Lord, by awakening and expressing sentiments of praise, impetration, atonement; of joy and sorrow, hope and peace. What a rich gamut of inner melodies and of still more