Ring, Catholic Bells!
by Terence SweeneyPerhaps the new evangelization begins with such small gestures as the ringing of church bells. Continue Reading »
How U2 Betrayed Rock ’n’ Roll
by John WatersThe band U2 has announced it supports the pro-abortion side in Ireland’s upcoming referendum on abortion. Continue Reading »
Taylor Swift, Nazi Barbie?
by Dominic GreenJanuary is Taylor Swift month in the Green household. If, like me, you have three young daughters, then every month for the last ten years has been Taylor Swift month. Still, Swift’s new album, Reputation, has driven the Swiftometer to an all-time high. Three copies arrived by courier on . . . . Continue Reading »
Bluegrass Preaching
by C. C. PecknoldAfter nearly four years of performing, The Hillbilly Thomists have released their first album, and it is a veritable feast of Bluegrass banjo bliss. Continue Reading »
The Heart of the Psalms
by Nathaniel PetersThe Psalms Experience—twelve concerts by some of the world's great choirs, performing a capella settings of all 150 psalms—was recently featured in Manhattan. Continue Reading »
He Went There
by John LukacsHe was not a refugee, not an immigrant, not a displaced person. Or, rather: yes and no. When he and I became close friends, he once said to me: “Sometimes Americans ask, ‘When did you come to this country?’ I did not come to America; I went there.” And if he was asked . . . . Continue Reading »
Post-Pentecostal Depression
by Robert P. ImbelliWe need festal time, to express our full joy at the coming of the Holy Spirit. Continue Reading »
Harmony and the Scriptures: Lenten Reflections on Harnoncourt and Bach
by Michael Maria WaldsteinI became aware of the clash between Harnoncourt and Richter, right around the time when my own musical taste became more mature and critical, at age fifteen or sixteen. I was a Richterian; Harnoncourt struck me as harsh and uncouth. Continue Reading »
Choreography and Improv
by Peter J. LeithartDespite appearances, jazz and baseball are historically intertwined. Baseball players and jazz musicians both strive for a perfect balance between disciplined practice and spontaneity. Continue Reading »
Bruckner’s Gethsemane
by Robert P. ImbelliThe devoutly Catholic Bruckner dedicated his last symphony to “the dear God,” and prayed in his final illness that the Lord would allow him to finish his masterwork. In the event, his prayer was not granted. Yet in a deeper sense the three movements he lived to complete could hardly be surpassed. The sublime and harrowing third movement makes any further statement, this side of heaven, redundant! Continue Reading »
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