Real Music: A Guide to the Timeless Hymns of the Church (CD & Book)

Real Music by Anthony Esolen,and the accompanying CD of 18 hymns recorded by the St. Cecilia Choir of St. John Cantius Church in Chicago, is a comprehensive and fascinating guide, in print and song, to the great hymns of the Church. It shows that, unlike much of what is sung in too many Catholic churches today, good music, “Real Music”, combines great poetry with doctrinally sound lyrics and beautiful melody.

CD Tracks (Click on the track # to listen to a sample)

Track 1: Ah, Holy Jesus (Herzliebster Jesu)
Track 2: At the Lamb's High Feast (Salzburg)
Track 3: Come Down, O Love Divine (Down Ampney)
Track 4: Jesus, Priceless Treasure (Jesu, Meine Freude)
Track 5: Lead, Kindly Night (Lux Benigna)
Track 6: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence (Picardy)
Track 7: Of the Father's Love Begotten (Divinum Mysterium)
Track 8: Soldiers of Christ Arise (Silver Street)
Track 9: Songs of Praise the Angels Sing (Riley)
Track 10: The King of Love My Shepherd Is (St. Columba)
Track 11: There Is a Land of Pure Delight (Capel)
Track 12: Who Would True Valor See (Monks Gate)
Track 13: O God of Earth and Altar (King's Lynn)
Track 14: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven (Lauda Anima)
Track 15: Nearer, My God, to Thee (Horbury)
Track 16: Christian, Dost Thou See Them (St. Andrew of Crete)
Track 17: Jesus, Lover of My Soul (Aberystwyth)
Track 18: What Star Is This? (Puer Nobis)

With noted Catholic author Anthony Esolen as your guide and the St. Cecilia Choir as your muse, join the Catholic Musical Renaissance which is truly a recovery of the best that has been sung and prayed down through the ages. You’ll be glad you did.

Real Music is arranged by events in the life of our Lord and the seasons and Sacraments of the Church. This book/CD set will teach you much about poetry, music, and the Catholic Faith itself. What better way to learn your Faith than through beautiful music!

Whether at home in your favorite easy chair, or among friends in an informal class at your parish, Real Music will bring you deep into the lyrics and melodies of the great hymns that so magnificently offer praise and honor to God.

Real Music is meant to be savored; first by reading Esolen’s masterful explanation of the poetic, melodic, and doctrinal elements of a hymn and then listening to the hymn itself on the accompanying CD.

About the Author
Professor Anthony Esolen holds a Doctorate in Renaissance English Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a Professor of English at Providence College, located in Providence, Rhode Island. He is the translator of the celebrated three-volume Modern Library edition of Dante s Divine Comedy (Random House). He is a Senior Editor for Touchstone: A Journal of Mere Christianity, and his articles appear regularly in First Things, Catholic World Report, Magnificat, This Rock, and Latin Mass.