The Catholic Culture Podcast: Episode 0 – The Nightingale

Mar 5, 2021

To celebrate the approach of Episode 100 of the Catholic Culture
Podcast, here is the interview that started it all. Originally
published on August 4, 2017, this interview turned out so well that
we decided to launch a whole series of interviews on Catholic arts
and culture. The podcast launched several months later, on May 1,
2018.

Catholic composer and pianist Mark Christopher Brandt joined
Thomas Mirus to discuss his classical album and suite The
Nightingale, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s story “The
Emperor and the Nightingale”. The discussion was a double delight
as it covered not only the album itself, but also an extended
exploration of the spiritual themes of Andersen’s classic fairy
tale, especially what it conveys about the true meaning of
freedom.

Mark has been a guest on the Catholic Culture Podcast twice
since this first interview. (Since then, too, Thomas has played on
Mark’s classical album The Butterfly, along with Katherine
Colburn, the cellist whose skills are so highly praised in the
Nightingale interview.)

All music used with permission from Mark Christopher Brandt and
Lionheart Music East.

Links

Read: Hans Christian Anderson’s fairy tale “The Nightingale”
http://hca.gilead.org.il/nighting.html

Mark Christopher Brandt’s The Nightingale:

Score: The Nightingale sheet music
https://markchristopherbrandt.com/the-nightingale-scores-and-parts-store.html

The artists:

More: Round Trip: The Making of an Artist
documentary
https://markchristopherbrandt.com/round-trip-the-making-of-an-artist-dvd—store.html

Mark’s appearances on the Catholic Culture Podcast:

33 – Structure and Freedom in Music and in Christ
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/episode-33-structure-and-freedom-in-music-and-in-christ-mark-christopher-brandt/

68 – What I Learned From Making Music with Mark Christopher
Brandt
https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/ep-68-what-i-learned-from-making-music-with-mark-christopher-brandt/

This podcast is a production of CatholicCulture.org. If you like
the show, please consider supporting us! http://catholicculture.org/donate/audio