Associate Professor
Musicology and Liturgical Theology
Ph.D. in Musicology
Ph.D. in Philosophy (Metaphysics)
Ph.D. in Sciences (Condensed Matter Physics)
Masters in Theology
Graduate in Piano and in Organ.
Institute of Liturgy
Founder and Director of the “MBM International Project (Music, Beauty & Mystery)”
Ramón Saiz-Pardo is accepting applications for PhD students
Liturgical music constitutes an important dimension of the liturgy itself. Within the liturgical context of grace, it enables the Church to praise God, to listen to Him, and to enter into dialogue with Him—both personally and as members of the ecclesial community—beyond merely human notions and words. Despite its central role in the life of the Church, liturgical music still lacks a sufficiently developed theological foundation in contemporary theological reflection. The MBM International Project aims to contribute to the development of such a foundation.
Within this perspective, two complementary theological approaches can be distinguished.
1. Theology of Sacred Music.
This approach consists in the systematic theological study of Sacred Music, and more specifically of Liturgical Music. Its fundamental question may be formulated as follows: what is sacred or liturgical music? It seeks to clarify the nature and identity of liturgical music within the broader framework of theology.
2. Musical Liturgical Theology (MLT).
Musical Liturgical Theology proposes a new epistemological approach that may be understood as a specific development within theological research. It extends the global perspective of Liturgical Theology by employing the proper means and analytical instruments of music and musicology. Its object is the theological study of Liturgical Music in the in actu of worship—that is, in the concrete act of liturgical celebration.
The present moment offers a particularly favourable context for addressing the theological foundation of liturgical music and for recovering authentic liturgical music, which has been lost in many places. By engaging the question at the theological level, the project seeks to move beyond the often reductive debate over musical styles and to approach the issue at a deeper and more fundamental level, while at the same time—through an adequate methodological framework—opening practical pathways for liturgical renewal. Such work is of great importance for the integrity of Christian worship (orthodoxy), for the sacramental life of the faithful, and for the mission of the new evangelization.
