Last week this blog surpassed 7,500 total hits. Not much as far as some blogs go, but pretty good I guess for this little one on sacred music. I hope that you have found some practical and, most importantly, spiritual benefit from my thoughts and ramblings. If you know of anyone who could benefit from these postings, please forward… Read More »
Observe Good Friday this year by watching the Peoria Bach Festival 2010 performance of the St. Matthew Passion. You can find it on the Peoria Bach Festival YouTube page by clicking here or following the link below. Although the performance is in German, English subtitles are provided making the story easy to understand and follow. The translation is a… Read More »
Stuck in the recesses of the Old Testament is a story that every musician should know. It comes from the book of Nehemiah, which might seem an unlikely place for a musician to venture. In Nehemiah 12, however, there is a highly descriptive account of the role that musicians played in the dedication walls of Jerusalem after they… Read More »
Of all Christmas carols, “O Holy Night” has one of the most fascinating stories. It is a rather unlikely carol in that the poem was written by an avowed atheist (albeit one well-versed in Christian theology) and the tune composed by a practicing Jew who did not observe Christmas. It was first sung by a Parisian opera singer, but soon… Read More »
In these past few weeks we have celebrated the lives of quite a few members at Trinity, including this past weekend the all too short earthly life of Avonlea Warner. Hymns and songs take a whole new meaning in the context of a funeral. I was especially touched by the ones we sang last Saturday: “Father Welcomes All His… Read More »
One of the best ways to pass our faith along is to involve children in the ministry of the church, and one of the best ways to do that is to involve children in the proclamation of the Music Ministry as much as possible. This Sunday morning at Trinity could be called Youth Music Sunday because close to… Read More »
When we are given a great treasure, we are also given great responsibility. Whether the treasure we receive is of an earthly or of a heavenly nature, it always comes with a responsibility to first cherish the gift and thank the giver; to then protect, grow, and nurture the gift; and then finally to share the gift with… Read More »
Contrary to what Bill Nye the Science Guy says, when we die, it’s NOT over. In the Book of Revelation, St. John tells us many times of an Eternal Song that is being sung continually by the Saints and Angels. It is a song of redemption that extends all the way back to Moses: “And they sing the… Read More »
A few Sundays ago, I had the privilege of singing three settings of the Te Deum – that great text of proclamation, praise, and thanksgiving – with the Bradley Community Chorale accompanied by the Bradley Orchestra. What a great experience and great opportunity to enter deeply into that great text of Christendom and into the minds of three… Read More »
We find from the Bible that ours is a singing faith. The people of God are ALWAYS singing: From the shores of the Red Sea to the shores of the Promised Land; from the Book of Exodus to the last chapter of Revelation. And then there are the many songs in the Book of Psalms and all the… Read More »