List of Catholic Church musicians is a list of people who perform or compose Catholic music, a branch of

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely aroun ...

. Names should be limited to those whose Catholicism affected their music and should preferably only include those musicians whose works have been performed liturgically in a Catholic service, or who perform specifically in a Catholic religious context.

Traditional and hymnal

* Paolo Agostino, all his surviving works are religious. * Vittoria Aleotti, Augustinian nun and composer. *

Giovenale Ancina Giovanni Giovenale Ancina (19 October 1545 – 30 August 1604) was an Italian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Saluzzo and was a professed member from the Oratorians. The bishop was also a scholar and music composer and was also ...

, Beatified writer of spiritual songs. *

Caterina Assandra Caterina Assandra (c. 1590 – after 1618) was an Italian composer and Benedictine nun. In her surviving motet book, ''Motetti a due a tre voci op.2'', Assandra alludes to her birthplace being in the Province of Pavia. She became famous as an orga ...

, Benedictine nun and composer. *

Thoinot Arbeau Thoinot Arbeau is the anagrammatic pen name of French cleric Jehan Tabourot (March 17, 1520 – July 23, 1595). Tabourot is most famous for his ''Orchésographie'', a study of late sixteenth-century French Renaissance social dance. He was born ...

, Catholic priest who composed the originally secular Ding Dong Merrily on High. *

Jean de Brébeuf Jean de Brébeuf () (25 March 1593 16 March 1649) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron (Wyandot people) for the rest of his life, except for a few years in Franc ...

Canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of s ...

Jesuit who composed the

Huron Carol The "Huron Carol" (or "Twas in the Moon of Wintertime") is a Canadian Christmas hymn (Canada's oldest Christmas song), written probably in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons in Canada. Brébeuf wrote th ...

. *

William Byrd William Byrd (; 4 July 1623) was an English composer of late Renaissance music. Considered among the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he had a profound influence on composers both from his native England and those on the continent. He ...

, English Catholic (in the era of Elizabeth I and the Stuarts), composer of 3 polyphonic masses and other sacred music. *

Hermannus Contractus Blessed Hermann of Reichenau (18 July 1013– 24 September 1054), also known by other names, was an 11th-century Benedictine monk and scholar. He composed works on history, music theory, mathematics, and astronomy, as well as many hymn ...

Alma Redemptoris Mater "Alma Redemptoris Mater" (; "Loving Mother of our Redeemer") is a Marian hymn, written in Latin hexameter, and one of four seasonal liturgical Marian antiphons sung at the end of the office of Compline (the other three being ''Ave Regina Caeloru ...

said to have been written by him. *

Tommaso da Celano Thomas of Celano ( it, Tommaso da Celano, italic=no; c. 1185 – c. 1265) was an Italian friar of the Franciscans (Order of Friars Minor) as well as a poet and the author of three hagiographies about Francis of Assisi. Life Thomas was born som ...

, Dies Irae * Orlando de Lassus, late Renaissance composer polyphonic masses and sacred music. * Guillaume de Machaut, medieval French composer. * Cristobal de Morales, Renaissance Spanish composer of sacred music. * Josquin des Prez, composer of Renaissance polyphonic masses and sacred music. *

Guillaume Dufay Guillaume Du Fay ( , ; also Dufay, Du Fayt; 5 August 1397(?) – 27 November 1474) was a French composer and music theorist of the early Renaissance. Considered the leading European composer of his time, his music was widely performed and repr ...

, worked for the Papal chapel, composer of Renaissance polyphonic masses and sacred music. *

John Dunstaple John Dunstaple (or Dunstable, – 24 December 1453) was an English composer whose music helped inaugurate the transition from the medieval to the Renaissance periods. The central proponent of the ''Contenance angloise'' style (), Dunstaple was ...

or Dunstable, early Renaissance English composer of polyphonic sacred music. *

Frederick William Faber Frederick William Faber (1814–1863) was a noted English hymnwriter and theologian, who converted from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism in 1845. He was ordained to the Catholic priesthood subsequently in 1847. His best-known work is the hymn ...

, Catholic convert who wrote Catholic hymns like ''Faith of Our Fathers.'' *

Giovanni Gabrieli Giovanni Gabrieli (c. 1554/1557 – 12 August 1612) was an Italian composer and organist. He was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and represents the culmination of the style of the Venetian School, at the time of the shift f ...

