It was on this day, 1590 years ago, that before the age of seventy six, in Hippo, today’s Bona in Algeria, a passionate seeker of truth, the most illustrious of the Fathers of the Western Church went to his eternal …
Category: Music
The Voice of Christ in Artistry
An Artistic Conflict Every one that is of the truth, heareth my voice. Pilate saith to him: What is truth? Excerpt, John 18:37-38, Douay-Rheims I propose that this one brief exchange summarizes the conflicted state of the arts in our post-modern, 20th and …
In Musical Memoriam: St. Louis IX, King of France
Today, August 25, 2020, marks the 750th anniversary of the death in Tunis of a man who “summarizes the entire Middle Ages”, who “was a legislator, a hero and a saint”, who embodied “power united with holiness, and it is …
Good Stewards of God’s Gifts: A Musical Examination of Conscience
These days, we are often told that we need to examine our consciences about our relationship to the natural world. Are we being good stewards? Are we polluting or contaminating the soil or the water? Are we practicing good agriculture …
Franz Joseph and Franz Liszt: The Story of a Coronation Mass
190 years ago today, on August 18, 1830, His Apostolic Majesty Franz Joseph (1830-1916), the penultimate emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, was born in Schönbrunn Castle near Vienna. He reigned for 68 years, from 1848 until the First …
Pietro Mascagni: Opera Composer, Friends with the Pope
Seventy-five years ago, at 7:15 A.M., on August 2, 1945, the composer and conductor from Livorno, considered by many to be the founder of that opera style marked by a strong realism that was verismo in music, died in Rome …
How Caravaggio Brilliantly Imagined the Flight to Egypt
On July 18, 410 years ago, 1610, occurred the death of Caravaggio, byname of Michelangelo Merisi (1571–1610), at the age of only 38. He died in Porto d’Ercole, Tuscany, while he was trying to return to Rome. Called the “cursed” …
Gustav Mahler and Finding Meaning through the Resurrection
On July 7, 1860, 160 years ago, in Kaliště, a village on the border with Moravia, then part of the Austrian Empire, was born to a family of Jewish merchants of German origins the composer and conductor with whom the …
Paganini, Master of the Violin: Apostate or Convalescent?
In the afternoon 180 years ago, on May 27, 1840, the Genoese violinist and composer, who surprised the world for his splendid technique and the great innovations brought to his instrument, died in Nice, then part of the kingdom of …
Music for Catholics: Henryk Górecki’s Opus for Instruments
When introducing the instrumental works of a composer to a musically untrained audience, a bit of trepidation naturally sets in. Tastes in music are often entrenched and become even more so where instrumental music is concerned. People are naturally more …