Contemporary

Catholic Music Genres

There are many categories and styles of Catholic music. Here is a list which is being fine-tuned as we go along. Some summaries are drawn from Google AI Overviews.

1) Gregorian chant: Church music sung as a monophonic (single vocal line) in free rhythm and a restricted scale (plainsong), in a style developed for the medieval Latin liturgy. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, with later additions and redactions.

2) Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque sacred music: Medieval sacred music, like Gregorian chant, was primarily monophonic and unaccompanied. The Renaissance saw the rise of complex polyphony, with more voices, larger choirs, and new forms like the mass and motet, often supported by the church and the printing press. The Baroque era introduced... 

Contemporary Catholic music is streamed here courtesy of our affiliated site Catholic Music Express

Catholic Mass Music Debate: Should Hymns With Doctrinal Errors Be Banned?

YouTube video: https://youtu.be/05zuFm9FLps

From Gregorian chant to praise and worship, EWTN News Reporter Mark Irons gives a listening ear to the Catholic Mass music debate and why one diocese banned certain hymns for a time.

A related discussion on traditional vs. contemporary, as well as what is docrtinally and musically acceptable, is here at the Musica Sacra Forum: 

Market Pivot Toward Tradition in OCP's Heritage Missal
https://forum.musicasacra.com/forum/discussion/22485/market-pivot-toward-tradition-in-ocps-heritage-...

For reference, here is the USCCB paper mentioned in the YouTube video:

Catholic Hymnody at the Service of the Church: An Aid for Evaluating Hymn Lyrics
usccb.org/resources/Catholic%20Hymnody%20at%20the%20Service%20of%20the%20Church_0.pdf
Published by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, September 2020

Watch the video, read the YouTube comments, read the Musica Sacra forum discussion, and comment below.

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