Zur Namensfeier (English: Feastday or Name day), Op. 115, is a symphonic overture in C major by Ludwig van Beethoven completed in 1815, and first performed on Christmas Day 1815. It is dedicated to Polish prince Antoni Radziwiłł, who is remembered for his patronage of the arts. The piece was never one of Beethoven's more [...]
Charles Dickens loved the “idea” of America so much that, as with so many idealized romances, his beloved could not quite live up to his high expectations. G. K. Chesterton, that archetypal Englishman—he really could not be imagined as any other nationality—wrote probably the best biography of another quintessential Englishman, Charles Dickens. Chesterton’s biography is [...]
Just as the advent of the Savior at Christmastime did not eliminate the consequences of human sin and foolishness but opened a new way forward, so too the vision of Jack Campbell in “The Family Man” does not change his wasted last thirteen years but opens up the possibility of a very different future for [...]
Our destiny is not ultimate non-existence via the grave but an everlasting existence beyond the grave. The birth of Christ is the death of Death. The Incarnation was at the centre of history and was also its end. This is the Good News of the Gospel that we celebrate at Christmas. There are three ways [...]
Against the backdrop of angels and gods, Jew and Greek, comes the humble birth in Bethlehem. This most momentous intervention is God’s incarnation. God is the newborn mortal child wholly dependent on others to shelter and nourish him. He is also, at the same time, the ageless and immortal God on Whom all creation depends. [...]
John Trumbull, who would memorialize this great event in a painting which—commissioned in 1817 by Congress—now hangs in the United States Capitol Rotunda, called Washington’s resignation “one of the highest moral lessons ever given to the world.” In an example of unrivaled statesmanship, General George Washington resigned his military commission at the State House in [...]
We bring into the church the evergreen, Fresh boughs of trees that last all winter long. And as we place them round, we sing a song About peace on earth, goodwill to men. We set them up to decorate, it seems, To bring some festive Christmas cheer along. […]
Unlike most European languages, in which there is a formal and an informal mode of addressing someone else, the English word “you” lacks this distinction and the tremendous psychological barrier that accompanies it, and was thus crucial to promoting political democracy and social democracy. There are many, many things that strongly affect a person or [...]
Several things define the conservatives of America, whether they be those of 1898 or 1924 or 1953 or 1964 or 1989 or 2021. First, conservatism by its very nature is reactionary and reactive. Rather than being a positive force for change, it is a restraining force. As such, conservatives almost everywhere make the best critics. [...]
While it’s tempting to compare the 2020 dispute with 2000, since most of the players in that drama are, well, still alive, the real parallels are with 1876 and 1824—for different reasons. The U.S. Supreme Court may prefer to avoid wading into yet another presidential race 20 years after Bush v. Gore. It may never [...]
This gentleman evidently belonged to the category of those people who wish the Government to interfere in everything, even in their daily quarrels with their wives. —”The Nose” by Nikolai Gogol Braving the blust’ring blizzarding snow, lo, I am the poet Zhivago buffeted by this fierce maelstrom sent by grim Russian wintry discontent. [...]
In the years between 1939 and 1949, T.S. Eliot’s task was to enshrine Christian martyrdom and to restore poetic drama. His most popular drama was “The Cocktail Party,” a comedy which develops dramatically into a philosophically darker spiritual trial and wrestles with the theme of atonement. In one of his manifesto letters to William Carlos [...]
I greatly enjoyed reading Roger Scruton’s "Groans Wrapped in Mathematics," published here recently. However, it raises as many questions as it answers. How and why has this lamentable state of affairs—postmodern classical music that hardly anyone likes, foisted upon the public—persisted for so many decades? Why do opera companies and orchestras continue to program music [...]
We know that you have many people for whom to buy Christmas gifts, and we understand that—particularly this year—your family budget might be tight. But we hope you can find a place for The Imaginative Conservative on your shopping list. No matter how modest, your gift will mean much to us. The Imaginative Conservative‘s mission [...]