Confess: what religious art, etc, do you like?

Earthhorse

studiorat wrote: »

It's the angle appearing to the Virgin Mary.

Ah yes, I remember that from my bible.

Didn't he teach her geometry?

rainbow kirby

To echo a sentiment already felt - great art is great art, regardless of whether it is religious or not.

robindch

PDN wrote: »

One man's meat is another man's poison. I prefer this

Not my cup of tea, poisoned or otherwise, I have to say. And one's never quite sure with Dali anyway -- that pic could be read in many ways, most of them scary or weird, so it's arguable that he's accurately reflecting the same characteristics in christianity itself.

Anyhow, good art inspired by religion?

In no particular order -- a lot of church architecture up to something around the start of the 20th century, especially the cathedrals of northern France and Pugin's cathedral in Killarney. Much of organ music from its earliest beginnings to Messiaen's spectacular earlier work as well as choral and organ music from others too: Gregorian chant and the monastic daily round, Bach's Passions (but not most of his choral preludes), the various masses of Janacek, Vierne, Langlais, Litaize, Duruflé's remarkable "Requiem", most of Palestrina, Tallis' 'Spem in Alium'. Much of medieval visual art and on the literature side, the KJV and little else.

Then there's the first edition of Fitgerald's translation of Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, inspired against religion rather than for it, of course. Nobody who's ever visited this forum or the Other Place could fail to resonate with quatrain 27:

Old Omar wrote:

Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great Argument
About it and about: but evermore
Came out by the same Door as in I went.

DublinWriter

I really love the Qawwali music of the Islamic Sufis. The most famous proponent of this would have been the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

I also have a soft-spot for early 20th Century American Religious folk music. I have this box set which is well worth getting.

Fanny Cradock

DublinWriter wrote: »

I really love the Qawwali music of the Islamic Sufis. The most famous proponent of this would have been the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

I also have a soft-spot for early 20th Century American Religious folk music. I have this box set which is well worth getting.

Sounds very much like the folk archive compiled by Alan Lomax (including recordings from Ireland) over a 60 year period.

Zillah

PDN wrote: »

One man's meat is another man's poison. I prefer this:

Y'know, if that were to appear over every major city on Earth I'd find it fairly convincing of the existence of the Christian God. Far more impressive a display for an almighty deity than, say, helping little Jimmy pass his leaving cert.




That's like, the most Celtic looking Jew I have ever seen. Also, isn't Gabriel a male?

DesignLady

brianthebard wrote: »

Well I would've thought the artists for one, hard to imagine they would make great art for something they weren't really arsed about.

A lot of artists and architects weren't religious but wanted to paint the classic subjects or have the opportunity to work on an interesting project.
I've just been reading "The Art of the Sacred" by Graham Howes and there's an entire chapter dealing with this.
The whole relationship between art and religion and the question of if it's neccessary to believe in one to create or understand the other is the theme of the book. I'd recommend it to anyone with an interest in art history and this topic.

One of the few good things about my enforced Catholic education is a better ability to understand themes and iconography in religious art and architecture.

studiorat

Well PDN, That Dali thing is just freaky. Were you a Heavy Metal fan in your youth or something?

Zillah wrote: »

That's like, the most Celtic looking Jew I have ever seen. Also, isn't Gabriel a male?

Celts were a mix of races, I don't think there really is a Celtic look apart from a big beard and a kilt or something...


Celt


Jew...

She looks like neither.


And Gabriel was a bleedin' angel, they don't have male and female ones. Were you out that day in school or something...

studiorat

DublinWriter wrote: »

I really love the Qawwali music of the Islamic Sufis. The most famous proponent of this would have been the late great Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

I spent a week recording Sufi music in Morocco this year, it was a real eye opener staying in a village in the mountains with those people.

AtomicHorror

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

Mozart - Requiem

+1

Particularly the "Lacrimosa" movement.

I'd also echo the previous sentiment's on that Caravaggio as well as St. Peter's Basilica. I visited it at the age of 18 and was simply dumbstruck by the scale and detail of it.

robindch

robindch wrote: »

...Duruflé's remarkable "Requiem"...

for anybody at a loose end this evening at eight, the Christchurch cathedral choir and the orchestra of St. Cecilia are doing this brilliant piece of music in the cathedral. Together with Mozart's Requiem. More at:

http://cccdub.mhsoftware.com/ViewItem.html?detail=0&dropdown=1&integral=0&show_stop=0&show_resources=0&style_sheet=littlecalStyle.css&style_sheet=littlecalStyle.css&dtwhen=2454756&cal_item_id=31713

Faintly based upon, but better written, than the much better-known Requiem of Fauré of 50-odd years earlier, in terms of impact, Duruflé's outing compares (...casts about...) with Orff's Carmina Burana. Diametrically opposed styles, textures and intents of course, but just as spine-tingling.

