Listen to the first four minutes of the first movement (Andante grave) of Prokofiev’s Cello Sonata in C Major, and ask yourself: Woudln’t you be content if these four minutes summed up the story of your life? . . . . Continue Reading »
[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 »
As we continue our discussion of popular music and its discontents , I opened up the paper this morning to find a charming tribute to the place and milieu in which I grew up: the New Jersey hardcore scene. Although it’s partly a record review, the piece does a good job capturing the local . . . . Continue Reading »
“O Sacred Head Now Wounded” is only a portion of a much longer poem by Bernard of Clairvaux, a blason on the crucified Jesus. The Baroque composer Dieterich Buxtehude set the whole poem to music in Membra Jesu Nostri , and there’s a wonderful performance by the Schola . . . . Continue Reading »
If you took a moment to watch the YouTube video I posted in my previous note about Bach, you will rejoice in Mr. Suzuki’s clear and forthright witness to Christ and the Christian faith. Nearly ten years ago my friend Dr. Uwe Siemon-Netto wrote a piece for FIRST THINGS, and I thought it might . . . . Continue Reading »
One of the world’s premier interpreters and conductors of Bach music is the Japanese musician Masaaki Suzuki. And he gets Bach, unlike many Westerners. I am sick and tired of discussions of Bach by secularists who do everything they can to avoid, dismiss, denigrate and intentionally ignore the . . . . Continue Reading »
This is the final post in a twelve part devotional commentary on “O Holy Night.” See the introduction here.Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,His power and glory Evermore proclaim.His power and glory Evermore proclaim.The carol ends on a note of proclamation, its fourth . . . . Continue Reading »
This is the eleventh part in a twelve part devotional commentary on “O Holy Night.” See the introduction here.Sweet hymns of joy In grateful chorus raise we,Let all within us Praise His holy name.The third response to the gospel in O Holy Night is deeply rooted praise from a joyful . . . . Continue Reading »
This is the tenth part in a twelve part devotional commentary on “O Holy Night.” See the introduction here.Chains shall He break For the slave is our brother;And in His name All oppression shall cease.I’ve heard from a couple of readers of this series that these are their favorite . . . . Continue Reading »
This is the ninth part in a twelve part devotional commentary on “O Holy Night.” See the introduction here.Truly He taught us To love one another;His law is love And His gospel is peace.God the Father did not send the Son simply to die for our sins and then abandon us to continue to live . . . . Continue Reading »
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