One of the most astonishing aspects of the Incarnation mystery is that Christ, while being “God from God, Light from Light,” can withal be spoken of as a human being among human beings. In studying Jesus’ personality, background, concerns, and interests, we touch divinity itself, and learn something of divinity’s plan for humanity as expressed […]
As spring returns, the blossoms come back to life, mirroring the spiritual fruits of love, hope, and faith that grow from Jesus’ redemption. This is a truly sacred time of the year. And it brings with it a profound tranquility, repose, and promise of renewal such as the world cannot give. Trembling, Joy, and Wonder: […]
Hymns are a major source of our imaginative conception of the Christian faith. A good hymn focuses our mind on a memorable cluster of images that illuminate doctrine, preparing us to celebrate the liturgy or providing a respite during it. While the great hymn writers have often taken scripture as their starting point, they have not […]
“Golgotha” is one of those works, and Frank Martin is one of those composers, about whom you want to broadcast to the world their greatness, beauty, and importance. Writers of a conservative inclination are prone to issue blanket condemnations of the fine art produced in the 20th century. But this is a gross oversimplification. Much […]
Let me begin this brief reflection with a testimonial. Culture is the motive that gives me joy from one day to the next, the reason I get up each morning. And what do I mean by culture? Let me attempt to articulate my precise understanding of this much used (and abused) term. Culture, for me, […]
Elegance, stability, and order—as well as a sense of pure, elemental joy—are the qualities I hear in Tomaso Albinoni’s music. It is music of Venice through and through, where in the meltingly beautiful slow movements you can all but see the morning light playing on the water of the lagoon, or feel the quiet awe […]
Dieterich Buxtehude might seem at first glance an interesting minor figure, the “man who influenced Bach.” But consider: if he was a decisive inspiration to Bach, that means that Buxtehude can lay claim to being the immediate progenitor of the mainstream classical music tradition we all enjoy. Prelude Our experience of classical music has become […]
The idea of joy is to me inseparable from the idea of culture. Joy in truth gives rise to culture—human accomplishment and creativity in all its wealth and richness—and culture in turn gives us joy again, the impetus to go on living. A self-dedication to culture in its fullest sense, and to discovering truth and […]
The film “Maestro” is certainly well made—there is striking imagery throughout, in both black-and-white and color—and well-acted, with Bradley Cooper (who also directed) carrying off a spot-on impersonation of Leonard Bernstein. But at its core is an emptiness that no mere artifice can fill. Writers for the movies, I have found, don’t seem to know […]
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