Best Square Notes The Sacred Music Podcasts (2025)

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SE07 EP11 - A Church Musician’s Guide to the History of the Pronunciation of Latin - with Dr. John Pepino 57:11

6d ago57:11

57:11

Looking for a historical and ecclesiastical framework by which to understand performance decisions about the pronunciation of Latin? Join Dr. John Pepino as he explains the origins of the Latin language and how we know anything about the pronunciation of classical Latin, describes the style and handing on of the golden age of Latin, discusses the r…

1
SE07 EP10 - Should Postludes Be Loud? And Other Organ Repertoire Questions for the Catholic Parish Organist - with Prof. Christopher Berry 40:30

8d ago40:30

40:30

Join us as we outline strategies for making playing great repertoire every Sunday and feast day possible, even if you're a really busy parish music director. Prof. Christopher Berry, who will be teaching the Organ Literature course this summer at the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music takes us through some of the foundations for developing a game p…

1
SE07 EP09 - Meditating on the Mysteries of the Lives of Mary and Jesus: Music of Heinrich Bieber and Franz Joseph Haydn - with Fiona Hughes 42:03

17d ago42:03

42:03

Join Fiona Hughes, Artistic Director of Three Notch'd Road: The Virginia Baroque Ensemble as we discuss music which will help you meditate on the lives of Christ and Our Lady, as well as the Passion and Death of Christ. We talk about Heinrich Biber's Rosary Sonatas, as well as Franz Joseph Haydn's Seven Last Words of Christ. Learn more about Three …

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SE07 EP08 - A Catholic Curriculum: A Model Music Program in a Classical High School - with Dr. Alexis Kutarna 39:24

22d ago39:24

39:24

Looking for inspiration in building a Catholic school curriculum around the worship of God and the sacred arts? Join us for a discussion about the Ordinariate's Cathedral High School in Houston, Texas as Dr. Alexis Kutarna, Head of School, explains how they built both the building and structure of the school to support an encounter with Christ in t…

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SE07 EP07 - Is Formality Inauthentic or Insincere? Understanding Excellence in Ars Celebrandi in American Catholic Parishes - with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone 42:38

1M ago42:38

42:38

What does the phrase ars celebrandi really mean and what does it have to do with the spiritual lives of priests and the lay faithful? What are means of acheiving excellence in ars celebrandi? Are there special challenges that American Catholics face in entering into the sacred liturgy celebrated well? Why is working to cultivate the reverent celebr…

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SE07 EP06 - The Liturgical Compositions and Eucharistic Poetry of St. Thomas Aquinas - with Fr. Innocent Smith, OP 47:29

1M ago47:29

47:29

Join Fr. Innocent Smith, OP, as he takes us on a tour of St. Thomas Aquinas' poetry and compositions for Corpus Christi. We discuss Aquinas' training in poetics, his liturgical horarium and experience, how the commission to write texts for Corpus Christ came about, and spend time on the rich theology and poetry of his works for the feast. Read more…

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SE07 EP05 - Short on Singers or Dough? Enter Concertato Motets. - with Dr. Janet Hunt 33:40

2M ago33:40

33:40

Discover a genre designed for choirs with limited forces and money with our guest, Dr. Janet Hunt. We discuss the origins of the concertato motet, various composer who composed in this genre, texts set, and liturgical use of the pieces. Dr. Janet E. Hunt, FAGO, received performance degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Southern Methodist University, a…

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SE07 EP04 - When and Why Did Ut Change to Do? And Other Historical Questions about Solfège - with Dr. Charles Weaver 41:20

2M ago41:20

41:20

Dr. Charles Weaver joins us to outline a history of solfège and the practical and theoretical knowledge that arises from employing the early hexachordal system to understanding and singing Gregorian chant. Learn more about Dr. Weaver here: https://www.juilliard.edu/music/faculty/weaver-charles and here: https://catholicinstituteofsacredmusic.org/fa…

