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Contrapuntal Order

Around the start of the seventeenth century, a new sense of the word “harmony” emerged. To that point, harmony in music had been produced by the pleasing opposition of two melodies according to the principles of counterpoint. In the 1600s, “harmony” began to denote the non-melodic . . . . Continue Reading »

Briefly Noted

Saint Paul Lives Here (In Minnesota)by zach czaiawipf and stock, 66 pages, $7.50 A fter years of controversy over the mishandling of sexual predators among the priests of his archdiocese, Archbishop of Minneapolis-St. Paul John Nienstedt resigned last June. Now facing criminal prosecution, the . . . . Continue Reading »

No Apology for Bach's Theology

As the cantor of Leipzig, Bach was responsible for composing music for Sunday ­services, which produced reams of choral ­music, mostly cantatas. Because of this, it would be difficult to find a composer who wrote more sacred music. Like Victoria and Bruckner, Bach’s works stem from his own devotion. But more than any other composer, Bach uses complex music to articulate theology. . . . Continue Reading »

Happy Birthday Dear Sebastian!

[caption id=”attachment_5721” align=”aligncenter” width=”480” caption=”Happy 325th Birthday Kantor Bach!”][/caption]Our beloved fifth evangelist was born on this day in 1685. Since many male relatives in Bach time shared a common first name: fathers, . . . . Continue Reading »

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