Archive of category "Music Reviews"
I’ve been working on this collection of posts for a while now, and hopefully, it’s giving our readers a little bit of insight as to what it is we do. But one of the best parts about shopping locally with a dedicated retailer is that such small businesses tend to really promote as much local [...]
I’ve not hidden the fact that I’ve been a parish musician most of my life. Doing that, I’ve learned a lot of music, and it’s one of the joys of my non-bookstore life that I continue to have a place and way to learn new things. But sometimes, learning “new” means reviving classics. For me, [...]
Once again, I find myself interesting in talking a little bit about a local talent. Whenever possible, I’d highly encourage you to take the time to visit Eureka Springs, Arkansas to see Little Portion Hermitage, where John Michael Talbot and his Franciscan brothers and sisters have made their community. But more importantly, I wanted to share [...]
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been speaking of my musical upbringing, at least liturgically. Like many people of the generation that barely preceded me, I am a huge fan of the music that derived from the Saint Louis Jesuits in the wake of Vatican II. After writing about each of their compilation albums, I [...]
I’ve spent the last three weeks writing about my history as a music minister. As I approach my 20-year mark in music ministry, I’ve learned that one of the reasons I’ve been able to maintain my abilities is because I’m fortunate enough to continue learning. Every year, I try to learn a couple of new pieces, [...]
In a series that keeps growing, I’m taking a little time to reflect on my history as a music minister; soon, I will have spent 20 years of my life working in parish music ministry. Since the time I began, at the age of 10, much of the music of my past began with the [...]
Last week, I began talking about the music of the Saint Louis Jesuits. This is the music of the Catholic tradition that defined an entirely new generation of liturgical musicianship–the pre-eminent mark of Vatican II worship in America. These are the songs that have ultimately led to (in my humble opinion) the rise of contemporary [...]
I was a little shocked at myself that this album had not made it to our web site yet–especially since it’s one I tend to throw into the CD player from time to time. May We Praise You is a compilation album from the Saint Louis Jesuits, and it’s the second of 3 albums designed as [...]
Dan Schutte is one of my long-standing favorite Catholic composers. I can’t help it…”Be Not Afraid,” “Here I Am, Lord.” That’s the stuff I was raised on–it’s the stuff that keeps me thinking about what I’m called to be after the Mass has eneded. So when I found out about Schutte’s new book and CD [...]
I have not once hidden my supreme interest in the work of Paul A. Tate. He has one of the most innate gifted abilities to interpret music in a wonderful and meaningful way, something that touches my heart deeply. Maybe that’s because for all the years I took paino lessons, I never mastered the art [...]