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SE07 EP03 - Singing the Credo: Historical Origins and Development - with Dr. Harrison Russin 43:58

2M ago43:58

43:58

What are the origins of the liturgical use of the Credo? Do we still have the original melodies to which it was sung? How did the singing of the Credo develop during the medieval period into the Renaissance? Dr. Harrison Russin joins us to answer these questions. Learn more about Dr. Russin here: https://www.svots.edu/people/rev-dn-dr-harrison-basi…

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SE07 EP02 - How Did the Parts of the Mass Ordinary Get Arranged into Groups in the Kyriale? with Dr. Andrew Kirkman 36:17

2M ago36:17

36:17

How did we end up with a Kyriale in the Graduale Romanum, with its 18 Masses, group of Credos, and ad libitum section? Find out the specifics, as well as the general trends and conditions that brought about this organization in the liturgy. Find out more about Dr. Andrew Kirkman and his work here: https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/staff/profiles/music/k…

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SE07 EP01 - Building a Great School & Parish Sacred Music Program in a Rural Community - with Kelsey LaCour 52:33

3M ago52:33

52:33

We're back with season 7 and we've got an inspiring story of building up people, a parish and school, and fostering vocations through a sacred music education program and some elbow grease. Listeners can learn more about the program profiled in this episode, and access LaCour's free-use lesson plans and resources by visiting http://epiphanysacredmu…

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SE06 EP17 - The “Viennese” Orchestral Mass and the Work of Johann Michael Haydn - with Dr. Erick Arenas 37:09

11M ago37:09

37:09

The 18th century orchestral mass repertoire comes with all sorts of questions for the liturgical musician. Is this repertoire properly called "Viennese"? Does this music really fit, in style and length, with the sacred liturgy? What does the Church have to say about this style of music? Are there any of these Masses that I can do with my choir? Dr.…

1
SE06 EP16 - Music and the Eucharistic Revival - with Bishop Earl Fernandes 49:41

11M ago49:41

49:41

For Bishop Earl Fernandes of Columbus, Ohio, sacred music and the Eucharistic revival are inextricably linked. When he was consecrated bishop at age 49 in 2022, he was the U.S.'s youngest bishop, and his experience with sacred music as a young person involved a mix of typical U.S. parish music, but also special liturgical and musical experiences so…

1
SE06 EP15 - Medieval Irish Chant: Sources and Liturgical Practice - with Dr. Ann Buckley 44:44

11M ago44:44

44:44

What do we know about music in the earliest liturgies celebrated in Ireland? Did sacred music and the liturgy develop as a distinguishable "Celtic rite" in Ireland? What impact did the Church in Ireland, and specifically the monastic impact of Ireland, have on the European continent? We discuss these and other questions with Dr. Ann Buckley, a visi…

1
SE06 EP14 - Liberal Arts and Fine Arts: Understanding the Trivium, Quadrivium, and the Place of Music in Catholic Education - with Mark Langley 43:26

11M ago43:26

43:26

Having worked in Catholic classical education for decades, Mark Langley knows the place of music in Catholic education, and has built schools in which every student is enabled to learn and sing chant and polyphonic works from the Church's sacred music treasury. Join us for a discussion about where music figures into the educational structure, and s…

1
SE06 EP13 - What is Sacred Music, & Why Does It Matter? with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone 34:56

12M ago34:56

34:56

Join us for a discussion with the Archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore J. Cordileone, about principles every Catholic should learn so that they can think with the mind of the Church about sacred music. We discuss the purpose and nature of sacred music, how it sounds, what effect it has on us, and how it expresses time, culture, and emotions. To l…

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SE06 EP12 - The Final Flowering of Late Renaissance Venetian Choral Music - with Charles Cole and the London Oratory Schola 41:25

