Catholic liturgical music is serious, solemn, transcendent, but Catholic musicians are never more fun and inspiring than when they are talking about what they love most. This is what happens at sacred music events around the world: the social and intellectual are critically important elements. The musicians (and music enthusiasts) at the Chant Café, a project of the
Church Music Association of America, bring that sense of life and love to the digital world. As St. Augustine said, "Cantare amantis est."
Among the contributors:
Also past contributors:
Jeffrey Tucker, writer, editor, entrepreneur, musician |
archiveNick Gale (1975-2015), organist, choral director, for 13 years Master of the Music at the Cathedral of St. George in Southwark |
archiveBen, schola director and organ student |
archive
e-mail:
contact@chantcafe.com
For the curious, the image above is “Saint Cecilia and an Angel”, an oil on canvas painting by Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639) and Giovanni Lanfranco (1582 – 1647) housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Although both painters were influenced by such masters as Caravaggio and evolved from a mannerist to a naturalist style, I’ve been unable to unearth the story of how and why these two painters paired in creating this single work. Collaborative work was not unusual at the time so it is possible they were connected to the same studio or perhaps the younger Lanfranco was a student of Gentileschi. Can someone out there resolve the mystery?