, late Renaissance/early Baroque Italian composer who composed much sacred music. * Jacobus Gallus,

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

n composer of sacred music and member of the Cistercians. * Joseph Gelineau, French composer of

Gelineau psalmody Gelineau psalmody is a method of singing the Psalms that was developed in France by Catholic Jesuit priest Joseph Gelineau around 1953, with English translations appearing some ten years later. Its chief distinctives are: * a responsorial structur ...

and music for the

Taizé Community The Taizé Community is an ecumenical Christian monastic fraternity in Taizé, Saône-et-Loire, Burgundy, France. It is composed of more than one hundred brothers, from Catholic and Protestant traditions, who originate from about thirty countrie ...

. * Carlo Gesualdo, late Renaissance Italian composer, most famous for madrigals, but also composed some sacred music. *

Francisco Guerrero Francisco Guerrero is the name of: *Francisco Guerrero (composer) (1528–1599), Spanish composer of the Renaissance * Francisco Guerrero (politician) (1811–1851), Alcalde of San Francisco *Francisco Guerrero Marín (1951–1997), Spanish composer ...

, late Renaissance Spanish composer of both sacred and secular music. *

Hildegard of Bingen Hildegard of Bingen (german: Hildegard von Bingen; la, Hildegardis Bingensis; 17 September 1179), also known as Saint Hildegard and the Sibyl of the Rhine, was a German Benedictine abbess and polymath active as a writer, composer, philosopher ...

, Benedictine abbess and one of the earliest known female composers. *

Hucbald Hucbald ( – 20 June 930; also Hucbaldus or Hubaldus) was a Benedictine monk active as a music theorist, poet, composer, teacher, and hagiographer. He was long associated with Saint-Amand Abbey, so is often known as Hucbald of St Amand. Deeply i ...

, ninth century

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

composer and music theorist. *

Luca Marenzio Luca Marenzio (also Marentio; October 18, 1553 or 1554 – August 22, 1599) was an Italian composer and singer of the late Renaissance. He was one of the most renowned composers of madrigals, and wrote some of the most famous examples of the fo ...

Madrigale spirituale A madrigale spirituale (Italian; pl. ''madrigali spirituali'') is a madrigal, or madrigal-like piece of music, with a sacred rather than a secular text. Most examples of the form date from the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, and principall ...

Domenico Mustafà Domenico Mustafà (16 April 1829 – 17 March 1912) was an Italian castrato singer, composer and choir director. Life Domenico Mustafà was born in the comune of Sellano,Castrato composer for the Sistine Chapel choir. *

Johannes Ockeghem Johannes Ockeghem ( – 6 February 1497) was a Franco-Flemish composer and singer of early Renaissance music. Ockeghem was the most influential European composer in the period between Guillaume Du Fay and Josquin des Prez, and he was—with hi ...

, composer of Renaissance polyphonic masses. *

Frederick Oakeley Frederick Oakeley (5 September 1802 – 30 January 1880) was an English Roman Catholic convert, priest, and author. He was ordained in the Church of England in 1828 and in 1845 converted to the Church of Rome, becoming Canon of the Westminster ...

, convert who translated Adeste Fideles * Paul the Deacon, Benedictine who wrote

Ut queant laxis "" or "" is a Latin hymn in honor of John the Baptist, written in Horatian Sapphics with text traditionally attributed to Paulus Diaconus, the eighth-century Lombard historian. It is famous for its part in the history of musical notation, in part ...

. *

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina ( – 2 February 1594) was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music. The central representative of the Roman School, with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de Victoria, Palestrina is considered the leading ...

, late Renaissance Italian composer of polyphonic sacred music, considered by many the greatest such composer, "a tremendous influence on the development of Catholic Church music." *

Thomas Tallis Thomas Tallis (23 November 1585; also Tallys or Talles) was an English composer of High Renaissance music. His compositions are primarily vocal, and he occupies a primary place in anthologies of English choral music. Tallis is considered one ...

, devoutly Catholic composer of polyphonic church music in Tudor England. "The earliest works by Tallis that survive are devotional antiphons to the Virgin Mary." *

Tomás Luis de Victoria Tomás Luis de Victoria (sometimes Italianised as ''da Vittoria''; ) was the most famous Spanish composer of the Renaissance. He stands with Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Orlande de Lassus as among the principal composers of the late Ren ...

