Here they are, both in English, and in the original Italian:

Recitative

You, harmonious Cecilia,
who ravished with your singing,
who enchanted with your playing,
let it be granted to this gathering
of your worthy followers
that they may imitate your merits,
for a noble birth becomes obscure
without Virtue to match.

Tu, armonica Cecilia,
che rapisti col canto,
che incantasti col suono,
fa pur che sia concesso
a questo stuol de’ tuoi seguaci egregi
imitarne i tuoi pregi,
perché un nobil natale
si rende oscur senza Virtute eguale.

Aria

Whether the dawn shines in the east,
or the sun sinks in the west,
I shall always extol Virtue.
Let my voice be more melodious,
let my lyre be more harmonious,
beyond heaven and beyond the stars
I shall exalt
her high and beautiful glories.
Whether the dawn shines in the east,
or the sun sinks in the west,
I shall always extol Virtue.

Splenda l’alba in oriente,
cada il sole in occidente,
Virtù sempre esalterò.
Sia la lingua più canora,
sia la cetra più sonora,
oltre il ciel, oltre le stelle,
le sue belle
alte glorie innalzerò.
Splenda l’alba in oriente,
cada il sole in occidente,
Virtù sempre esalterò.

There is a nice rendition of "Splenda l'alba in oriente" by the American mezzo-soprano, Vivica Genaux.

Deepening my devotion to her has moved me to search for music dedicated to her. I found the major works: Hymn to St. Cecilia, by Benjamin Britten; An Ode for St. Ceclia's Day, by Georg Friedrich Händel; and Ode to St. Cecilia, by Henry Purcell.

May all musicians pay her the homage she is due. St. Cecilia, pray for us.

"Since time immemorial it has been necessary - as it is also for the future - to maintain the principle according to which each particular Church must concur with the universal Church, not only as regards the doctrine of the faith and the sacramental signs, but also as regards the usages universally accepted by uninterrupted apostolic tradition, which must be observed not only to avoid errors but also to transmit the integrity of the faith, because the Church's law of prayer corresponds to her law of faith."

[Via EWTN]

In order to express more clearly the unity and universality of the Church, I wish to endorse the proposal made by the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council, that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, it is fitting that such liturgies be celebrated in Latin. Similarly, the better-known prayers of the Church's tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung. Speaking more generally, I ask that future priests, from their time in the seminary, receive the preparation needed to understand and to celebrate Mass in Latin, and also to use Latin texts and execute Gregorian chant; nor should we forget that the faithful can be taught to recite the more common prayers in Latin, and also to sing parts of the liturgy to Gregorian chant.

In the ars celebrandi, liturgical song has a pre-eminent place. Saint Augustine rightly says in a famous sermon that "the new man sings a new song. Singing is an expression of joy and, if we consider the matter, an expression of love". The People of God assembled for the liturgy sings the praises of God. In the course of her two-thousand-year history, the Church has created, and still creates, music and songs which represent a rich patrimony of faith and love. This heritage must not be lost. Certainly as far as the liturgy is concerned, we cannot say that one song is as good as another. Generic improvisation or the introduction of musical genres which fail to respect the meaning of the liturgy should be avoided. As an element of the liturgy, song should be well integrated into the overall celebration. Consequently everything – texts, music, execution – ought to correspond to the meaning of the mystery being celebrated, the structure of the rite and the liturgical seasons. Finally, while respecting various styles and different and highly praiseworthy traditions, I desire, in accordance with the request advanced by the Synod Fathers, that Gregorian chant be suitably esteemed and employed as the chant proper to the Roman liturgy.

[Via Damian Thompson]

Here is one personal observation. When I saw pictures of Pope Benedict in his open-air car circling St. Peter's Square this past Sunday, I thought this is a man who is not afraid to die. In fact, I recalled his original hesitancy at being asked to ascend the throne of St. Peter. He was probably thinking to himself, "OK, Lord, I didn't want this job in the first place. Now that I'm in this predicament, I'll need you to protect me. If you want me to continue what I'm doing, You'll ensure I'm safe. If not, then this would be a perfect opportunity to cut my pontificate short. Thy will be done."

I'm not saying he is being reckless; rather, he is faithfully carrying out his mission with no earthly fear. Would that we have courage enough to take a page from his playbook.

Sandro Magister elaborates on the significance of this event in this www.chiesa article.

Roy Clancy's column provides the details.

In his brief message to Cardinal Francis Arinze, the Pope greeted the participants in a day of study organized today by that Vatican dicastery on the topic "Sacred Music: A Liturgical and Pastoral Challenge."

The congress was responding to Pope John Paul II's desire, expressed in a 2003 chirograph, in which he called the dicastery to intensify its efforts in the field of sacred liturgical music.

"Echoing the call of my beloved predecessor, I would like to encourage those who cultivate sacred music to continue this journey," said Benedict XVI said.

In particular, the Holy Father suggested that the Vatican congregation reflect "on the relationship between music and liturgy, while remaining attentive to practical applications and experimentation, and maintaining constant understanding and collaboration with national episcopal conferences."

When opening the congress, Cardinal Arinze explained: "Sacred music must be in accord with the grandeur of the liturgical act that celebrates the mysteries of Christ; it must be characterized by a sense of prayer, beauty and dignity."

Vatican Radio quoted him saying: "In no way must it give way to shallowness, superficiality or theatricality."

I would like to conclude my remarks with a fine quotation from Mahatma Gandhi which I recently, found in a calendar. Gandhi mentions the three “living areas� of the cosmos and notes that each of these involves a specific manner of existing. Fish live in the sea, and they are silent. Animals on earth below, bark and bray. But the birds who inhabit the heavens sing. Silence is proper to the sea, braying is proper to the earth, and singing belongs to heaven. But man has a share in all three, for within himself he bears the depths of the sea, the burden of the earth and the heights of heaven. Hence he possesses all three properties: silence, bellowing and singing.

Today, I would like to add, we see that for man deprived of transcendence there remains only braying, because he desires to be earth arid nothing more, indeed tries to make the heavens and the ocean deep to be his earth. True liturgy, the liturgy of the communion of saints, gives man once again his completeness. It instructs him once again in silence and in singing by opening for him the depths of the sea and by teaching him to fly—the existence of the angels. By “lifting up the heart;� true liturgy allows the buried song to resound in man once again. Indeed, we could now actually say that true liturgy can be recognized by the fact that it liberates from everyday activity and restores to us both the depths and the heights: silence and singing. True liturgy is recognizable because it is cosmic and not limited to a group. True liturgy sings with the angels, and true liturgy is silent with the expectant depths of the universe. And thus true liturgy redeems the earth.

[Via St. Cecilia Schola Cantorum]

“You and others will tell the world of a fight to save a precious life, not to change hardened hearts, but to give hope to those who believe, so that they know that there is more than what they see and hear. Let them come and see for themselves.�

Speaking of the West, in general, and Europe, in particular, Ms. Fallaci offers her diagnosis: "The moment you give up your principles, and your values . . . the moment you laugh at those principles, and those values, you are dead, your culture is dead, your civilization is dead. Period."

Although she has many enemies, she is not alone in her dire asessment: "I feel less alone when I read the books of Ratzinger." [Tunku Varadarajan] asked Ms. Fallaci whether there was any contemporary leader she admired, and Pope Benedict XVI was evidently a man in whom she reposed some trust. "I am an atheist, and if an atheist and a pope think the same things, there must be something true. It's that simple! There must be some human truth here that is beyond religion."

"Ecco!" she says. A man after her own heart. "Ecco!"