The Catholic Music Shop

Check out www.catholicmusicshop.com. Courtesy of the New Liturgical Movement. From the press release:

In the old days, if you wanted to hear a choir from another town, you hopped on your donkey and went on a trip. Nowadays, you surf the internet to find a CD or MP3.

Venturing into the repertoire of sacred music that spans nearly two millennia can be quite intimidating, so Diana and Mike Silva have just opened the online Catholic Music Shop (www.catholicmusicshop.com) as a guide. Shoppers can browse categories such as Gregorian Chant, Polyphony, Masses, Liturgical Year and the Blessed Virgin Mary. There’s even a complete section for the novice listener.

“If you go to Amazon.com and type in ‘Gregorian chant,’ you’ll come up with over 1,300 CD’s. It can be overwhelming. Because we know the musical tradition of the Church, and because we’re familiar with the ensembles, we’re able to direct our customers to the high quality performances and recordings,” Diana Silva explained.

The Catholic Music Shop is owned and operated by Diana and Mike Silva, a couple uniquely qualified to offer the treasury of the Church’s sacred music online. Mike, a computer programmer by trade, is also President and Founder of Voci del Tesoro, which operates the highest-ranking Live 365 internet choral music broadcast, www.choraltreasure.org. Choral Treasure plays online (streaming) commercial-free music of the Catholic tradition, and has listeners in over 120 countries. Diana Silva, who co-founded and directed the Voci del Tesoro professional choir, was also the Founding Chair of the Department of Sacred Music at Ave Maria University, where she directed the AMU Choirs, taught Choral Conducting, Voice and served as Director of Liturgical Music. She and Mike also organize advanced courses in Gregorian chant every summer at St. Pierre Abbey in Solesmes , France .

The online shop offers mostly CD’s, but also some DVD’s and books as well, and each selection is hand-picked. Catholic Music Shop is an Amazon affiliate, so payment and shipping are automatically handled by Amazon.com, and all the prices are the same as one would pay at Amazon.

“The ‘shelves’ are stocked for Advent and Christmas, and we are adding to our inventory in each category daily,” said Mike Silva.

It brings things together very nicely.