12M ago41:25

41:25

Charles Cole joins us with clips from the recent release of the London Oratory Schola's album, Sacred Treasures of Venice. We discuss the crucial role played by Venetian music in the history of sacred choral music, and the particularly fertile atmosphere at St. Mark's Basilica in Venice at the end of the 16th century. Learn more about the London Or…

1
SE06 EP11 - Sacred Music and the “Sunday Experience" - with Bishop Michael Barber, SJ 34:20

12M ago34:20

34:20

How does the experience of Mass on Sunday at a parish affect the lives of Catholics, and what role does music play in that experience? How does sacred music bridge the gap between people of different languages, ethnicities, and backgrounds? Why does the Church spend money on beautiful things instead of only on material goods for the poor? We tackle…

1
SE06 EP10 - Integrating Scholarship and Praxis in the Life of the Catholic Singer - with Dr Charles Weaver 37:57

1y ago37:57

37:57

Where did the chant editions we sing from now come from? What choices were made in the making of those editions? Are other variants of the melody possible? What are the rhythmic implications that can be gleaned from comparing the same melody in different manuscripts? Why do these questions matter to the modern Catholic singer of Gregorian chant? Wh…

1
SE06 EP09 - Gregorian Chant and the Art of Memory: Chant Books (Tonaries) and Florilegia - with Dr. Anna Maria Busse Berger 30:20

1y ago30:20

30:20

Join us as we talk about the interaction between music notation and memory, and the impact of that interaction on the spiritual lives of singers of Gregorian chant. Our guest is Dr. Anna Maria Busse Berger, Distinguished Professor of Music, emeritus, from UCDavis, and we dive into some of the topics from the first few chapters of her book, Medieval…

1
SE06 EP08 - The Sacramentality of Sound: Bells and Their Place in Catholic Life - with Fr. Christopher Gray and Carl Zimmerman 43:33

1y ago43:33

43:33

Join us as we dive into the role that bells have played throughout the history of Christianity in warding off evil and storms, signaling significant temporal and spiritual moments, and the consecration of bells in the Pontificale Romanum. Learn about the manufacturing process and the engineering behind getting bells to sound beautiful, and discover…

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SE06 EP07 - Your Questions, Answered: Liturgical Q&A about Sacred Music - with Christopher Carstens 44:12

1y ago44:12

44:12

Join the editor of Adoremus Bulletin, Christopher Carstens, and Dr. Donelson-Nowicka as they chat about answers to some liturgical-musical questions: Can we use the organ or other instruments during Lent? During Advent? Where should the choir be placed in a church? Is there a list of songs that are (or are not) permitted? Can paraphrased psalms be …

1
SE06 EP06 - 3 Warmups, 3 Motets, and 3 Polyphonic Masses Every Choir Should Learn - Choral Institute Preview - with Prof. Christopher Berry 36:42

1y ago36:42

36:42

What are 3 great warm-ups you'll be able to fit into your busy parish choir rehearsal schedule? What are 3 motets that most choirs don't do, but that are definitely worth learning? What are 3 polyphonic Mass Ordinaries my choir should learn? Prof. Christopher Berry, an adjunct professor of the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music answers these questi…

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SE06 EP05 - Tenebrae and the Lamentations of Jeremiah - with James Monti 33:02

1y ago33:02

33:02

Get ready for Holy Week with an episode about Tenebrae. Frequent author for Magnificat and The Wanderer, as well as multiple books available through Ignatius Press, James Monti, joins us to discuss the structure of Tenebrae, the historical origins of the particular practices surrounding Tenebrae, and the profound meaning in the Lamentations of Jere…

1
SE06 EP04 - Fundraising for an Amazing Sacred Music Program - with Dr. Lucas Tappan 47:59

1y ago47:59

47:59

Budget crunch at your parish? Limited funding for your planned children's program? Join us for a discussion about fundraising strategies that are workable, easily manageable, and make it possible for you to build an amazing sacred music program. We also discuss models for a multi-parish children's sacred music program. Our guest is Dr. Lucas Tappan…

