As a composer Virgil Thomson was a minor master, but his critical prose ranks with some of the best writing on music in English. To pass from reading a contemporary essayist to one of the middle decades of the 20th century is often to enter another world, one of succinct elegance and inborn culture. The Missouri-born [...]
With its lyrical violin solo voice—at once soaring and nostalgic—"The Lark Ascending” offers a response to the angst in the world, an evocation of the English countryside, a harking back to a simpler, bucolic time that, with the rise of industrialization, seemed to be disappearing before Ralph Vaughan Williams’ very eyes. It is the most [...]
Had I to choose a musical summer idyll, my choice would be Jour d’été à la montagne (Summer’s Day in the Mountains), a tone poem by the French Romantic composer Vincent d’Indy. D’Indy (1851–1931) is one of those composers celebrated in their day whose music has since fallen into obscurity (his other “mountain” piece, Symphony [...]
Music liberates us from vulgarity, intellectual rigidity, and the tyranny of unexamined, popular opinions about music and beauty. Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul. –Plato Music transcends the classroom, the concert stage, and professional recordings. It pervades life. Mankind has long used music in all sorts of ways: [...]
For the explosive energy and power of his music, and its exploring of unheard-of worlds of sound, Igor Stravinsky was the main figure in 20th-century music. Many of us are affected by the ethos of his music whether we are aware of it or not. Its confidence, sharpness, clarity, precision, and lack of sentimentality are [...]
The music of Antonin Dvorak's "Stabat Mater" is itself redemptive. By the time we arrive at the last stanza, we comprehend that the words of the hymn through the very grandeur of the music have led us from a most somber and tragic experience with corresponding musical setting to a new hope—that death, though present, [...]
Music held a notable place within Thomas Jefferson's cultured and humanistic life—a point reinforced by his insistence on having music instruction at his newly founded University of Virginia. This shows the importance Jefferson placed on music in the life of the mind, just as his involvement with music throughout his life enhances his image as [...]
I believe we are stepping into a new era for the arts, particularly for Christians and conservatives, if we are willing to fight hard for it. We have been hidden too long, and our new digital world, as foreign and alien as it may seem to the thoughtful artist, can be an ally rather than [...]
Maurice Duruflé was one of the last representatives of a very old tradition: that of musicians who trained for, and devoted their lives to, the service of the church. Duruflé planted his seeds in the rich soil of tradition and came up with new and fresh flowers. Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) is a unique case in [...]
Music is a constant part of our lives, yet its nature remains elusive. We tend to take music for granted, like any product or commodity, not realizing what a strange phenomenon and unusual gift it is. Aristotle acknowledged as much: “It is not easy to determine the nature of music or why anyone should have [...]
Bruce Springsteen sternly instructs us in his new infomercial to "find the middle" in politics. But the Founders made clear the fact that vigorous debate was critical to their vision of democracy. I can forgive Bruce for recycling footage and clothes from his Western Stars movie in that Super Bowl commercial (pulled by Jeep in [...]
I'm a composer, and I was recently informed by some self-assured young academics that being influenced by the European classics made me guilty of “white supremacy” and musical “colonization”! Who knew? All these years I thought I was lovingly sharing something beautiful with others. Half a century ago, as a mere lad, I must confess [...]
During our time of confinement, I was most thankful to be with my family. It’s a lot of people in one house. There’s a lot of noise and it is often chaotic, but my kids are cool people and it was a gift to have the extra time together. My husband, aside from being my [...]
"Sgt. MacKenzie" is a lament written and sung by Joseph Kilna MacKenzie, in memory of his great-grandfather who was killed in combat during World War I. It was used in the 2002 movie We Were Soldiers.... Joseph MacKenzie wrote the haunting lament after the death of his wife, Christine, and in memory of his great-grandfather, Charles [...]