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The Workshop

An International Workshop on this subject is therefore proposed in order to present the MLT. The invited scholars represent diverse fields required by the intrinsically interdisciplinary nature of this subject: Theology, Liturgy, Philosophy, Music, Musicology.

As a novel discipline, it requires a process of definition. The main goal of the Workshop is, therefore, about raising the epistemological question, sparking debate, both from a more theoretical point of view and from possible paths of fundamental applied research. and provoking thought and research within the framework of the MLT. As a second, broader objective, the Workshop aims to stimulate reflection and research in terms of MLT, projecting into the future. In this sense, the Workshop aims to be a point of convergence to facilitate new relationships between specialists from different fields of expertise to initiate the joint work of research and collaboration so that new activities, such as conferences, different types of musical performances, calls for composition prizes, etc., can also be proposed.

The Workshop will be held in a virtual format, over two afternoons (European time) on September 21 and 22, 2023, with logistics based at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, in Rome. The language of the Workshop will be Italian.

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This Workshop was born in the context of the MBM International Project (Music, Beauty & Mystery), a pathway for the study of sacred music by researching its theological and liturgical foundations. Among many texts, we can mention one that, although it does not explicitly refer to liturgical music, on the one hand, reflects the general framework of the project and, on the other, shows the convergence of the interest of the last three Popes in the subject: Pope Francis, in Motu proprio Aperuit illis (n. 2), rests on the texts of Benedict XVI, who, in turn, quotes St. John Paul II, without neglecting the reference to the Second Vatican Council. Here is the reported text of Benedict XVI (Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini, 56): «Pope John Paul II had made reference to the “sacramental character of Revelation” and in particular to “the sign of the Eucharist in which the indissoluble unity between the signifier and signified makes it possible to grasp the depths of the mystery” (Encyclical Letter Fides et Ratio, 13). […] The sacramentality of the word can thus be understood by analogy with the real presence of Christ under the appearances of the consecrated bread and wine (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1373-1374). By approaching the altar and partaking in the Eucharistic banquet we truly share in the body and blood of Christ. The proclamation of God’s word at the celebration entails an acknowledgment that Christ himself is present, that he speaks to us (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Constitution on Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum Concilium, 7), and that he wishes to be heard». The building of the MBM International Project is based on two different theological perspectives, the TSM and the MLT. They are two complementary ways of studying music from the fundamental point of view, which must grow by looking at each other and must end up translating into musical creation and performance.