, late Renaissance Spanish composer of polyphonic sacred music, a priest at the

Convent of Las Descalzas Reales The Convent of Las Descalzas Reales ( es, Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales) is a royal monastery situated in Madrid, Spain, administered by the Patrimonio Nacional. History The ''Monasterio de las Descalzas Reales'', literally the "Monaste ...

. *

Samuel Webbe Samuel Webbe (1740 – 25 May 1816) was an English composer. Life Born in Menorca in 1740, Webbe was brought up in London. His father died when he was still an infant, and his mother returned to London where she raised Webbe in difficult c ...

, English composer of Catholic hymns.

Composers who wrote Catholic sacred music

Note: The term '' classical music'' has been used broadly to describe many eras which do not fit the label. Initially the term specifically meant 1730–1820 (the Classical period), but for this list the period from the

Baroque period The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

to the modern era will be included in this section. This is because Renaissance and especially Medieval music tends to be dominated, in the West, by Catholic religious music. * Mateo Albéniz, Spanish composer and priest. * Johann Christian Bach, son of J. S. Bach, converted to Catholicism and wrote much Catholic liturgical and sacred music. *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, his sacred music includes the famous ''

Missa solemnis {{Audio, De-Missa solemnis.ogg, Missa solemnis is Latin for Solemn Mass, and is a genre of musical settings of the Mass Ordinary, which are festively scored and render the Latin text extensively, opposed to the more modest Missa brevis. In French ...

'' and '' Mass in C major''. * Hector Berlioz, though an agnostic, Berlioz wrote a famous '' Requiem'' as well as another mass and a Te Deum. *

Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber ( bapt. 12 August 1644, Stráž pod Ralskem – 3 May 1704, Salzburg) was a Bohemian-Austrian composer and violinist. Biber worked in Graz and Kroměříž before he illegally left his employer, Prince-Bishop Karl L ...

, known in part for the

Rosary Sonatas The ''Rosary Sonatas'' (''Rosenkranzsonaten'', also known as the ''Mystery Sonatas'' or ''Copper-Engraving Sonatas'') by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber are a collection of 15 short sonatas for violin and continuo, with a final passacaglia for solo vi ...

also called the ''Mystery Sonatas''. * František Brixi, eighteenth-century Czech composer. He wrote some 290 church compositions and was Kapellmeister of

St. Vitus Cathedral , native_name_lang = Czech , image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

. *

Severo Bonini Severo Bonini (23 December 1582 – 5 December 1663) was an Italian composer, organist, and writer on music. He was born in Florence and became a Benedictine monk. He studied singing with Giulio Caccini. He served as organist in Forlì from 1613 ...

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

and Baroque composer of sacred music. * Anton Bruckner, Austrian late Romantic composer most famous for his symphonies. Devoutly Catholic, he wrote at least seven Masses and much other Catholic sacred music. * Francesca Caccini, Italian early Baroque female composer. Composed some motets. * Francesco Cavalli, Italian early Baroque composer of operas and some sacred music, including a requiem mass. *

Marc-Antoine Charpentier Marc-Antoine Charpentier (; 1643 – 24 February 1704) was a French Baroque composer during the reign of Louis XIV. One of his most famous works is the main theme from the prelude of his ''Te Deum'', ''Marche en rondeau''. This theme is still us ...

, French Baroque composer. Composed several masses and other sacred music. * Luigi Cherubini, late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Italian composer of operas and sacred music. He composed 11 masses * Salvatore Di Vittorio, Italian neoclassical composer and conductor * Gaetano Donizetti, most famous as composer of operas, he also composed some sacred music including two Masses. * Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer, most famous for the ''

New World Symphony New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

''. A devout Catholic, his sacred compositions include a Requiem, the Mass in D major, Stabat Mater and Te Deum. * Edward Elgar, devoutly Catholic English composer of nineteenth and early twentieth century. His most famous religious work is ''

The Dream of Gerontius ''The Dream of Gerontius'', Op. 38, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment b ...

