Haydn's The Creation, Day 2 & Weekly Round-Up of posts

     Here's another selection from Haydn's magnificent oratorio The Creation.  In he first part is (And God Made the Firmament) in which the music represents the separation of water from the land and the the first storms (you'll know the storms when you hear them).  The second part is a beautiful soprano aria (The marvelous work beholds, amazed, the glorious hierarchy of Heaven) in which the Heavenly Host praises the creator and his work.

Weekly Round-Up, Pentecost Sunday 2015

The academic year is drawing to a close, and bloggery needs to take a back seat to more immediate responsibilities.  Nonetheless, I did manage to post a thing or two:

Wednesday - “FeedYour Mind And Soul: The Office of Readings (LOH 5)”  How you can enrich your prayer life and also expand your Biblical literacy through the Office of Readings (the fifth installment of my series on the Liturgy of the Hours for lay men and women). 

and “Hidden Law,Society, and Catholic Teaching”  The informal “laws” created by family, relationships, and religion often govern our lives much more effectively than laws imposed by the state. 

Thursday - “Quick!What’s The Summit And Source of the Christian Life?” We lose more than we might realize when we lose reverence for the Eucharist 

Friday - “AbortionMyth # 14” If ‘a woman and her doctor’ told you to jump off the roof, would you do it? 

Haydn, The Creation: Chaos & God Created Heaven and Earth

     Here is the opening from Haydn's masterpiece, The Creation. This clip contains the overture, a musical evocation of Chaos, followed by God's Creation of Heaven and Earth. The Chaos section may not sound quite as chaotic to us as it did to audiences at the end of the eighteenth century, accustomed as most of us are to dissonant syncopated music, but this is still a powerful musical experience (listen for the Creation of Light c. 6:20), all the more so when we listen with the Biblical account in mind. If you'd like to know more about The Creation, there is a nice description of the work here on Wikipedia.

     Also, for those of you who feel up to little reading after enjoying some Papa Haydn, I've included my Weekly Roundup of posts from the past week below . . . no extra charge.  Have a Blessed Sunday!

Weekly Roundup From Principium et Finis & Nisi Dominus

May 12^th – “The Invitatory Psalm: We Are Called To Relationship With God” Every day, the Liturgy of the Hours begins with an invitation from the Lord who Loves us 

May 13^th – “’Doing' The Truth In Love” It seems there’s always more than meets the eye when we look at God’s Word in the Scriptures

May 13th – “Is Raul Ready To Repent?” Cuban dictator Raul Castro says he likes Pope Francis so much, that he might even return to the Church.  I suppose stranger things have happened . . .  

May 14^th – “St. Matthias: The Church’s First Decision” This year St. Matthias’ Feast day falls on Ascension Thursday, but even when it doesn’t, there are some interesting connections between the two

May 14^th – “Teenage Werewolves And Other Mythical Beasts: A Catholic View” We all must go through our teens to get to adulthood, but modern “teen culture” points our young people in a very different direction    

May 15^th – “Why Jeopardy Doesn’t Know Judas” You know you’re in a post-Christian culture when none of three adults chosen at random can name the betrayer of Jesus 

May 15^th – “Abortion Myth #13” Pro-abortionists insist that legal abortion is essential to women rights, but the truth is that abortion exploits and demeans women

"Stimmt an die Saiten" from Joseph Haydn's The Creation (Die Schöpfung) & Weekly Roundup

     Today is the Sixth Sunday of Easter: He is truly Risen, alleluiah, alleluiah!
     Joseph Haydn is rightly considered one of the great composers.  He made a large contribution to the development of music in the late 18th century, not just through his own music, but through the other composers he taught and mentored.  Among his students wee two of the greatest: Mozart and Beethoven.
     Haydn also was eager to learn from other composers.  On a trip to England he became intrigued by Handel's oratorios, and wanted to try something similar in the musical vocabulary of his own day.  The result was his oratorio The Creation, finished in 1798.  The brief clip below is a chorus celebrating the 3rd day of creation.

Added Bonus: Weekly Round-up from 

Principium et Finis & Nisi Dominus

Tuesday – “The Liturgy of the Hour and You (LOH 3)” A practical discussion of how even insanely busy lay men and women can make the Liturgy of the Hours a part of their life.

Wednesday – “Spirit, Matter, and the Word of God” It's worth a little extra effort to come to know the words of Scripture, because words matter, especially those inspired by the Eternal Word Who Became Flesh.

and – “Abortion Myth #12” Apparently, it's o.k. to kill anyone, human or not, who isn't a "person"; but who gets to decide which of us are "persons" and which aren't? 

Thursday – “When ‘Progress’ Isn’t Progress”  Substituting the Wisdom of This World for what has been handed on from the beginning isn't progress.

Friday – “Archbishop Cordileone, Catholic Teachers, and the ‘TorreTest’”  The Archbishop of San Francisco seems to think that he shouldn't have to pay people to subvert the Church.  The Nerve! Now if he were the owner of a sports franchise, that might be different . . . 

Franz Joseph Haydn, Te Deum in C

I must yet again thank R.J. Stover for his piece [here] "Too Late Have I Loved Thee: On The Genius Of Franz Joseph Haydn" on the Catholic World Report Site.  Because of this article I've been listening to some fantastic music over the last few weeks, such as today's selection, a musical setting to the ancient hymn Te Deum. So, thanks again, R.J. Stover - but I'm still not clear on why we have to stop calling Haydn "Papa" . . .

Joseph Haydn - Missa In Tempore Belli, "Agnus Dei"

More powerful music from Haydn's Mass in Time of War, this time the "Agnus Dei", the Lamb of God.  Agnus Dei, Qui tollis peccata mundi, miserere nobis, Agnus Dei, Qui tollis peccata requiem, dona nobis requiem.

Haydn - "Benedictus" from Mass in Time of War (Missa in Tempore Belli)

Haydn's comeback continues.  When isn't it a "Time of War"?  And, to continue a theme from last week, the war in "Heavenly places", as St. Paul put it, will continue until Christ comes in glory.  Meanwhile, another magnificent composition from one of the great ones.

Haydn - "The Heavens Are Telling", from The Creation

Franz Joseph Haydn was a supremely talented and prolific composer, a gifted teacher (he numbered both Mozart and Beethoven among his pupils, the former also becoming a close friend), a great guy to hang out with, and a joyfully devout Catholic.  After I saw this article [here] in Catholic World Report about the undeserved neglect of this magnificent Man of Music, I knew I had to do my part to put things to rights. Here’s the first installment, “The Heavens Are Telling” from his oratorio The Creation.