Dan Schutte - His Music in Contemporary Catholic Culture

His Music in Contemporary Catholic Culture

Schutte continues to be one of the most influential composers of contemporary Catholic liturgical music today.

Many of Schutte's compositions, often based on sacred texts, have also found wide use in Protestant hymnals.

A recent poll conducted by the National Association of Pastoral Musicians found among members that one of Schutte's hymns came in second among "songs that make a difference". In 2004, a similar survey conducted by The Tablet, an international Catholic magazine, reported Dan Schutte's hymn, "Here I Am, Lord" as reader's favorite. Other polls conducted by major Catholic music publishers and copyright license requests show a similar trend that Schutte's music is among some of the most requested by pastoral musicians for Catholic liturgy.

Around 2008, the United States Bishops Committee on Divine Worship, announced a new Vatican directive regarding the use of the name of God in the sacred liturgy. Specifically, the word “Yahweh” may no longer be “used or pronounced” in songs and prayers during liturgical celebrations" which affected the use of Mr. Schutte's famous song, "You Are Near". This directive, however, did not include singing the song in its original form using "Yahweh" for personal prayer or outside of "liturgical celebrations". The song has since been revised for liturgical settings.

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