Our Goal is the Resurrection Rejoice, Jerusalem, and all who love her. Be joyful, all who were in mourning; exult and be satisfied at her consoling breast. (Introit for the 4th Sunday of Lent) Our Goal is Almost in Sight Why rejoice in the middle of Lent? Isn't Lent a solemn and penitential season? And haven't … Continue reading Our Goal is the Resurrection: Ain’t No Grave
Fear and Hope: Confutatis and Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem
Fear and Hope are the twin themes of the "Confutatis and Lacrimosa" from Mozart's Requiem. If thou, O LORD, shouldst mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope . . . (Psalm … Continue reading Fear and Hope: Confutatis and Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem
The Drama of Sin and Repentance (or not) From Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Music Monday)
Hell is a real possibility for all of us. It's not a happy thought, but it's an appropriate introduction to today's Music Monday selection, our last musical offering before Ash Wednesday. It's not really sacred music, but it is very relevant indeed to the Lenten themes of sin, repentance (or not), and damnation. This is the finale* of Mozart's opera Don Giovanni (a.k.a. Don Juan), one of the most powerful scenes in the history of musical drama.
Sacred Music With an Edge – “The Heavens Are Telling” from Haydn’s The Creation
Do you want to talk about living on the edge? "Few composers can boast on their curricula vitae," wrote R.J. Stove in Catholic World Report a few years ago, "a deliberate and successful avoidance of gelding. Haydn could." Indeed he could: it was only through the timely and forceful intervention of his father that … Continue reading Sacred Music With an Edge – “The Heavens Are Telling” from Haydn’s The Creation
The Drama of Salvation: Agnus Dei from Mozart’s Coronation Mass
Catholic Christianity has been blessed with a vast array of artists of every sort whose manifold talents have brought glory to God. There are poets as different as Dante Alighieri and Gerard Manley Hopkins, we have Carravaggios and Michelaengelos in the visual arts, and there are a whole list of Catholic composers including Monteverde, … Continue reading The Drama of Salvation: Agnus Dei from Mozart’s Coronation Mass
Things Old and New: Berthier’s “Laudate Dominum”
Jacques Berthier The Twentieth Century is known for many things, but beautiful art, whether in the visual arts or music, is not one of them. There are nonetheless some lovely creations hidden among the experimental and the transgressive and the deconstructed offerings cluttering the past century. You can hear one of those sparks of beauty in the … Continue reading Things Old and New: Berthier’s “Laudate Dominum”
Kyrie from Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis
When we think of Beethoven, Sacred Music might not be the first thing that comes to mind . . . but what he did compose was, as we might expect, moving, powerful, and simply beautiful.
Agnus Dei from Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli
Spiritual Warfare has been a theme in a number of my posts recently, and for good reason: while the struggle "against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12) is always with us, it has been causing more … Continue reading Agnus Dei from Haydn’s Missa in Tempore Belli
God, We Praise You – Domenico Scarlatti’s “Te Deum” and Raphael’s “Disputation of the Holy Sacrament”
Domenico Scarlatti In the teaching world we have a saying: "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree". In other words, when we meet the parents, we often understand why our students are the way they are (my lovely bride often quotes this back to me when one of our children does something particularly egregious … Continue reading God, We Praise You – Domenico Scarlatti’s “Te Deum” and Raphael’s “Disputation of the Holy Sacrament”
Exult in God with Sacred Music and Art: Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Exultate Deo” and “Jesus Christ the Returning King” by Janusz Antosz
It’s only natural that the children of a loving Father should try to please and honor him. And so for the past two thousand years, Christians have put untold effort, ingenuity and love into creating a magnificent store of inspiring art of all sorts to glorify God, including a treasury of sacred music unmatched for … Continue reading Exult in God with Sacred Music and Art: Alessandro Scarlatti’s “Exultate Deo” and “Jesus Christ the Returning King” by Janusz Antosz