'' whose text is a poem by Cardinal Newman * Gabriel Fauré, nineteenth century French composer. Although his religious views are obscure, he was a renowned church organist, and composed a significant amount of Catholic sacred music, including of a famous ''

Requiem Mass A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

''. *

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

, nineteenth-century French composer, most famous for his Symphony in D. Composer of ''Panis Angelicus''. * Paolo Giorza * Christoph Willibald Gluck, knighted by

Pope Benedict XIV Pope Benedict XIV ( la, Benedictus XIV; it, Benedetto XIV; 31 March 1675 – 3 May 1758), born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 17 August 1740 to his death in May 1758. Pope Be ...

, was important in the history of opera, but wrote only a few pieces of sacred music. *

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

, French composer whose religious music includes a very famous setting of the Ave Maria and

Inno e Marcia Pontificale The "Pontifical Anthem and March" ( it, Inno e Marcia Pontificale; la, Hymnus et modus militaris Pontificalis), also known as the "Papal Anthem", is the anthem played to mark the presence of the Pope or one of his representatives, such as a nun ...

. *

Henryk Górecki Henryk Mikołaj Górecki ( , ; 6 December 1933 – 12 November 2010) was a Polish composer of contemporary classical music. According to critic Alex Ross, no recent classical composer has had as much commercial success as Górecki. He became a l ...

, late twentieth century Polish composer, most famous for his Third Symphony. Also has composed Catholic sacred music. *

Pietro Guglielmi Pietro Alessandro Guglielmi (9 December 1728 – 19 November 1804) was an Italian opera composer of the classical period. Biography Guglielmi was born into the Guglielmi family of musicians in Massa. His father, Jacopo Guglielmi, was a compo ...

, In 1793 he became maestro di cappella at

St Peter's, Rome The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. * Johann Michael Haydn, younger brother of Joseph Haydn, and prolific composer of sacred music, including 47 masses. * Joseph Haydn, great Austrian composer of the Classical period. Credited with inventing the symphony. Also composed 14 Masses (including the Mass in Time of War), 2

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Ch ...

s and a Stabat Mater. Very devout, often prayed the rosary when he had trouble composing. Teacher of both Mozart and Beethoven. *

Zoltán Kodály Zoltán Kodály (; hu, Kodály Zoltán, ; 16 December 1882 – 6 March 1967) was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is well known internationally as the creator of the Kodály method of music edu ...

, twentieth century Hungarian composer. Composed a Missa Brevis, a Te Deum, and Psalmus Hungaricus. * Guglielmo Enrico Lardelli An Italian-Australian who composed secular and liturgical works. * Franz Liszt, famed pianist and Romantic composer, mostly of piano works. He became a Franciscan tertiary. Composed much sacred music, including 5 masses. *

Antonio Lotti Antonio Lotti (5 January 1667 – 5 January 1740) was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. Biography Lotti was born in Venice, although his father Matteo was '' Kapellmeister'' at Hanover at the time. Oral tradition says that in 1682, Lotti ...

, made his career at St Mark's Basilica and composed numerous Masses. * Wolfram Menschick (1937–2010) who composed more than 30 masses and other liturgical music. * Olivier Messiaen, twentieth century French composer. "Many of his compositions depict what he termed 'the marvellous aspects of the faith', drawing on his unshakeable Roman Catholicism." * Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer, famous from madrigals, and important in the transition from Renaissance to Baroque styles. Most well-known sacred piece is '' Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610'' (Vespers for the Blessed Virgin) and was ordained in 1633 * Stephen Moreno, Benedictine missionary to New Norcia in Australia who composed Masses published in Europe. *

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

, composed 18 Masses including the ''

'', the ''

Coronation Mass A Coronation Mass is a Eucharistic celebration, in which a special liturgical act, the coronation of an image of Mary, is performed. The coronation of an image of Mary is an act of devotion to her. It expresses the belief that Mary as mother ...

'', and the ''

Great Mass in C minor ''Great Mass in C minor'' (german: Große Messe in c-Moll, links=no), K. 427/417a, is the common name of the musical setting of the mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which is considered one of his greatest works. He composed it in Vienna in 1782 ...

'', and much other sacred music, including Vespers,

Ave Verum Corpus "" is a short Eucharistic chant that has been set to music by many composers. It dates to the 13th century, first recorded in a central Italian Franciscan manuscript (Chicago, Newberry Library, 24). A Reichenau manuscript of the 14th century attr ...

, and

Exultate Jubilate ' (Exult, rejoice), K. 165, is a 1773 motet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. History This religious solo motet was composed when Mozart was staying in Milan during the production of his opera '' Lucio Silla'' which was being performed there in the ...

