Chamber music is sometimes the best work of the best composers, and for that there is no acceptable substitute. When I first heard chamber music, it seemed an acquired taste, and subsequently a taste I acquired. So I will recite some personal history without any illusion that it matters because it was my experience. On [...]
In his lectures about three musical geniuses—Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert—Dietrich von Hildebrand shows how the integration of music with spiritual and philosophic insight can enrich our musical understanding. Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, by Dietrich von Hildebrand, trans. John Henry Crosby (109 pages, Hildebrand Project, 2025) When a distinguished Catholic philosopher discourses on three distinguished composers of [...]
Some guys have it and some guys don’t. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart obviously had it. By age eight he was already writing symphonies you can still hear on the radio. And there is no sign that the Mozart fad will blow over very soon. A couple of years later he was writing operas, which culminated, for [...]
Contemporary composer Michael Torke’s music invites us to slow down the frenzied pace of our lives, to reflect on who we are as human beings, where we have been and where we are going. His is indeed music for the ages. We often lament the decline of culture, but I would submit that the decline [...]
6th January The Epiphany of Our Lord “…the star beckoned the three wise men out of their distant country and led them to recognise and adore the King of heaven and earth. The obedience of the star calls us to imitate its humble service: to be servants, as best we can, of the grace that [...]
5th January Eve of the Epiphany of Our Lord Twelfth Night and the drawing to a close of the twelve days of Christmas and the vigil of the Feast of the Epiphany! 12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the twelfth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me twelve Drummers Drumming: The twelve points [...]
12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the tenth day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me ten Lords a-Leaping: The Ten Commandments. Poem: Hilaire Belloc - "Courtesy" Of Courtesy, it is much less Than Courage of Heart or Holiness, Yet in my Walks it seems to me That the Grace of God is in [...]
Joseph Pearce Interviews Iranian Composer Farhad Poupel Farhad Poupel Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in [...]
1st January Day 8 of the Octave of Christmas Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Saviour has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia 12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the eighth day of Christmas, my True [...]
31st December Day 7 of the Octave of Christmas Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Saviour has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia 12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the seventh day of Christmas, my True [...]
30th December Day 6 of the Octave of Christmas Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Saviour has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia 12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the sixth day of Christmas, my True [...]
29th December Day 5 of the Octave of Christmas Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Saviour has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia. 12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the fifth day of Christmas, my True [...]
28th December Day 4 of the Octave of Christmas Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Saviour has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia. 12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the fourth day of Christmas, my True [...]
27th December, St. John Day 3 of the Octave of Christmas Christ the Lord is born today; today, the Saviour has appeared. Earth echoes songs of angel choirs, archangels’ joyful praise. Today on earth his friends exult. Glory to God in the highest, alleluia. 12 Days of Christmas Carol: On the third day of Christmas, [...]