New music is popping up in Catholic Parishes all around America, thanks to the work of Adam Bartlett and his team at Source and Summit. Bartlett, a former cathedral music director and faculty member of the Liturgical Institute and Mundelein Seminary, left his work as teacher and director to found the online platform and publishing company Source and Summit. Since its creation, the company has provided sacred music resources to countless parishes to help elevate their liturgies and bring greater glory to God.
During a lecture on Benedictine’s campus, Adam Bartlett shared the foundation of his work at Source and Summit with Benedictine students, many of whom are musicians themselves. Though the music published by Source and Summit may seem new to many people’s ears, Bartlett’s work hearkens back to the ancient traditions of the Church, drawing on the antiphons, propers, and other liturgical texts set forth by the Church for her liturgy. By setting the liturgy apart through beautiful music, he hopes to help musicians and congregation members alike “to see that all that we do leads us to the greater glory of God, the sanctification of the Church, and the illumination of the world with the light of Christ.”
He spoke directly to the musicians who were at his presentation, saying he wanted to “invigorate and inspire” their vocations as parish music leaders. He even sang with them, giving them practical examples of how to encourage a congregation to participate more fully through the music of the liturgy.
Bartlett also shared how his vision for Source and Summit is helping transform the culture in America and invited the lecture attendees to join him in this mission. He said “we Christify the culture around us with the beautiful lives that we live, with the beautiful things that we make and the beautiful music we compose.”
You can watch Bartlett’s lecture in full here on the Benedictine College Lectures YouTube page.
