Classical Music in CRISIS Magazine

Latest column by my colleague, mentor, and friend Robert R. Reilly in the (truly) catholic CRISIS Magazine.

Mary in the City of Angels

Los Angeles today might not be the first place that comes to mind when seeking out hymns to the Blessed Virgin Mary. However, a recent concert on Sunday, November 18, at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, featuring Monteverdi’s Vespers (Vespro della Beata Vergine) of 1610, was not the first time that this city has lived up to its literal name.

I recall my discovery several years ago of one of the most beautiful versions of the Ave Maria composed since Schubert. It was written by Los Angeles composer Morton Lauridsen, with whom I’ve since become acquainted. When I asked Lauridsen, a Protestant, about this radiant a cappella motet, so suffused with love for Mary, he responded, “I don’t have to belong to the Catholic Church to be in love with Mary.”

The recent concert I attended brought this to mind for a reason...

Continued at Crisis.