1
SE06 EP03 - Marian Chant: The Music of Lady Masses - with Dr. William Mahrt 38:05

1y ago38:05

38:05

Join us as Dr. Mahrt explains the liturgical practices surrounding the Lady Mass, especially in medieval Salisbury Cathedral. We discuss the texts of the propers of Marian votive Masses as well as the tropes and chants of the Mass ordinary that developed from the daily Lady Mass. Dr. William Mahrt is a professor at Stanford University and serves on…

1
SE06 EP02 - It's All Greek to Me (Until It's Latin): The Evolution of Language in the Roman Rite - with Fr. Nicholas Schneider 38:39

1y ago38:39

38:39

What were the earliest language layers of the Roman rite, and how do we know? What is the relationship between liturgical language and everyday speech? When did the Roman rite switch from Greek to Latin? Find out the answers to these questions and more. Our guest is Fr. Nicholas Schneider, who holds a doctorate in sacred liturgy from the Atheneo St…

1
SE06 EP01 - Priests and Musicians Working Together: Salaries, Contracts, and All the Practical Stuff - with Michael Olbash 43:20

1y ago43:20

43:20

Join us as we discuss the expectations musicians and priests should have in working together, and some best practices for working out all the practical details. Our guest is Prof. Michael Olbash, director of sacred music at the Boston seminaries of St. John Seminary and Pope John XXIII Seminary. Learn more about the Catholic Institute of Sacred Mus…

1
SE05 EP16 - Charles Tournemire as Liturgical Organist: Improviser & Composer of L’Orgue Mystique with Kevin Faulkner 42:53

2y ago42:53

42:53

As he works on finishing up his biography of French Catholic organist, improviser, and composer Charles Tournemire, Kevin Faulkner joins us to discuss Tournemire's studies with Franck, his career as an organist, his improvisations, a look at his overall compositional output, focusing on works for the organ, and how his monumental composition L'Orgu…

1
SE05 EP15 - All about Rogation Days - with Dr. Michael Foley 23:57

2y ago23:57

23:57

Coming to you on April 25th, the Major Rogation Day, we're joined on this episode by Dr. Michael Foley, professor of patristics at Baylor University, to look at the origins of Rogation Days, as well as their meaning, liturgical and paraliturgical observances, and significance in our lives today. Check out Dr. Foley's books here: https://michaelpfol…

1
SE05 EP14 - Sanctifying Time: The Hours of the Divine Office through the Day and through the Liturgical Year - with Dr. William Mahrt 45:58

2y ago45:58

45:58

In the midst of Holy Week, we invite you to join Dr. William Mahrt (Stanford) for a tour in time through the lens of the Divine Office. We discuss theological thoughts on time by St. Augustine, natural vs. supernatural senses of time, the structure of the Divine Office throughout the course of one day, and the different intersecting cycles which ma…

1
SE05 EP13 - Becoming a Sacrifice of Praise: Advice for Choral Directors for Pursuing Musical Excellence & Developing a Polyphonic Repertoire in Parish Choirs - with Christopher Berry 51:52

2y ago51:52

51:52

Looking for fresh ideas about how to take your parish choir to the next level, developing a repertoire of well-prepared polyphonic motets and ordinaries, helping your singers develop their technique and musicianship, and integrate it all into the bigger spiritual picture of the offering of one's very self united to the sacrifice of Christ on the cr…

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SE05 Bonus 1 - The Role of Beauty and the Church's Sacred Music in the Spiritual Life, Intro to the Catholic Institute of Sacred Music - with Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka 52:15

2y ago52:15

52:15

We've combined two episodes here of another podcast, A Culture of Beauty with host Sequoia Sierra, in which our host, Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka was interviewed. She's talks a little bit about her experience of growing up Catholic and discovering the Church's teachings on music later in life, discusses some key concepts about that teaching and a…

