J. R. R. Tolkien Advised his son, Christopher, to memorize the Mass in Latin. The reason for this good advice was that “if you have these [words of the Mass] by heart, you never need for words of joy.” Tolkien spoke of the Tridentine Latin Mass, though most of the joy words, mercifully, survive in … Read more
Last December, Morley Books, the publishing arm of Crisis, launched my book, Surprised by Beauty: A Listener’s Guide to the Recovery of Modern Music. I mention this not to agitate sales, but because the widespread aversion to 20th-century music, well-earned by the cacophonists, makes me sorry for those who, having been aurally battered, shy away … Read more
The Catholic Church teaches that everyone ought to know certain things about God, man, and the world. This position—factually, not arrogantly, held—means that, now as in centuries past, concentrated effort must be made to bring this knowledge to others whatever their political or cultural condition. As Pope John Paul II put it on World Mission … Read more
The Finnish CD label, Ondine, has recently brought to concluÂsion the first recorded traversal of Einar Englund’s seven symphonies, and the budget Naxos label has issued a magnificent recording of Englund’s Second and Fifth Symphonies, along with his First Piano Concerto. The now-available evidence reveals a major 20th-century symphonist (1916-1999) who was left in the … Read more
Five years ago, the title of this Crisis column was—you guessed it!—”Schall at 70.” Time, as they say, marches on—or, to cite an old song, it “changes everything.” Actually, if time literally changed everything, including “what it is to be Schall,” Schall would not still be here. Though shaky, evidence supports the thesis that he … Read more
It is the Christmas season, and I am writing this article for anyone in danger of being institutionalized if they have to listen to Handel’s Messiah again, or for those shopping for a music lover sure to possess a recording of it already. So let us go beyond that sublime masterpiece to a variety of … Read more
Selling one’s soul to the devil to acquire riches, political or intellectual power, or pleasure is a theme as old as Adam and Eve. It is what the tempting of Christ in the desert was about; it is what Faust is about. The issue can come up in amusing ways. In Elmore Leonard’s novel Tishomingo … Read more
Fall is the season of harvest but also of essential sales of wine and music. That seems fitting since we are headed indoors to enjoy the early and deliciously chilly darkness by a roaring fire. For the wine, pay attention to the bargains from southern France and Spain—about the only bargains left for the indigent … Read more
The responsorial refrain for the Friday of the 15th Ordinary Week reads, “You saved my life, O Lord; I shall not die” (Isaiah 38:10-17). Taken literally, this is nonsense. We shall die. What is peculiar to Christianity is, indeed, the resurrection of the body, but this doctrine does not mean that we shall not die. … Read more
The Naxos label is celebrating its 15th anniversary, and you should join in the fun. In this short period of time, this astonishing budget label has released more than 2,500 recordings, most of the finest quality, as attested to by the many prestigious awards Naxos and its artists have won. What would otherwise have cost … Read more
A month after the fall semester begins, we can talk about students. Parents often wonder what students are learning in their classes. In 1933, Etienne Gilson, in a lecture titled “The Eminence of Teaching” (A Gilson Reader, 1957), recalled St. John Baptist de la Salle, the founder of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. “We … Read more
Religious oratorios would hardly seem to be the musical medium of our times, but they are cropping up with a persistence that invites attention. In April, I wrote of American composer John Adams’s new Christmas composition, El Nino, a deeply flawed but fascinating attempt to come to terms with the 21st-century remnants of Christian faith. … Read more
In March, I wrote, ironically, about the “right” to be obese. It turns out that the January 9 L’Osservatore Romano carried two related items, the Holy Father’s November 3, 2001, letter to the director general of the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and an address of Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, the Vatican’s representative to … Read more
I am often astonished at what the Holy Father says. On December 4, 2001, Pope John Paul II gave an audience to the bishops of Honduras, in which he recalled the fifth centenary of the first Mass on the American continent. The pope did not hesitate to declare that this Mass was a great event … Read more
I am torn between writing about American composer George Antheil’s life and writing about his music. Each contains such wild improbabilities that one cannot help but be intrigued and amused by the delightful eccentricities of both. I wonder if the connection between the two might not be crime—of both the literal and musical sort. Take, … Read more
A gentleman in Sought Carolina recently recalled hearing Professor Ronald Nash (Western Kentucky University) speaking at Hillsdale College. Nash had received a copy of my book The Praise of “Sons of Bitches”: On the Worship of God by Fallen Men. He quipped that on receiving the book, he immediately hastened to its index to see … Read more
This is my 77th consecutive article in this space. I didn’t know I had it in me. Yet I plow on into my eighth year. It is not as if I could ever run out of material. Time is the finite commodity. I will run out of that long before I have exhausted the treasures … Read more
During Christmas of 1964, I was assigned to a parish in Stanford-le-Hope, a town along the Thames east of London. What I remember most about this stay was retiring to bed on my first night. My quarters were in the convent chaplain’s room across a snowy garden from the church. Not knowing where any light … Read more
Since the time of the Second Vatican Council, an almost obsessive focus on the Catholic Church as institution has preoccupied many Catholics in North America and western Europe. That obsession with the institutional dimension of the Church helps to explain why so much of the contemporary Catholic debate is framed in terms borrowed from politics: … Read more
Before he died, a great music-loving friend of mine, Phil Nicolaides, said that he would regret departing this life because of the wonderful melodies he would never hear. He was wrong. The best melodies are in heaven. This is especially so in the case of the music of Norwegian composer Geirr Tveitt (1908-1981). Tveitt lived … Read more
