Hilary Hahn Plays Tschaikovsky
This is a tour de force, of one woman, her violin - Hilary Han is one of the modern greats - and an impressive...
Vivaldi’s Magnificat
Monsignor Antonio Vivaldi was not only one of the greatest of Baroque composers, but also a Catholic priest, who directed a girls' orphanage, for...
Christ the King
An Irish bull is a statement that is, strictly speaking, illogical and yet whose meaning is somehow clear. Yogi Berra, a baseball player of...
Music for Mary
On this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, as we continue the pilgrimage through the Marian theme of Advent, here are a few musical pieces...
Handel’s Miraculous Messiah
Handel's Messiah, first performed on April 13th, 1742 (in Dublin of all places) was Composed by a German, who had become a naturalised Brit,...
St. John de Matha, the Forgotten Friar
Every year on December 17 the church intones the ‘O antiphons’ the joyous canticles in anticipation of the coming of Christ. But on the...
Isidore’s Internet and Industriousness
Today, April 4th - this year smack dab in the middle of Easter Week, and last year during Holy Week - is the commemoration...
Haec Dies by William Byrd and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio
A festive, rousing motet for this Christmas Day - or twelve days - by William Byrd, composed in 1591, here performed by the incomparable...
Holy Day, Holy Union
I don't know about you, but I must admit to feeling a mixture of excitement and dread every time Christmas comes around. With shopping...
Fourth Sunday and the Spirit of Advent
The figures of Advent we have met in the liturgy are the prophet Isaiah, John the Baptist and now, on the fourth Sunday, Our...