. * Arvo Pärt, late twentieth-century Estonian composer. Though Eastern Orthodox, his sacred music is primarily in Latin Catholic forms, including a Mass, Te Deum, and Stabat Mater. *

Jan Dismas Zelenka Jan Dismas Zelenka (16 October 1679 – 23 December 1745), baptised Jan Lukáš Zelenka was a Czech composer and musician of the Baroque period. His music is admired for its harmonic inventiveness and mastery of counterpoint. Zelenka was rais ...

, Czech Baroque composer who is most appreciated for his complex Mass settings and harmonic and contrapuntal inventiveness. * Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian Baroque composer who wrote one of the most famous settings of the Stabat Mater. * Don

Lorenzo Perosi Monsignor Lorenzo Perosi (21 December 1872 – 12 October 1956) was an Italian composer of sacred music and the only member of the Giovane Scuola who did not write opera. In the late 1890s, while he was still only in his twenties, Perosi was ...

, Catholic priest and Director of the Sistine Choir under five Popes. * Francis Poulenc, twentieth century French composer. His most famous sacred works are the Mass in G, a Gloria, a Stabat Mater, and ''

Dialogues of the Carmelites ' (''Dialogues of the Carmelites''), FP 159, is an opera in three acts, divided into twelve scenes with linking orchestral interludes, with music and libretto by Francis Poulenc, completed in 1956. The composer's second opera, Poulenc wrote the ...

''. *

Licinio Refice Licinio Refice (Patrica, February 12, 1883 – Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-mos ...

, composed over 300 pieces of sacred music * Georg Reutter, church composer. *

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liech ...

, twelve Masses and a Stabat Mater. *

Gioachino Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...

, one of the greatest composers of Italian Opera. Late in life wrote a famous Stabat Mater and the ''

Petite messe solennelle Gioachino Rossini's ''Petite messe solennelle'' (Little solemn mass) was written in 1863, possibly at the request of Count Alexis Pillet-Will for his wife Louise to whom it is dedicated. The composer, who had retired from composing operas more ...

'' *

Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...

, Italian composer of Classical period. Taught Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt. Composed operas and sacred music, including ten hymns and nine psalms. * José Joaquim dos Santos, Portuguese Baroque composer almost exclusively of sacred music performed in Portugal and Brazil. * Alessandro Scarlatti, Italian Baroque composer, whose most notable sacred composition is the St. Cecelia mass. * Domenico Scarlatti, Italian Baroque composer, his sacred music includes a well known Stabat Mater and Salve Regina. *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

, great classical/early Romantic Austrian composer. Most famous for Lieder and symphonies. Also composed 6 masses and much other sacred music, including a famous Ave Maria (whose original text was a prayer to Mary, but not the famous Hail Mary prayer). List of compositions by Franz Schubert * Robert Schumann, German Romantic composer. Though Protestant, he composed a Mass in C minor and a Requiem Mass. *

Antonio Soler Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

, Spanish priest and composer. *

Cassius Clement Stearns Cassius Clement Stearns was an American composer of church music. He was born on 23 August 1838 in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, the youngest child of Charles Stearns (1796-1874) and Rebecca Green Stearns (née Robbins) (1802–87). He married Gertr ...

, American organist and composer, whose work included several settings of the Mass and of Vespers. * Igor Stravinsky, though an Eastern Orthodox Christian, Stravinsky composed a notable Catholic Mass. * Ralph Vaughan Williams, twentieth century English composer, an agnostic Anglican, who composed or arranged much Anglican Church music. He composed a few works in Catholic liturgical forms, including a Mass and a Te Deum. * Giuseppe Verdi, though not religious, he wrote a few religious works, including his great

Messa da Requiem The ''Messa da Requiem'' is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass ( Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired. The first performance, at ...

. * Antonio Vivaldi, called "The Red Priest" because of his hair. His religious music includes several large choral works (such as the Gloria), small solo motets, and hymnals ''con instrumenti''. *

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...

, German composer of Classical period, who wrote some sacred music that was popular especially in the nineteenth century. *

Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli Niccolò Antonio Zingarelli (; 4 April 1752 – 5 May 1837) was an Italian composer, chiefly of opera. Life Early career Zingarelli was born in Naples, where he studied (from the age of 7) at the Santa Maria di Loreto Conservatory under Fena ...

