A Thing of Beauty…

Robin Thomson appreciates the music of Bach and an inspiring new performance of his St John Passion

“One of the stated aims of the Netherlands Bach Society is ‘to breathe new life into tradition’… The richness of Bach’s works is being opened up to the entire world, for anyone who wants to listen.”

The Audley Chantry Windows, Hereford Cathedral

Hilary Davies contemplates the work of stained glass artist Thomas Denny and his portrayal of the poet and visionary Thomas Traherne

“Colour in creation is always incarnate… associated with the living spirit of a thing, an attribute through which life glows.”

The House of the Virgin Mary in Ephesus

Artist Simon Blackwood recalls his trips to Turkey in the 1970s with the Beshara School

“At the level of meaning, Mary represents the completely receptive place in which the action of the spirit can bear fruit”

A Thing of Beauty… The Book of Kells

James Harpur ‘takes a line for a walk’ as he remembers the challenges of writing his poem ‘Kells’

“The illuminations seem to embody the chaos of conscious thought and emotion, yet at the same time instil a sense of harmony, of healing.”

Mary, Seat of Wisdom and Mercy

Jane Carroll contemplates the meaning of the Virgin as revealed at Chartres Cathedral

“This is the reality of Mary as expressed at Chartres: she is the completely receptive place in which wisdom appears,”

A Thing of Beauty…

Jane Clark contemplates the view of Earth from the moon, first captured in the famous photograph ‘Earthrise’

“We went to the moon, but what we really discovered was the planet Earth”