Our friends at St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum, in Auburn, Alabama, recently had a visitor from Torino, Italy, who made some interesting comments. Here is a paraphrase:
"To hear such beautiful sounds in a parish would be in impossible in Italy. The quality of music has declined decade by decade since the reform, so that you do not find the talent or the inclination to achieve this mastery. But here, in this small parish in Alabama, I experienced the greatest music that the human ear has ever experienced. It is music that can be loved by all, not just Catholics but also by Muslims and anyone else. You cannot move the cathedrals of Europe to the US, but you have moved the music and recreated the environment and spirituality. To me, this liturgy is further proof that the future of civilization has moved from Europe to the United States."
