A Musical Priest

Not every priest is musical—and, just as oddly, not every musician is especially religious.

One writer once questioned a priest about the musical symbols in an antiphonal and breviary, and found him completely lost: note values, pitch indications, even basic signs meant nothing to him. When shown a breviary dated 1692, the priest saw that the notation was essentially the same as in today’s service books. The C‑clef, which can resemble two square notes joined, puzzled him so much that he asked how anyone could be expected to sing two notes at once.

A very different priest was Antonio Vivaldi—violinist and composer. While officiating at Mass, a musical idea struck him. Afraid to lose it, he left the altar, went to the vestry, quickly wrote it down, then returned and calmly resumed the service.

His superiors banned him from continuing in priestly duties. Yet the bishop later reinstated him, excusing the breach by saying that, “being a musician, he could not have been in his right mind”—a verdict kinder to Vivaldi than flattering to musicians in general.