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SE05 EP12 - The Lives and Musical Education of Child Oblates in Medieval Monasteries - with Dr. Susan Boynton 41:30

2y ago41:30

41:30

The medieval practice of the giving of children as oblates to monasteries affords valuable insights into education during the Middle Ages, as well as into the development of pedagogical techniques for teaching the liturgy, Latin, and sacred music to children. Join us for an episode in which Dr. Susan Boynton, Professor of Historical Musicology and …

1
SE05 EP11 - Lessons from Mary Berry on Persevering & Loving Gregorian Chant in the Midst of Trials - with Christopher Hodkinson 43:03

2y ago43:03

43:03

The remarkable life and work of Mary Berry is inspirational, especially for those experiencing trials or hardships as they work to promote the Church's own vision for Her sacred music. She offers lessons in persevering in one's vocation in the face of challenging circumstances, and the holiness that can and ought to flow from a life of scholarship,…

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SE05 EP10 - Teaching Gregorian Chant to Young People: The Canticle Apostolate - with Mary Ann Carr Wilson 40:03

2y ago40:03

40:03

Maybe you've thought about hosting a Chant Camp at your parish, or you're looking for ways to keep your young singers engaged as they grow up in the children's choir. The work of Mary Ann Carr Wilson and her apostolate Canticle is inspiring in the way it models catechesis through teaching chant, musical development, and the cultivation of student l…

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SE05 EP09 - Organ Improvisation, Hymn Tune Introits, and Cathedral Choir Schools - with Dr. Christoph Tietze 28:05

2y ago28:05

28:05

The long and impressive career of Dr. Christoph Tietze, Director of Music at St. Mary's Cathedral in San Francisco, makes for an interview that covers a lot of ground, including helpful tips for improving one's improvisation skills, steps to take if you're thinking about building a choir school, and an overview of his project on creating a collecti…

1
SE05 EP08 - Mocquereau’s “Classical Solesmes” School of Singing Chant: Understanding the Arguments about the Rhythm of Gregorian Chant – with Prof. Charles Weaver 42:19

2y ago42:19

42:19

Questions about how to sing Gregorian chant can get a little thorny when people who love the chant and have a lot of experience singing it get together. For a newcomer to chant, these questions can seem irrelevant or overwhelming, especially when it's not clear what people are so passionately discussing. In this interview with Prof. Charles Weaver …

1
SE05 EP07 - The Impact of the Council of Trent on Composers: The Case of Juan de Esquivel - with Dr. Michael O'Connor 36:39

2y ago36:39

36:39

What was it like for a Renaissance-era composer to navigate the liturgical changes of an ecumenical council, and to have a theological outlook on Our Lady's Immaculate Conception (later vindicated as the Church's own view) that was different from that of his episcopal employer? We look at these questions, and hear about the adventurous and interest…

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SE05 EP06 - Do College Composition Departments Prepare Composers to Write Sacred Music? The Story of a Composer's Evolution - with Dr. Frank La Rocca 55:49

2y ago55:49

55:49

Starting from the impact of a post-war style of academic training on his compositional voice through his search for a greater capacity for expression in the use of tonality, Dr. Frank La Rocca narrates the journey he took from the influences of the severe style cultivated in universities to the freedom he experienced in the strictures of writing a …

1
A Bishop's Guardianship of Beauty and the Liturgy: Reflections on the Liturgical Life of the Ordinariate - with Bishop Steven J. Lopes 46:03

2y ago46:03

46:03

His Excellency, Steven J. Lopes, Bishop of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter and Chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Divine Worship, offers reflections on the work of God in the sacred liturgy, the relationship of artistic beauty to the truths of the Catholic faith and a life of charity, as well as a bit about the formation of the Ordina…

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A Musical Offering: Reflections on Improvisation, Inspiration, and Harmony – with Naji Hakim 40:40

