Zenit reported (June 13, 2003) that at the Great Mosque in Rome a Muslim cleric called for the annihilation of “the enemies of Islam and [a] guarantee everywhere in the world [of] the victory of the Nation of Islam.” This outburst caused the raising of not a few Italian eyebrows. Bill O’Reilly, among others, holds … Read more
Last Christmas, I recommended a number of seasonal works beyond Handel’s Messiah (which is an Easter oratorio, anyway). They included pieces by Frank Martin, Gabriel Pierne, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Pablo Casals, and, of course, Bach. Now, I shall go further afield in search of musical myrrh. Arthur Honegger (1892-1955) was a Swiss composer, thought by … Read more
Some months ago, I read an essay of the English Dominican Vincent McNabb (1868-1943). In it, McNabb recalled his own family, his parents with eleven children, their Christmas in Ireland. The children received few gifts for Christmas. But, he thought, each of his brothers and sisters was a gift. A gift, after all, is a … Read more
The death of the symphony has been announced at least as often as that of the novel. Both obituaries have been premature. (I just finished reading Josh Gilder’s brilliant new novel, Ghost Image, a cross between Raymond Chandler and Dostoyevsky.) In the symphony’s case, its demise was diagnosed due to either the supposed exhaustion of … Read more
The sky west prop plane from Salt Lake to Casper passed over mountains, valleys, ridges, and clefts, mostly barren. A road, town, or farm was rarely sighted. Bishop David Ricken, D.D., of Cheyenne—only one bishop in Wyoming—realized that Catholics in Wyoming had no Catholic college (it may have been a blessing!). The University of Wyoming … Read more
The Mass has probably been set to music more often than any text in history. Three new CD releases of early- and mid-19th century Masses remind us of the immense treasure contained in the dormant Catholic cultural heritage. We need that reminder in the context of today’s liturgical impoverishment, the musical expression of which gives … Read more
On Tuesday, October 12, 1779, Boswell reports that he and Johnson dined in London at Mr. Ramsay’s. Present were Lord Newhaven and “a beautiful Miss Graham,” a relative of “His Lordship’s.” Indeed, His Lordship asked Johnson to “hob or nob with her.” This expression “hob or nob,” however suspicious sounding, means to drink and toast … Read more
You are going to be marooned on a desert island. You can only take two suitcases. You will not be rescued for at least three months. You have a portable CD player and headset. Your CD carrying case holds 34 discs, and you are standing before a library of some 2,000 CDs. You have an … Read more
I recently returned from a tour as a civilian in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I was surprised to find controversy still swirling through the press as to whether U.S. actions in overthrowing Saddam Hussein were morally justified. As important as this issue no doubt is, during the three months I lived and worked with Iraqis, other … Read more
I began to write this column on a Sunday morning last winter, during the heaviest snowstorm in years. The scene on Georgetown University’s campus was stunningly beautiful. Before breakfast, I went into the inner courtyard to take a photo of the Healy towers from the back, then of the small chapel, the trees and old … Read more
War, as they say, clears the air, and sometimes the mind. It isn’t true that all wars are just. But it’s even less true that all wars are unjust. The “legal” and absolute elimination of war is, in practice, more likely to lead to injustice than to justice. We sometimes hear it said that the … Read more
He earned his place in the record books, did Havergal Brian. The first British composer from the working class. Creator of the biggest symphony ever written. In his day, the most prolific symphonist since Haydn—writing 21 of his 32 numbered symphonies after his 80th birthday. But Brian (1876-1972) was an outsider during his own lifetime, … Read more
Do not go into a war of ideas until you understand the ideas you are at war with. A war of ideas is a struggle over the very nature of reality for which people are willing to die. Such wars are conducted in terms of moral legitimacy. The defense of one’s ideas and the attack … Read more
Hilaire Belloc died on Thursday, July 16, 1953, a half-century ago. He was simply the best essayist in our language. If someone asks me what is Belloc’s greatest essay, I have to say, honestly, “the last one I read.” I love his essay on the English city of Lynn in Hills and the Sea. His … Read more
One of the arguments for Islam is that it’s a relatively simple religion. Its essential system is very brief; it can be stated in five principles with few basic requirements. Catholicism is complicated. As Chesterton said, it is complex because the reality it deals with is complex. Catholicism understands itself to be directly derived—if I … Read more
German composer Claus Ogermann recently made a delightful remark in an interview with British music critic Martin Anderson. He said, “Look back at Donaueschingen [the German Mecca of the avant garde], where they’ve been playing modern music since 1923 or ’24—they’ve premiered 2,000 compositions there, of which none has left any mark. It’s as if … Read more
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
Twentieth-century music does not get much better than Michael Tippett (1905-1998) in full flower, lending some credence to his advocates’ claim that, in his later years, he was the greatest living British composer. Yet that reputation rested on compositions that came from his first period of work that featured an extraordinary outpouring of luminous, highly … Read more
Wearing his baseball cap and uniform, Charlie Brown comes into his living room, where his sister, Sally, sits watching TV on her bean-bag chair. Dejectedly, Charlie says to her, “It’s the last game of the season, and we lost.” Sally just walks away, saying to a puzzled Charlie, “So what does that mean?” With his … 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