, appointed choir master of the

Sistine Chapel The Sistine Chapel (; la, Sacellum Sixtinum; it, Cappella Sistina ) is a chapel in the Apostolic Palace, the official residence of the pope in Vatican City. Originally known as the ''Cappella Magna'' ('Great Chapel'), the chapel takes its nam ...

in 1804.

Roman School

The

Roman School In music history, the Roman School was a group of composers of predominantly church music, in Rome, during the 16th and 17th centuries, therefore spanning the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras. The term also refers to the music they produ ...

is a group of composers strongly linked to the Vatican and the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

. Many of them were, or became, priests. Although much of their work is too early to be mentioned here it did survive into the early Baroque.

is generally seen as the most famous member. As a list of members is in the article on the subject, repetition of names in it should be normally avoided, although Palestrina is notable enough to be in both.

21st Century Classical School

There is a small but growing school of church composers, favoring a return to Catholic music that can be called "classical", writing original organ, choral, and vocal music that is often based on

Gregorian chant Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainsong, plainchant, a form of monophony, monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song in Latin (and occasionally Greek (language), Greek) of the Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed ma ...

Twentieth century and contemporary music

Popular composers and artists

Contemporary Catholic music takes many forms, from modern hymnody to inculturated sacred works. The genre of modern Catholic music is continuing to grow. Modern Catholic musicians tend toward two main forms of expression: liturgical and non-liturgical. In a liturgical context, music is performed in a manner intended to heighten the spiritual atmosphere of a liturgical service, such as during Sunday

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

, Eucharistic adoration or Stations of the Cross, and is mandated to follow the musical tradition and decrees of the Church, such as those found in Musical Sacra and

Tra le Sollecitudini ''Tra le sollecitudini'' (Italian for "among the concerns") was a motu proprio issued 22 November 1903 by Pope Pius X that detailed regulations for the performance of music in the Roman Catholic Church. The title is taken from the opening phrase ...

for the Latin rite. The non-liturgical context, though very much worshipful, usually takes the form of a concert or gathering without the presence of a liturgical service and outside of the

. Non-liturgical settings are mainly focused on building Christian fellowship within Catholic communities. Non-liturgical artists find the opportunity to uniquely share their faith through their personal lyrics, and directly to audiences between songs, and these gatherings, since they are not a rite of the Church, but a form of personal and popular devotion, are free from the liturgical requirements that accompany a solemn act of worship in a liturgy. Although Catholic musicians tend toward one expression over the other, many will minister within both expressions with the appropriate music styles for each. The following popular composers and performers are of note:

Liturgical artists

* Domenico Bartolucci - Catholic Cardinal who composed "Misa Jubilei," while he was still a priest and has other religious compositions. * Herbert Cosgrove * Eduardo Hontiveros - Jesuit noted for Filipino liturgical movement, received the

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XIII o ...

. * John McCormack- sang for an International Eucharistic Congress and declared a

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

by Pope Pius XI. *

James MacMillan Sir James Loy MacMillan, (born 16 July 1959) is a Scottish classical composer and conductor. Early life MacMillan was born at Kilwinning, in North Ayrshire, but lived in the East Ayrshire town of Cumnock until 1977. His father is James MacMi ...

- contemporary Scottish composer * Nicola Montani - compiled ''The St. Gregory Hymnal'' *

Seán Ó Riada Seán Ó Riada (; born John Reidy; 1 August 1931 – 3 October 1971), was an Irish composer and arranger of Irish traditional music. Through his incorporation of modern and traditional techniques he became the single most influential figur ...

- composed several

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

Masses * Christopher Willcock - Australian priest and recipient of the Percy Jones Memorial Award for outstanding contribution to liturgical music.

= Black Catholics

= *Fr

Clarence Rivers Clarence Rufus Joseph Rivers (September 9, 1931 – November 21, 2004) was a Black Catholic priest and well-known composer of liturgical music. His work combined Catholic worship with Black Gospel, making him an integral part of the Black Ca ...

- pioneering Catholic Gospel artist, and one of the first to set the Mass to gospel music. *Servant of God

Thea Bowman Thea Bowman, FSPA (born Bertha Elizabeth Bowman; December 29, 1937 – March 30, 1990) was a Black Catholic religious sister, teacher, musician, liturgist and scholar who made major contributions to the ministry of the Catholic Church toward A ...

