Magnificat: an exploration of sacred music in the United States

The landscape of sacred music in the United States is broad and wide and cannot be neatly defined into a collective approach or style. The boundaries of Roman Catholic sacred music in America have been expanding further and further since the establishment of the liturgical reforms outlined by the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Sacrosanctum Concilium), and it was through this new sense of “freedom” that alternative styles of liturgical music emerged during the past 60 years. Interestingly, the state of Minnesota was at the center of this liturgical music revolution as composers associated with the University of St. Thomas, St. John’s University, and St. Catherine’s University composed a large portion of ‘new’ liturgical music. This article explores the musical trends of the past 60 years in the United States, and offers suggestions regarding the practice and education of sacred music in America and beyond.