ASED ON THE NAMES of the contributors, this looks like a truly fantastic book. All the contributors are distinguished experts, and I have had the privilege of meeting several of them: His Eminence, Cardinal Burke; Dr. William Mahrt; Fr. Michael Uwe Lang, Cong. Orat.; and Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB.
Some I only met briefly, so I have no idea whether they would remember me. Apropos of this, there was a pianist named Sviatoslav Richter, who, while probably one of the greatest “modern” pianists, was also pretty much insane (as so many great pianists were). For years, Richter carried around a red stuffed lobster, without which he could not function. Anyway, they say Richter could not sleep at night if he forgot the name of any person he had ever met. As you can imagine, he met thousands of people during his long career. Only after he remembered the missing name could he relax. By the way, his memory was unbelievable: they say he had forty (40) full-length concert programs memorized, in addition to all his concerti and chamber music. In case you are wondering, other great pianists who were “disfunctional” as human beings were Cortot, Rachmaninov, Horowitz, Gould, Lhevinne, and even Josef Hofmann (perhaps the most outstanding pianist of all time).
Benedict XVI and beauty in sacred music [URL] — Janet E. Rutherford, editor
Contributors: Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke (Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura), D. Vincent Twomey SVD (St Patrick’s College, Maynooth), Andreas Andreopoulos (U Winchester), Sven Conrad FSSP (Priestly Fraternity of St Peter), Alberto Donini (Diocese of Brescia), Thomas Lacôte (Conservatoire d’Aubervilliers-La Courneuve/Conservatoire d’Orléans), Uwe Michael Lang CO (Consultor to the Office for the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff), William Mahrt (Stanford U), Kerry McCarthy (Duke U), Ite O’Donovan (DIT Conservatory of Music), Stéphane Quessard (St Stephen’s Cathedral, Bourges), Alcuin Reid, Samuel Weber OSB (Institute for Sacred Music, Archdiocese of St Louis).
The Fota International Liturgy Conferences are dedicated to the elucidation and promotion of Benedict XVI’s vision of liturgical reform, emphasizing the importance of beauty in the celebration of the Church’s rites, and the necessity to go forward into the future as part of our inherited tradition. The proceedings of the Third Fota International Liturgy Conference, contained in this volume, explore the ideas advanced in the Holy Father’s writings on liturgical music. It also provides a forum for a younger generation of liturgists and musicians, drawn from various countries, who are presently engaged in the recovery and promotion of the Church’s musical heritage for liturgical use or in composing beautiful new and uplifting works of sacred music.
Dr. Janet E. Rutherford is Honorary Secretary of The Patristic Symposium, Saint Patrick’s College Maynooth, and Irish Correspondent to L’Association Internationale d’Études Patristiques.
