Scala Foundation | From the Ashes of Modernism: Composing Beautiful Music Today @ScalaFoundation | Uploaded July 2024 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
In this video, world-renowned Scottish conductor and composer Sir James MacMillan and David Clayton, Provost of Pontifex University and Scala Foundation's Artist-in-Residence, discuss the relationship between sacred music and popular music and how to recover great traditions in music from the ashes of modernism and Marxism.
Topics Discussed in this video include:
• Music as a spiritual journey:
- Opens a window to the divine
- Has a strong connection to faith and worship
• Importance of tradition in music:
- Gregorian chant as the DNA of Western sacred music
- Tradition as a flowing river from past to present to future
• Challenges of modern and contemporary music:
- Modernism's attempt to break with tradition
- Difficulties in accessibility for wider audiences
• Composer's creative process:
- Balancing traditional training with personal style
- Importance of silence and subconscious in composition
• Beauty in music and other art forms:
- Early exposure to beauty as inspiration for creativity
- Connection between music, faith, and other forms of beauty
• Role of sacred music in culture:
- Influence of Jewish and early Christian chant on Western music
- Importance of text in liturgical music
• Formation of composers:
- Value of traditional training in counterpoint, harmony, etc.
- Learning from past masters without mere imitation
• Impact of historical events on music and faith:
- Effects of communism on religious knowledge and practice
- Potential for renewal after periods of desolation
• Optimism for the future of music and faith:
- Signs of renewed interest in beauty and tradition
- Potential for art to play a role in spiritual and cultural renewal
MacMillan spent two weeks in Princeton in June 2024 as part of a program hosted by the Catholic Sacred Music Project to provide master-apprentice training to young composers, conductors, and choristers. Scala co-sponsored the summer program. Two other conversations with MacMillan can be seen here:
youtu.be/Gexj7JEVeS8
and here: youtu.be/l3dD8MT7eo8
Music from the event can be seen on this playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRZHnw30gpFcVenqvTUoK-HIvMw535_II
Learn More about The Scala Foundation
Scala was founded in 2016 by Margarita Mooney Clayton, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, who is the author of numerous books and popular articles, and an inspiring public speaker on topics such as education, culture, virtues and faith. Her husband, David Clayton, is an Artist-in-Residence for Scala and the Provost of Pontifex University, where he founded the Master of Sacred Arts Program. He is an internationally renowned iconographer and writer for various online publications about topics like the mathematics of beauty, liturgical art, and cultural renewal.
The Scala Foundation’s vision is to restore meaning and purpose to American culture by focusing on the intersection of art, liturgy and education Scala engages in deep work with students at Princeton and Oxford to bring together artists, students, teachers, and scholars. Scala also produces publications (books, blogs, articles, interviews), and hosts public events like conferences, webinars and campus lectures open to the public.
More Resources Can be Found on Scala’s Social Media and Websites
Scala Foundation: scalafoundation.org
David Clayton's blog and books: thewayofbeauty.org
Margarita Mooney Clayton's YouTube Channel:
youtube.com/channel/UCvvCBWH0LMe2i1-VLMaNEVQ
How to Support Scala
Find out how to donate to Scala here: scalafoundation.org/donate
The Fellowship of the Annunciation is a group of recurring donors to Scala that helps us in all our activities, notably by supporting apprenticeships for liturgical artists:
givebutter.com/fellowshipoftheannunciation
In this video, world-renowned Scottish conductor and composer Sir James MacMillan and David Clayton, Provost of Pontifex University and Scala Foundation's Artist-in-Residence, discuss the relationship between sacred music and popular music and how to recover great traditions in music from the ashes of modernism and Marxism.
Topics Discussed in this video include:
• Music as a spiritual journey:
- Opens a window to the divine
- Has a strong connection to faith and worship
• Importance of tradition in music:
- Gregorian chant as the DNA of Western sacred music
- Tradition as a flowing river from past to present to future
• Challenges of modern and contemporary music:
- Modernism's attempt to break with tradition
- Difficulties in accessibility for wider audiences
• Composer's creative process:
- Balancing traditional training with personal style
- Importance of silence and subconscious in composition
• Beauty in music and other art forms:
- Early exposure to beauty as inspiration for creativity
- Connection between music, faith, and other forms of beauty
• Role of sacred music in culture:
- Influence of Jewish and early Christian chant on Western music
- Importance of text in liturgical music
• Formation of composers:
- Value of traditional training in counterpoint, harmony, etc.
- Learning from past masters without mere imitation
• Impact of historical events on music and faith:
- Effects of communism on religious knowledge and practice
- Potential for renewal after periods of desolation
• Optimism for the future of music and faith:
- Signs of renewed interest in beauty and tradition
- Potential for art to play a role in spiritual and cultural renewal
MacMillan spent two weeks in Princeton in June 2024 as part of a program hosted by the Catholic Sacred Music Project to provide master-apprentice training to young composers, conductors, and choristers. Scala co-sponsored the summer program. Two other conversations with MacMillan can be seen here:
youtu.be/Gexj7JEVeS8
and here: youtu.be/l3dD8MT7eo8
Music from the event can be seen on this playlist:
youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRZHnw30gpFcVenqvTUoK-HIvMw535_II
Learn More about The Scala Foundation
Scala was founded in 2016 by Margarita Mooney Clayton, a professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, who is the author of numerous books and popular articles, and an inspiring public speaker on topics such as education, culture, virtues and faith. Her husband, David Clayton, is an Artist-in-Residence for Scala and the Provost of Pontifex University, where he founded the Master of Sacred Arts Program. He is an internationally renowned iconographer and writer for various online publications about topics like the mathematics of beauty, liturgical art, and cultural renewal.
The Scala Foundation’s vision is to restore meaning and purpose to American culture by focusing on the intersection of art, liturgy and education Scala engages in deep work with students at Princeton and Oxford to bring together artists, students, teachers, and scholars. Scala also produces publications (books, blogs, articles, interviews), and hosts public events like conferences, webinars and campus lectures open to the public.
More Resources Can be Found on Scala’s Social Media and Websites
Scala Foundation: scalafoundation.org
David Clayton's blog and books: thewayofbeauty.org
Margarita Mooney Clayton's YouTube Channel:
youtube.com/channel/UCvvCBWH0LMe2i1-VLMaNEVQ
How to Support Scala
Find out how to donate to Scala here: scalafoundation.org/donate
The Fellowship of the Annunciation is a group of recurring donors to Scala that helps us in all our activities, notably by supporting apprenticeships for liturgical artists:
givebutter.com/fellowshipoftheannunciation
