Secular Music in the Mass Before Vatican II

Pope St Pius X tried to stamp out secular music in the Church, but just as his attempts at crushing Modernism failed, so did his attempt to restore sacred music to its proper place.

From One Peter Five

By Massimo Scapin

"Not suitable for liturgical functions."

Six hundred years ago, on March 7, 1426, on Monte Berico in Vicenza, northern Italy, an event occurred that would leave a lasting imprint on the city’s spiritual legacy: the Virgin Mary appeared to a simple and devout woman who, every day, brought lunch to her husband working on the hill. Two years later, on August 1, 1428, the Madonna appeared again to the same woman, promising an end to the plague that had long afflicted the population—on one condition: that a church be built on that very spot.

Centuries later, on September 7, 1991, Pope John Paul II, visiting Monte Berico as a pilgrim, recalled the apparition with heartfelt reverence:

I know that the Holy Mother of God has been honored on this blessed hill since that distant 1428, when the Bishop of Vicenza recognized the authenticity of the message that Mary had addressed to a humble local woman, Vincenza Pasini. The Virgin was calling the baptized people to conversion and to renewed commitment to a higher Christian life. Along with the authorities and the people entrusted to his pastoral care, the bishop then climbed the slopes of this mountain to venerate and invoke the Mother of God, as we have also done today. (our translation)

It was to those two Marian apparitions that the origins of the sanctuary are tied—a sanctuary that, owing to its constant influx of pilgrims and widespread devotion to the sacred image of the Virgin, would become one of Italy’s most renowned pilgrimage sites. Just a few years later, in 1435, the Friar Servants of Mary were already serving at Monte Berico.

But Monte Berico is not only a place of apparitions, miracles, and architecture: it has also been, for centuries, a cradle of sacred music. Its rich liturgical life has always been accompanied by the sound of the organ and the presence of organists—figures often overlooked by official historiography, yet quiet and decisive protagonists of a musical tradition that has served as a bridge between faith and art.

The first documented name of an organist at Monte Berico dates back to October 5, 1499: “m.o Stefano sonator organorum in ecclesia sancte Marie de Monte [sic],” as stated in a notarial act.[1]

Among the most notable names in the sanctuary’s musical history is Alessandro Mario Antonio Fridzeri, organist from 1761 to 1764. Blind from childhood, Fridzeri was an eclectic musician—a mandolin virtuoso and violinist—who toured Europe performing and composed comic operas, sonatas, concertos, and quartets. The French Revolution stripped him of his possessions, forcing him into exile in Antwerp, where he died in 1825.

The 19th century saw a succession of organists, including Felice Bregozzo (†1861), Giuseppe Dalla Vecchia (†1848), Giuseppe Massari (†1878), and Luigi Facchin (†1858). Tensions were not uncommon: Carlo Bortolan (†1915), for instance, was dismissed in 1897 for the rather blunt reason of “poor service and excessive demands.”[2]

From 1900 onward, Antonio Mozzi of Vicenza (†1942) served for many years as the Basilica’s organist. A conductor and director of the Vicenza theatrical choir, Mozzi composed instrumental music, cantatas, choral works, and sacred pieces for liturgical use, including two Masses for voices and organ.[3]

Yet as opera’s influence grew, secular temptations began to infiltrate sacred spaces. A passage from the Musica Sacra magazine (Milan, April 1906, p. 63; our translation) expresses indignation at what was taking place in Vicenza:

At the Sanctuary of Monte Berico and the Church of the Servants in Vicenza, the organist seems entirely indifferent to ecclesiastical prescriptions. In fact—as we are informed—he amuses himself by playing excerpts from theatrical works by Bellini, Meyerbeer, Mancinelli, and others… Lately, he even played for his devout listeners none other than the Pilgrims’ Chorus from Tannhäuser… The best part is that, when publicly reminded of his duty, he excused himself by saying he had heard that very piece played more than once by organists who are members of the Sacred Music Commission. Oh! Oh!… Is Vicenza really so behind when it comes to sacred music?

Another organist, Gino Visonà (†1954), defended himself after being criticized for including a prelude from Perosi’s Resurrection during the inauguration of his organ at St. Caterina. In the local paper Il Berico, he wrote:

I wish to inform the esteemed maestro that a few years ago Enrico Bossi [†1925]—the greatest glory of organ art, whose liturgical orthodoxy is beyond doubt—published six organ reductions of the Oratori Persiani, compositions I myself heard performed during Holy Mass at the Basilica of St. Anthony in Padua by the distinguished professor Ciro Grassi (†1952). This fact justifies me completely, although I agree with the strictest observers of sacred canons, who recommend using only compositions written expressly for liturgical services.

To which the editor replied:

No, no, dear maestro Visonà, this fact does not justify you at all. Even if it is true that Ciro Grassi plays those reductions at the Santo, bad examples should not be imitated. You should have instead sided with the ‘strictest observers of sacred canons, who recommend using only compositions written for this service.’ These are things that no one disputes anymore, and it is astonishing that in the Veneto there are organists, like Visonà, of some competence, who still fail to understand that even Perosi’s oratorios—even reduced for organ by Enrico Bossi—are not suitable for liturgical functions. Certainly, the Vicenza Commission and all its members ought to be far more rigorous on this point. Principiis obsta! [Withstand beginnings].

Amid a climate of artistic confusion and profane influences in liturgical music—even at Monte Berico—Pope St. Pius X intervened decisively by issuing the motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini (Among the cares) on November 22, 1903. With this document, he sought to restore sacred music to its true liturgical function, defining its essential qualities as holiness, true art, and universality. Gregorian chant and classical polyphony were reaffirmed as foundational models, while all worldly and theatrical elements were firmly excluded. It remains a timely message even today, in an age where liturgy can risk becoming a form of spectacle: sacred music must continue to fulfill its highest purpose—to lift the soul to God.

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[1] G. Arnaldi, Storia della cultura veneta, Vicenza 1976, p. 288

[2] cf. M. Saccardo, Organi ed organisti a Monte Berico tra Seicento e Novecento, Vicenza 1988, p. 60

[3] G. Mantese, Storia musicale vicentina, Vicenza 1956, p. 173

Pictured: Our Lady of Monte Berico