I love Christmas and the jollification that comes with it and the carols that come with the Holidays are a big part of the reason.Christmas brings out the best in many tune writers: think Handel, Wesley, and the obscure pious pastor who wrote Silent Night. Hallelujah! Clever, but aging, singers have . . . . Continue Reading »
This is the second part in a twelve part devotional commentary on “O Holy Night.” See the introduction here.Long lay the world In sin and error pining,’Til He appear’d And the soul felt its worth.The dark world into which our Savior was born is one living in sin. Paul, . . . . Continue Reading »
Longtime readers know of my obsession with mathematical beauty, so it should come as no surprise to find me hopping up and down most eagerly and pointing you towards Matthew Milliner’s very immodest proposal in Public Discourse. My only quibble with the article is that the proportion of . . . . Continue Reading »
This is the first part in a twelve part devotional commentary on “O Holy Night.” See the introduction here.O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,It is the night of Our dear Saviour’s birth.The first two lines of the song provide a context for what’s to follow. . . . . Continue Reading »
Today I kicked off a devotional commentary series through the song “O Holy Night” over at The A-Team Blog. I’m not sure if it really fits with Evangel or not, but I’ll cross-post the first few entries here to see how it goes.“O Holy Night” is one of those . . . . Continue Reading »
The other day we visited Saint John the Baptist in Tryon, North Carolina, where renovations gallop apace. Here, today, you may tour — not for the sake of comparison; as we all know, comparisons are odious — my own parish church, inside and out. Now, I love it, but as you can see, this is . . . . Continue Reading »
It’s hard to know what to say about tambourines. On the one hand, they’re great for festive medieval music: “Gaudete! Gaudete! Christus est natus!” and so on. On the other hand, they’re so often not used for festive medieval music, and I think I’ll just leave it . . . . Continue Reading »
From the Church Music Association of America: Gregorian Chant at the National Shrine, Washington, DC, September 25-26, 2009.Chant is good. I imagine this pilgrimage will be all right, too, though it’s hard to consider it perfect when it hasn’t even happened yet.[Rating: 97 out of . . . . Continue Reading »
My friend Michael Linton just sent me this video clip of his lovely “Third Marian Carol,” and with the mercury climbing outside, and my little kids fighting over whose turn it is to hurl him- or herself headlong down the Slip’N’Slide, I thought I’d share it with all of . . . . Continue Reading »
Whoo. Let’s see what we’ve got going on tonight. Oh, oh, oh. Check it out. Easter’s over, baby, but you can beat the rush. I know about being forgiven, but won’t wearing a t-shirt that says so make people want to ask you what you did? In my town it would. “Whu’d . . . . Continue Reading »
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