Pianist and conductor Ignat Solzhenitsyn reflects on growing up in exile as the son of Nobel laureate Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, moving from Soviet persecution to a quiet childhood in rural Vermont. Ignat recounts how music, faith, and Russian culture sustained his family far from home, how cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich helped set him on a… Read More Ignat Solzhenitsyn in Conversation with Peter Robinson
“Classical music has evolved through several distinct historical periods, including the Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern eras, each characterized by unique styles and compositional techniques. This evolution reflects changes in cultural contexts, musical tastes, and the development of new instruments and forms over time. Overview of Classical Music Evolution Classical music has evolved… Read More The Evolution of Classical Music
Foreword to Dietrich von Hildebrand’s book by Manfred Honeck (and see a conversation with Manfred Honeck on great composers below). He writes, “THIS LITTLE BOOK IS A TREASURE, not only because it discusses three of the greatest composers, but also because the author is willing actually to engage with their music. It does not claim… Read More Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert
Music is universal. When the message is not truly bad it is good enough, and cheers the human heart in recreation. John Paul II reminded us that whatever is truly and universally human participates in the essential goodness of Creation. Only we can wreck that! (Phil. 4:8) If all music had to be overtly religious… Read More Play skilfully
By now we’ve all long heard Cohen’s honest testimonial to the faltering universal holy quest. “I’ve heard there was a secret chord That David played, and it pleased the lordBut you don’t really care for music, do you? It goes like this, the fourth, the fifthThe minor fall, now the major liftThe baffled king composing… Read More Who Hasn’t Known the Broken Chord?
Francis Albert Sinatra (/sɪˈnɑːtrə/; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes“, he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century.[1] Born to Italian immigrants in Hoboken, New Jersey, Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era. He joined the Harry James band as… Read More Sinatra in the studio
[Link below has been repaired]. Through her wonderful gift of music (e.g. this … and this) she asks the most fundamental question everyone must ask. Existence itself poses the question. And implicit in the question is the answer. The resurrection of Christ confirmed the Gospel, splitting time in half, into a ‘before’ and ‘after’. Who… Read More The One Thing Necessary
Anett Fodor tells the story ofBeethoven, Liszt and the Little Broadwood. | The London piano manufacturer, Thomas Broadwood, visited Ludwig van Beethoven when he was staying in Vienna. He realised immediately that the Master was suffering from impaired hearing. Broadwood was a great admirer of Beethoven and a few months later, he gave him a… Read More Exceptional Provenance
“In this two-part episode of Thinking Out Loud, Nathan Rittenhouse and Cameron McAllister dive deep into the fascinating idea of being “crypto-religious”—a term coined by Polish poet Czesław Miłosz and revived in Paul Elie’s new book The Last Supper. Together, Nathan and Cameron explore how artists like Bob Dylan, Madonna, Prince, Bono, and Andy Warhol… Read More Crypto-religous Music and Art?
Unexpected hope. “The lyrics reflect a journey from loneliness to love, emphasizing the joy and fulfillment that a loving relationship can bring. The song captures the essence of finding hope and happiness through connection with another person. a journey from loneliness to love, emphasizing the joy and fulfillment that a loving relationship can bring. The… Read More Time Out: “You Turned My World Around”
Time to say goodbye. In November 1996, Andrea and Sarah Brightman were invited to perform the duet ‘Time To Say Goodbye (Con Te Partirò)’ at the farewell contest of the German World Light-Heavyweight boxing champion, Henry Maske. A national hero held in unrivaled esteem, he is known for his love of selecting entrance themes to… Read More Time Out. Andrea Bocelli & Sarah Brightman. 1997.
…Taylor.” Strange to place her here, but it’s a Time Out and it was the song which drew me in. “The song [see pg. bottom] is a hauntingly tender ballad from his 1970 concept album Watertown. The album itself is a departure from his usual style—it’s a narrative-driven piece (summary song). 🎶 About the Song:… Read More Time Out. Sinatra: “Elizabeth”
Updated with his full masterpiece: For the Bride below. John Michael Talbot (born May 8, 1954) is an American Catholic musician, author, television presenter and founder of a Third Order monastic community known as the Brothers and Sisters of Charity. Talbot was born into a Methodist family with a musical background in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and started learning to play the guitar… Read More Sunrise miracle, Daily
A Gorgeous Concept (one story) Album by Sinatra: ‘Watertown.’ Read more about it in Wikipedia. More importantly, give yourself a break and hear it. (Click the cover image) My feelings about Sinatra are similar to my feelings about The Beatles. James K. Fitzpatrick put it very well, “I think Sinatra was a musical genius…” “But…” … Read More Time Out.
– Hans Christian Andersen. To love the gift of music is to love life. This website is not a church. It is, rather, a website that tries to testify, after Christ, to all the gifts God has given us in creation, including poetry and music and all of the other real arts. What a gift… Read More Time Out. “Where words fail, music speaks.”
I don’t mean to rain on Patrick Madrid’s (or anyone’s) parade. But consider. He writes in bold letters on ‘X’ that the Beatles are the “Greatest Band in History. Don’t Trust Anyone Who Doesn’t Like The Beatles!“. But the Beatles cast both genius and deepest shade. I’m in my 7th decade of life. I’ve loved… Read More The Beatles and Where We Are.
And ‘Being Beethoven‘ a BBC documentary chronicling his genius, tragedies and glory. Also, Damian Thompson asks why didn’t Beethoven go to Mass? Too, How did Beethoven feel about Napoleon? And Missa Solemnis. Beethoven and the Catholic Church .By Michael De Sapio.Crisis Magazine. Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart form the great trinity… Read More Beethoven and the Catholic Church
A fascinating look at the devolution of culture and the arts over time through the lenses and timelines of Beat, Folk, and Rock ‘n Roll. Superseding orthodox Marxism and other political and social movements, theBeat Movement was the ovum of all later decadent movements in both cultures and music . The Encyclopedia Brittanica defined the… Read More Psychedelia, Beat, Folk, Rock’n’roll…and Us
Damian Thompson associate editor of The Spectator writes, “Ludwig van Beethoven had a profound faith in God. He was born and raised a Catholic and on his deathbed he asked to receive the Last Rites. He told the priest, ‘I thank you, ghostly sir – you have brought me comfort.’ One of his closest friends,… Read More Why didn’t Beethoven Go to Mass?
The Irish journalist John Waters writes in First Things (excerpts follow), “In 1972, the year ABBA was formed, an English journalist named Roland Huntford published The New Totalitarians, in which he exposed the underbelly of Swedish “progressivism”: a near century as a one-party state under the Social Democrats, featuring crude anti-family policies and rampant state incursion… Read More ABBA And The New Totalitarians
Catholic Critique 