- speaker, writer, and recording artist who spearheaded Black Catholic inculturation in the Deep South and elsewhere. Helped develop the first and only Black Catholic hymnal, "Lead Me, Guide Me". *Archbishop James P. Lyke - liturgist who also worked on the LMGM hymnal. *Bishop Fernand J. Cheri III, OFM - auxiliary bishop of New Orleans and noted choir director and liturgist.

Non-liturgical artists

Note: The Unity Awards began in 2001 with the intent of being a Catholic-specific equivalent to the

GMA Dove Awards A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

. In certain cases the following mentions winners of this award. *

Audrey Assad Audrey Nicole Assad (born July 1, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released six studio albums and four EPs. Early life Audrey Assad's mother was from Virginia and her father is a Syrian-born refugee. She was raised Protestant, ...

- contemporary Christian Artist known for her EP "For Love of You" *

Padre José Luís Borga Padre José Luis Borga (born Lapas, Torres Novas, 19 November 1964) is a Portuguese Catholic priest and Christian Contemporary music, contemporary musician. In 10 years, he has released six CDs, two of which reached Music recording sales certificati ...

- Portuguese priest and Christian music person. * Herbert Cosgrove (died 1953) - Australian Songwriter *

Ceili Rain Ceili Rain is a Christian band based in Syracuse, New York that is influenced by Celtic music. It is led by Bob Halligan, Jr. and was founded in May 1995. As the group's founder, Bob Halligan, Jr. explains, in Gaelic, the word " Céili" (pronounc ...

- Celtic/Pop-Rock with Catholic themes, honored by the Unity Awards *

Critical Mass In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fi ...

- critically acclaimed Canadian rock band, winners of numerous awards, including two Canadian Gospel Music Association Awards for Best Rock Album. Performed for Pope John Paul II in Toronto in 2002. * Dana Scallon - Catholic Northern Irish singer currently based in USA; "Songwriter of the Year" and "Female Vocalist of the Year" at the Unity Awards in 2004. *

Aimé Duval Aimé Duval (better known under the name Père Duval) (30 June 1918 – 30 April 1984) was a French priest of the Society of Jesus, a singer-songwriter and guitarist, who was very successful in the 1950s and 1960s. Biography Born in Le Val-d'A ...

- Jesuit singer-songwriter honored by

Karl Rahner Karl Rahner (5 March 1904 – 30 March 1984) was a German Jesuit priest and theologian who, alongside Henri de Lubac, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Yves Congar, is considered to be one of the most influential Roman Catholic theologians of ...

. * Fr. Stan Fortuna - Catholic jazz and hip hop *

John-Paul Kaplan John-Paul Kaplan (born September 19, 1982), is an American record producer, composer, and pianist. Early life He was born to Slovakian parents, Julius and Rozalia Kaplan on September 19, 1982. His interest in music was evident since his early ...

- instrumental works * Guglielmo Enrico Lardelli - Australian composer *

Michael Lewis Michael Monroe Lewis (born October 15, 1960) Gale Biography In Context. is an American author and financial journalist. He has also been a contributing editor to ''Vanity Fair'' since 2009, writing mostly on business, finance, and economics. He ...

- producer, musician, singer/songwriter. Produced and/or engineered projects for Catholic Artists including Tony Melendez, Lynn Cooper, Annie Karto, Fr. David Kelash and others. Recorded and released original contemporary Catholic music projects, toured and performed in Catholic Churches nationwide. Appeared at World Youth Day '93, The International Marian Conference and Divine Mercy Conferences in San Francisco 1993, Western Washington Charismatic Conference 1996. *

Matt Maher Matthew Guion Maher (born November 10, 1974) is a Canadian contemporary Christian music (CCM) artist, songwriter, and worship leader from Newfoundland, Canada, who lives in the United States. Three of his nine albums have reached the Top 25 ...

- singer/songwriter *

- contemporary Scottish composer * Tony Meléndez - armless Christian guitarist who was Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2004 Unity Awards and performed for

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

. * Rich Mullins - singer/songwriter *

Aaron Neville Aaron Joseph Neville (born January 24, 1941) is a retired American R&B and soul singer. He has had four platinum albums and four Top 10 hits in the United States, including three that reached number one on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart. ...

