Today, I’m going to use my setting of O Magnum Mysterium as a springboard to make some observations about the issues I consider important in my work as a composer of sacred music and to offer some commentary on my own approach and techniques in setting a sacred text, using illustrations from this piece.
Read More
Integrity is the standard by which we judge the quality of Art. Paul’s famous line from I Corinthians well states the ultimate standard of quality in any person’s life: “Without love. . . ” any effort is pointless. I find it interesting that one of the examples he expressly cites is that of public speaking. This was an Art he much admired and was gifted in (both physically and spiritually, I believe). Any expression is futile if we have not love. Although I use the word “integrity” to encompass more than just “agape,” that self-denying love found only in things of God, let us examine first the role of agape in a Christian artist.
Read More