Da Pustet al “tradizionalismo” del 2000

This article was written before Summorum Pontificum; as a consequence, the `practical' remarks are outdated. The historical reconstruction, however, may be still useful. *** This article examines the contribution that the so-called traditionalist movement can bring to the contemporary debate on sacred music in the Catholic liturgy. After Vatican II Annibale Bugnini developed a liturgical form that profoundly differed from the Catholic tradition; moreover, in practice the total abandonment of Latin rapidly imposed itself, against the (still very recent) decisions of Vatican II. The traditional movement was born in a context in which Latin, Gregorian chant, classical polyphony and traditional altars were considered as “anti-conciliar” (while the decisions of Vatican II had no connection with the practice established in the Seventies and Eighties). After the break with the Society of Saint Pius X founded by Mgr. Lefebvre, the Vatican allowed the celebration of the traditional liturgy on specific canonic conditions. Unfortunately the situation of sacred music in the churches where the traditional liturgy was adopted — places that could be thought to constitute the most favourable environments for the development of high- quality Catholic sacred music — is not without its problems. The paper tries to highlight the ups and downs of the liturgical-musical situation in the world of the traditionalist milieu.