Highly recommended.

Fanny Cradock

Ah, I would really have liked to have gone to this. Any other recommendations (in a similar vein), robin?

JC 2K3

Hmmm....

studiorat

^^^

Posted a similar photo as a myspace avatar a few years back. It was removed, I guess Tom's a fundamentalist then...

Zillah

studiorat wrote: »

She looks like neither.

She has fair skin and auburn hair, that's very Western European, rather than Middle Eastern which the ancient Jews certainly were.

And Gabriel was a bleedin' angel, they don't have male and female ones. Were you out that day in school or something...

Gabriel is specifically referred to as a he.

studiorat

Oh! Come off it.
I think it's a great painting. It's a religious picture, when have they ever been accurate representations of anything?

There's plenty of folk in the near east who have a light enough skin tone and are plug ugly enough to saunter 'round any town in Ireland and pass for a local. Don't get caught up with that stereo type. There's been people passing through those reigions for millennia.

I can't believe I'm entertaining this...
I'm sure Rosetti was thinking more about how beautiful it looked rather than an ethnic representation.

The Gabriel in the picture is male, either that or a womens olympic arm wrestler...

Pompey Magnus

I do like quite like the Latin mass, I attended one in London a few years ago and it was quite an experience, the church was quite dimly lit with lots of candles and a slight smell of incense in the air, it was very relaxing and easy on the mind. Gregorian chants can be amazing to listen to and there are so many beautiful old style churches and monastries.

From the Bible there are plenty of amazing passages, for example it would be hard to equal the beautiful chapter Paul wrote to the Corinthians on love:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres...And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

The Mad Hatter

robindch wrote: »

for anybody at a loose end this evening at eight, the Christchurch cathedral choir and the orchestra of St. Cecilia are doing this brilliant piece of music in the cathedral. Together with Mozart's Requiem. More at:

http://cccdub.mhsoftware.com/ViewItem.html?detail=0&dropdown=1&integral=0&show_stop=0&show_resources=0&style_sheet=littlecalStyle.css&style_sheet=littlecalStyle.css&dtwhen=2454756&cal_item_id=31713

Faintly based upon, but better written, than the much better-known Requiem of Fauré of 50-odd years earlier, in terms of impact, Duruflé's outing compares (...casts about...) with Orff's Carmina Burana. Diametrically opposed styles, textures and intents of course, but just as spine-tingling.

Highly recommended.

Vamp!

I do love Duruflé's requiem - his textures have such wonderful silkiness to them.

Haven't actually heard Fauré's, but as I don't really like Fauré, that's hardly a surprise...

PDN

studiorat wrote: »

Well PDN, That Dali thing is just freaky. Were you a Heavy Metal fan in your youth or something?

I was a punk.

But I've always enjoyed Dadaist & surrealist art.

DenMan

I love the architecture in Vienna. I also love Barcelona, especially Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, Iglesia de Sagrada Familia. Was there in 02. Would love to go back.

When I lived in Malta I went to mass (I know) with the man I was working for. It was in Maltese. The inside was amazing.

The Mad Hatter

Zillah wrote: »

Gabriel is specifically referred to as a he.

Is there a gender-neutral pronoun for people in Hebrew?

robindch

Fanny Cradock wrote: »

Ah, I would really have liked to have gone to this. Any other recommendations (in a similar vein), robin?

This coming Sunday morning in Christchurch, they're doing Louis Vierne's Messe Solennelle, notionally for two choirs and two organs. The work isn't quite as polished as the Duruflé, but it's still first-class and certainly worth a hike to hear.

About half the opening movement is here, and a much-better sounding (but fragmented) recording is here. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viugZ4R6zAM

robindch

...and there's another concert that looks like it might be good this evening -- unhelpfully clashing with Julian Baggini -- with an American crew named New York Polyphony.

Full details here.

WindSock

I like Islamic architecture and patterns



God judging Adam by Blake



The Sistine Chapel is also fairly impressive & Gaudis Iglesia

Agonist

The Parthenon is the most mind blowing piece of architecture I have ever seen. It's worth reading about the creation of it too to fully appreciate it.

This is hackneyed I suppose but I could listen to Schubert's Ave Maria on repeat for hours.

Also Taize chants. The harmonies are dreamy. I love hypnotic meditative song.

And.. boy sopranos. This isn't religious but you get the idea.
Well endowed apparently
I'd like to see more Christian castratos

Michaelangelo's Pieta is just gorgeous but it disappointed me in that it was smaller than I expected.


There are loads of others. Come to think of it, religion rocks