Some famous writers have played a woodwind instrument known as the flageolet: Hector Berlioz, Frederic Chalon, Samuel Pepys, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Composers such as Henry Purcell and George Frideric Handel wrote pieces for it. Musicians began to play this recorder-like instrument in the 1700s in France, and it began to be known as the…
Easter: An Ancient Story For a Modern World
Billions of Christians will celebrate Easter this weekend, but the message of Jesus is available to all. Even those who are not religious can learn from the life of Jesus Christ. In today’s culture, we often talk about whose lives matter, but the Easter story tells us that all lives matter to God. Jesus displays…
Luxury and Devotion: Hans Memling’s Portinari Portraits
From a pitch dark background emerge the faces of a man and a woman, facing each other with hands folded in prayer. Their countenances appear austere, their clothing plain and simple. In fact, if it weren’t for the lady’s luxuriously jeweled necklace, the otherwise monochromatic painting might just escape our attention, lost amidst the multifarious…
A Poetic Voice, a Tragic Life: André Chénier and the French Revolution
From Luciano Pavarotti to Jonas Kaufmann, talented tenors have vied to interpret the much beloved role of André Chénier—the French poet of the revolutionary generation, memorialized in the musical repertoire by Umberto Giordano’s popular 1896 opera. With a succession of passionate arias, the composer charts the tragic story of the talented poet, whose life was…
Melodies From a River of Harmonies: The Music of Frederick Loewe
In “Marry Me,” a 2022 romantic comedy starring Jennifer Lopez and Owen Wilson, a mega- pop star has a relationship with a random fan who holds up a “Marry Me” sign at one of her concerts. The movie was promoted as a vehicle for Lopez’s songs and those of Maluma, a Colombian pop star who…
An Empty World Explodes With Life: Tintoretto’s ‘Creation of the Animals’
It’s an immense task to try to capture the essence of God’s creation, although one artist made a powerful attempt. Jacopo “Il Tintoretto” Robusti (1518–1594) apprenticed in the workshop of the leading Venetian artist at that time, Titian. A 2019 retrospective exhibition of the artist’s work at the National Gallery of Art in Washington marked the…
Germany’s Heidelberg Castle: A Monument to Past Greatness
Heidelberg Castle rises high above the medieval town of Heidelberg, Germany. First mentioned in 1214 as a fortified medieval castle, Heidelberg Castle later served as a royal residence for the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Different architectural styles are present throughout the complex. The Ruprecht’s Wing, the oldest castle, is an example of Gothic…
Leonardo da Vinci’s Remarkable Touch
Every year, thousands of art lovers flock to Santa Maria delle Grazie (Church of Holy Mary of Grace) in Milan, Italy, to view Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of “The Last Supper.” It is a huge mural, approximately 15 feet high and 29 feet wide. It is a rare privilege to gaze upon the work of such…
Zacatecas Cathedral: Mexico’s Baroque Masterpiece
The Zacatecas Cathedral, located in Zacatecas in the north-central Mexican state of the same name, is a masterpiece of Spanish Baroque architecture. In the 18th century, this historic town prospered because of its rich deposits of silver. To celebrate their good fortune, miners built the Catedral Basílica de Zacatecas between 1729 and 1760, replacing two…
The ‘Mona Lisa’ of the Southern Hemisphere: Frederic Leighton’s Iconic ‘Flaming June’
The permanent collection of Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico contains one of the most noteworthy holdings of Victorian and Pre-Raphaelite art to be found outside of the United Kingdom. The Museum’s founder, Luis A. Ferré, assembled this spectacular collection from the late 1950s through the mid 1970s, a time in which these…
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