September 28, 2007 by David Baer
If Maestro John Nelson did not exist, he would have to be invented as a matter of the highest artistic urgency. How else would the rest of us become acquainted with the new or little-known music that is so often recorded under his baton?
Take, for example, the Polish composer Henry Mikolaj Gorecki’s ‘Beatus Vir’, ‘Totus Tuus’, and Old Polish Music. The first of these are newer creations of a very Catholic Poland, redolent of biblical and Roman Catholic piety embedded in the brooding harmonies of Old Poland. Continue Reading »
Posted in reseña | Tagged classical music, Henryk Mikolaj Korecki, John Nelson, music, reseña | Leave a Comment »
September 28, 2007 by David Baer
Oliver Stone’s brilliant 1986 film on the grunt’s war in Vietnam had a lot to work with: a controversial subject well placed for dramatic effect, brilliant acting from his three leads (Dafoe, Berenger, and, yes, even Sheen), some stunning visual images (more on this in a moment), and the superb employment of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. The result is a movie that must rank in the top three of the 1980s and, to boot, one that is impossible to characterize cleanly as an anti-war movie (No one will suspect it of being pro-war.) Continue Reading »
Posted in reseña | Tagged film, Oliver Stone, reseña, Vietnam War, war movie | Leave a Comment »
September 27, 2007 by David Baer
In the mid-nineties, London’s Sunday Times ran an excellent CD club with the most eclectic offerings imaginable. One of them was Girlie Pop, which presented hits by a larval-stage Madonna, P.P. Arnold, Marilyn Monroe, The Shangri-Las, The Dixie Cups, Betty Everett, Maria Muldaur, Lesley Gorre, Fontella Bass, The Shirelles, and Lulu. Continue Reading »
Posted in reseña | Tagged music, reseña, Sunday Times Music Collection | Leave a Comment »
September 27, 2007 by David Baer
This album is for Jaci Velasquez an extraordinary achievement. In it she emerges from the status of a managed star-in-the-making to that of a young woman who really sings. Mi Corazón uses the hit ‘Como se cura una herida’ as its title track, giving Jaci an opportunity to hint at things to come. Continue Reading »
Posted in reseña | Tagged Christian music, Jaci Velasquez, Latin music, music, reseña | Leave a Comment »
September 27, 2007 by David Baer
The moral architecture of the book of Isaiah is one of its sustaining threads, holding together deep complexity by the persistence of a singular theme. With its recurrent promise that ‘YHWH alone shall be exalted on that day’, the book establishes that when things are as they should be, YHWH is lifted up and all his creatures stand below him in proper submission. Indeed, chapter six’s vision tells us that the view from the heavenly throne room is just this way. Only matters on earth have gone temporarily akilter. Continue Reading »
Posted in textures | Tagged biblical reflection, Isaiah, textures | Leave a Comment »
September 26, 2007 by David Baer
YHWH’s proximity is an inconvenient wealth.
The Lord’s covenanting labors with Israel in the desert before Sinai are paradigmatic of the demanding consolation that his presence brings to a people with whom he chooses to live in close quarters. Rightfully, the Israelites of the Exodus narrative have a difficult time deciding whether this is precisely what they wanted. Continue Reading »
Posted in textures | Tagged biblical reflection, Isaiah, textures | Leave a Comment »
September 26, 2007 by David Baer
Ryan Ahlwardt’s deep roots in four-part men’s music down at Indiana University show up even in a thoughtful-pop album like I Can See Forever. It’s there in the capacity and control of his voice even when it flits near the limits of his natural range. Continue Reading »
Posted in reseña | Tagged music, reseña, Ryan Ahlwardt | 2 Comments »
September 26, 2007 by David Baer
This year I initiated an HSA with a high deductible insurance policy and an FSA. I threw myself into this particular lunacy on the grounds of liking the idea of people taking responsibilty for something that costs society (you ‘n me) as much as medical care does. I’m still glad I did, but man does it get complex! Continue Reading »
Posted in paterfamilias, reseña | Tagged computing, reseña | Leave a Comment »
September 25, 2007 by David Baer
Publications like Bicycling practically define narrow-casting. Aimed at a modest population that throbs with interest in their shared pursuit, a magazine like this one has to meet elevated expectations and yet recruit enough advertisers to pay the bottom line and maintain an accessible price.
The result is almost doomed to be something of a hybrid. Continue Reading »
Posted in paterfamilias, reseña | Tagged bicycling, reseña | Leave a Comment »
September 25, 2007 by David Baer
A peculiar joy mixes with the horror of realizing how daunting it is to keep up in the field of biblical studies as one peruses the thrice-yearly publication called Old Testament Abstracts. Published by the Catholic Biblical Association, Abstracts is a very handy tool for keeping abreast of the literature in a highly specialized field and making decisions about which abstracted publications to pursue and which dogs are better left to sleep. Continue Reading »
Posted in denkschrift, reseña | Tagged biblical studies | Leave a Comment »
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Canter Bridge 