2+ y ago40:40

40:40

Our Christmas gift to you is one of the most special interviews we've yet had the opportunity to present on this podcast. Naji Hakim joins us to discuss the impact of the sounds of his youth on his musical imagination, his training as a young musician, his study with Jean Langlais, succeeding to Olivier Messiaen's post at La Trinité, and his own wo…

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Understanding and Preventing Church Musician Burnout – with Dr. Kensley Behel 39:51

2+ y ago39:51

39:51

When listing the most stressful jobs one can think, church musician doesn't immediately come to mind. Even so, there are a huge number of stressors that lead to frequent burnout and high turnover rates, impacting parish communities, and even the spiritual lives of musicians. Join Dr. Kensley Behel, an expert in musicians' health, as we discuss the …

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The Story of Musical Notation – with Dr. Thomas Forrest Kelly 45:26

2+ y ago45:26

45:26

Have you ever wondered where and how Western musical notation originated and developed? How did it affect the learning and teaching of music? What are the limitations and contributions of notation to how the music sounds? Join Dr. Thomas Forrest Kelly, the Morton B. Knafel Research Professor of Music at Harvard University and author of Capturing Mu…

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Improving Catholic School Masses and Catholic Identity in Education – with Fr. Christopher Smith 38:51

2+ y ago38:51

38:51

Looking for inspiration about how to improve lackluster liturgies in your Catholic school? Fr. Christopher Smith presents myriad ideas which instill the faith in families and children, give a strong structure to the school schedule and curriculum, and bring people into your Catholic community. Fr. Christopher Smith is pastor of Prince of Peace Cath…

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Music of the California Missions: Understanding the Construction of a Vibrant Musical Culture - with Dr. Craig H. Russell 49:27

3y ago49:27

49:27

How did the Franciscan missionaries of California engage the people they were evangelizing through music? How did their training in music enable their missionary work? What were the forms of music the missionaries used? What were the artistic cultures of the California missions like? Join us as we discuss these questions with Dr. Craig H. Russell, …

1
Paleography, the Semiological Approach to Singing Chant, and the Work of Dom Eugène Cardine – with Dr. Edward Schaefer 29:34

3y ago29:34

29:34

A leading expert in the work and approach to singing chant of Dom Eugène Cardine, Dr. Edward Schaefer (Collegium Sanctorum Angelorum) joins us to discuss the basics of semiology, the older styles of neumes, and how reading from these neumes can inform our singing of Gregorian chant. To learn more about Dr. Schaefer, please visit: https://www.edward…

1
Olivier Messiaen as Musical Theologian - with Dr. Robert Sholl 45:47

3y ago45:47

45:47

What are the limits of music in conveying meaning? Can one "do theology" musically? Join Dr. Robert Sholl (Royal Academy of Music) as we discuss Olivier Messiaen's search for a musical language which could convey the truths of the Catholic faith. Learn more about Dr. Sholl here: https://www.ram.ac.uk/people/robert-sholl Check out Dr. Sholl's work o…

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The Psalms as the Basis for Christian Sung Prayer: Exploring the Four Senses of Scripture in the Divine Office - with Dr. William Mahrt 52:45

3y ago52:45

52:45

Focusing firstly on the Psalms of Sunday vespers, Dr. Mahrt takes us through a tour of the Psalms and their antiphon pairings and how this helps us to understand the typological fulfillment of the Psalms in Christ, as well as the feasts of the liturgical year. We discuss the four senses of scripture and how singing the Divine Office opens up the me…

1
Capturing the Classical Polyphonic Sound: Historical Performance Practice for Parish Choirs - with Charles Weaver 51:13

3y ago51:13

51:13

What can a parish music director take away from historical research in terms of performance practice? Join Prof. Charles Weaver (Juilliard, CUNY) as we discuss phrasing, rhythm, vibrato, pitch, tuning, and other issues which inform the performance of Renaissance polyphony. To learn more about Prof. Weaver's work, please visit: https://www.juilliard…

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