Replies

Here is yet another "response" from the SSPX web site regarding whether or not women are allowed to sing in the choir.

PART I. Can women be permitted to sing in the choir in church?

Sorry, Des, it seems you cannot sing at the Tridentine Rite. The principles are given by Pope Saint Pius X in his motu proprio on the restoration of Sacred Music, and in particular of the ancient Gregorian Chant. This document of Nov. 22, 1903, is entitled Tra le sollecitudine and is published in its entirety in the March 1995 issue of The Angelus (pp.36-40).

The Pope states repeatedly that the Sacred Chant is an integral part of the liturgy, directed to the glory of God and the sanctification and edification of the faithful. (§1) It is consequently not a performance, but a part of the act of divine worship. His conclusion follows:

Except the chant of the celebrant and the sacred ministers at the altar, which must always be sung in plainchant without any accompaniment, the rest of the liturgical singing belongs properly to the choir of clerics...It follows from the same principle that the singers in church have a real liturgical office, and that women therefore, being incapable of such an office, cannot be admitted to the choir (§§12, 13). [Answered by Father Peter R. Scott]

It follows from the same principle that the singers in church have a real liturgical office, and that women therefore, being incapable of such an office, cannot be admitted to the choir

Well, Pius X might be a saint, but that doesn't mean he can't be mistaken. In the case of women in a choir, he was.

He also smoked cigars, fine Cubans in fact.

Pius XII posited to a group of Jesuits that smoking might be sinful.

My head, she is spinning!!!

I know that women were not permitted in the choir under the old Mass. That's why castrati still existed. In fact, most upper voice liturgical music before 1900 was written for castrati.

I would hope that this would be remedied, but I would rather a complete ban of women in choirs, than just the great music. And yes, that would limit me to the stage.

Strange irony when you think about it.