A few years ago I had the privilege of standing in the sacristy of a Ukrainian church watching a priest friend of mine prepare for Mass. The wonderful liturgies of the Church’s eastern rites (the Byzantine, Maronite, Ukrainian and others) express a richness and complexity of worship that contrasts with the simplicity of the [...]
During the Advent season, we bring you an inspirational piece of Renaissance music that is based on a quote from St. John’s gospel. Nearly five hundred years old, this hymn has a timeless beauty that will be a gift to our world for as long as there are voices to sing it. But first [...]
Have you ever found yourself so transfixed by the beauty of something that you become totally absorbed in it, or found yourself listening to a single piece of music over and over because it speaks so deeply to your heart and soul? That is what happens to me each time I listen to the [...]
Sometimes people have a certain intuition, a premonition, of their own imminent deaths. This may take the form of a vague sense of the approaching end, or a specific sign, but some seem to know it in a way that transcends natural knowledge. It is a distinct type of spiritual knowledge beckoning one’s attention [...]
The life of the magnificent young jazz/blues artist, Eva Cassidy, was sadly cut short by melanoma in 1996 at the age of 33. Her rendition of “Over the Rainbow” was recorded just nine months before her death, when she was battling the illness that would soon take her life. That fact makes this brilliant [...]
Switzerland is like a hidden jewel in the middle of Europe, a mountainous land with a highly secretive banking system and a tradition of remaining neutral during wars. The Swiss culture has given the world exquisite chocolates, precision watches, cuckoo clocks, the Swiss Army knife, and even the modern marvel of Velcro! What an [...]
If you page through a traditional Catholic hymnbook you will eventually come across the name of Frederick William Faber (1814-1863) in the composer credits at the bottom of a given hymn. That would be Father Frederick Faber, English Catholic priest, convert to Catholicism, and composer of hymns extraordinaires. Fr. Faber made some of the [...]
The Shepherd English composer, choirmaster and conductor, John Rutter, sets the most famous of all psalms (Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd”) to music in an exquisite piece of art that incorporates voice, orchestra and vivid musical imagery. This commentary is the first of two on Rutter's piece. Part 1 focuses on the [...]
The Sheep English choirmaster, John Rutter, established the Cambridge Singers in the early 1980s for the purpose of producing musical recordings. They have been amazingly prolific with nearly forty albums in their vast repertoire. In The Lord is My Shepherd we hear a mixed choir of men’s and women’s voices intertwining effortlessly with the [...]
I’m sure that the 19th century English hymn writer, Frances Havergal, never imagined her unassuming hymn, “Take My Life and Let It Be” (1874), would be brought out of its obscurity and made into an enchanting devotional piece nearly 150 years after she wrote it. The poetry is simple, and the traditional hymn tune [...]