- Praise & Worship Album of the Year by the Catholic Unity Awards 2006. *

Raimund Pechotsch Raimund Leo Pechotsch (June 1864 – 20 January 1941) was a composer of romantic and incidental musical theatre pieces. He was a Roman Catholic who also conducted liturgical music. Life Pechotsch was born in Vienna to parents of Czechoslavakia ...

- Australian composer *

- composed several

Masses *

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

- pioneer in

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

music. *

Mary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs; May 8, 1910 – May 28, 1981) was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, an ...

- legendary jazz pianist who attained acclaim with the ''

Zodiac Suite ''Zodiac Suite'' is a series of 12 pieces of jazz music written by Mary Lou Williams and first performed in 1945. Each song in the suite is inspired by an astrological sign and musicians or performers who were born under it. Williams began writ ...

''. She performed Catholic jazz in the 1960s and 1970s including "Black Christ of the Andes" and "Mary Lou's Mass". *

Vanessa Williams Vanessa Lynn Williams (born March 18, 1963) is an American singer, actress, and fashion designer. She gained recognition as the first African-American woman to receive the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984. She resign ...

Notker Wolf Notker Wolf (born June 21, 1940) is a Germans, German Benedictine monk, priest, abbot, musician, and author. He is a member of St. Ottilien Archabbey located in Bavaria, Germany, which is part of the Benedictine Congregation of Saint Ottilien. H ...

- Abbot Primate of the Benedictine Confederation played for a Christian rock group. *

Rexband Rexband is the first Catholic Band (music), band from the Indian subcontinent to be invited to the World Youth Day performance in World Youth Day 2002, 2002 at Toronto. From then, they have been consistently invited for the later World Youth days in ...

- Catholic band from India * Fr Rob Galea -

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

priest and a Christian singer and songwriter from the island of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. * Sister Cristina Scuccia -

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Ursuline nun who won the 2014 season of ''

The Voice of Italy ''The Voice of Italy'' is a reality singing competition and Italian version of the international syndication ''The Voice'' based on the reality singing competition launched in the Netherlands, created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. Th ...

'' * Chris Skinner - Marist priest from

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in Christian contemporary music. *

Son by Four Son by Four is a latin music group from Puerto Rico, well known for their English U.S. pop hit "A Puro Dolor, The Purest of Pain (A Puro Dolor)". The group is now independent, as they founded their own label SB4 Music Group in 2003. Son by Four ...

- Salsa band turned Catholic band featured on EWTN. * Dave Brubeck - legendary jazz pianist who attained acclaim with recordings such as "Take Five"and "Blue Rondo a la Turk." He wrote a Catholic Mass "To Hope! A Celebration" and several other religious works.

= Catholic hip-hop artists

= * Manchild - Catholic rapper from Georgia *

Tau Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or \boldsymbol\tau; el, ταυ ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300. The name in English ...

- Catholic rapper from Poland

= Catholic rock artists

= *

Liturgical music

Many composers have contributed to the distinct pop-inspired sound of contemporary Catholic liturgical music, including

Marty Haugen Marty Haugen (born December 30, 1950) is an American composer of liturgical music. Biography Marty Haugen was born December 30, 1950, in Wanamingo, Minnesota. He was raised in the American Lutheran Church (ALC) in Minnesota, and became a member ...

, (a non-Catholic,) Dan Schutte,

David Haas David Robert Haas (born 1957 in Bridgeport, Michigan) is an American author and composer of contemporary Catholic liturgical music. In 2020, dozens of women accused him of sexual misconduct spanning several decades, and he issued a public apology ...

, Fr. Michael Joncas, and the St. Louis Jesuits. For more details, see

Contemporary Catholic liturgical music Contemporary Catholic liturgical music encompasses a comprehensive variety of styles of music for Catholic liturgy that grew both before and after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II). The dominant style in English-speaking Canad ...

. A majority of American Catholic Parishes now use at least some of this style of music in their liturgies. A recent trend has returned to the official music of the Roman Catholic Church, Gregorian chant and to newly composed music based on or inspired by it, and to liturgical projects like the Chabanel Psalms or Adam bartlett's Simple English Propers.

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

Catholic Association of Musicians

Oddwalk Ministries

United Catholic Music and Video Association

The Entire Liturgical Year in Responsorial Psalms

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Musicians A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who w ...