Organ and Sacred Music

Music is the pre-eminent sacred art of the Catholic Christian faith, ordered for the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful (Sacrosanctum Concilium, 112). The Church Fathers of the Second Vatican Council affirmed that the Church’s musical tradition is “a treasure of inestimable value.” This treasure exists only when music sounds forth in time and when human beings are able to make music with a body, mind, spirit, and voice, because “worship is given a more noble form…when celebrated solemnly in song.” Handing on faith, worship, and tradition from one generation to another depends on a sustained practice spanning generations – a gift of praise from one generation to the next.

For more than a thousand years, the pipe organ has been the foundation of this musical tradition. Its richly varied tone “colors” and sustained tone make it uniquely capable of supporting congregational singing and filling a large sacred space with glorious music. Its rich sound allows the mind to bypass more temporal tunes and distractions and instead, be lifted untethered to the praise of God. The organ embodies Beauty, Truth, and Goodness in both its architecture and its sound.

St. Edward has for many years been a model of excellence in its reverent care in celebrating the sacred liturgy, the source and summit of Christian life. Completing our beautiful church with an extraordinary pipe organ will bear fruit exponentially over the next century and beyond.