Home Podcasts The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson
The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson

Matthew Wilkinson 59 episodes Nov 11, 2026

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson explores classical music, Orthodox chant, and composers such as Bach and Messiaen. It also considers architecture, symbolism, the philosophy of mind, and aesthetics. Across these topics, the show examines how people seek and understand beauty.

Episodes

Highly Rhythmic Chant in Christ's Own Language
Highly Rhythmic Chant in Christ's Own Language Nov 11, 2026 01:25:02 In the mountains of Lebanon, monks still chant the liturgy in Syriac, a form of Aramaic, the language Christ spoke. Fr. Toufic Maatouk, a monk of the Antonine Maronite Order, conductor, and scholar of Maronite chant, joins me to explore one of the least-known chant traditions in the Christian world.Why is Holy Week a season of joy rather than lament for the Maronites? How can about 125 melodies ca
How to Build a Voice
How to Build a Voice Oct 17, 2026 02:19:13 Can an aging voice lose its wobble? Voice scientist Dr. Stephen Austin says yes, and explains the exercises that brought a 70-year-old soprano's voice back to how she sounded in her forties.If you lead a church choir, sing in one, or teach voice, this conversation will change how you rehearse. Dr. Stephen F. Austin, Professor Emeritus of Voice and Vocal Pedagogy at the University of North Texa
Troubadours, Cathars, and why Jugglers go to Hell
Troubadours, Cathars, and why Jugglers go to Hell Oct 6, 2026 01:33:59 Love songs that are secretly prayers. A dawn song that started in a monastery. A troubadour who became a bishop and persecuted heretics. Medieval singer Evgeny Skurat and instrumentalist Danil Ryabchikov join me from Montenegro to explore the hidden sacred side of troubadour music, and to perform it.We usually think of the troubadours as poets of courtly love, endlessly pining after women they cou
so... why aren't you Orthodox? | Paul VanderKlay
so... why aren't you Orthodox? | Paul VanderKlay Sep 29, 2026 01:18:35 Three years ago they were listening to Sam Harris. Now they're kissing relics. Reformed pastor Paul Vander Klay joins me to talk about the Orthodox moment, why liturgy is having a renaissance, and what screens have to do with it.Paul has spent years at the center of the conversation around Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau, and John Vervaeke, and he's the co-founder of Estuary, a network of
The Maronite Chant Tradition
The Maronite Chant Tradition Sep 27, 2026 01:25:02 In the mountains of Lebanon, monks still chant the liturgy in Syriac, a form of Aramaic, the language Christ spoke. Fr. Toufic Maatouk, a monk of the Antonine Maronite Order, conductor, and scholar of Maronite chant, joins me to explore one of the least-known chant traditions in the Christian world.Why is Holy Week a season of joy rather than lament for the Maronites? How can about 125 melodies ca
Appalachian Music: Sacred Harp Explained with Tom Ivey
Appalachian Music: Sacred Harp Explained with Tom Ivey Sep 23, 2026 01:30:59 Sacred Harp: A Living Tradition, with Thomas A. IveyWhat is Sacred Harp, and why are thousands of people still singing it every weekend? In this episode of Pursuit of Beauty, I talk with Tom Ivey, a shape-note singer for more than thirty years, a longtime member of the Charleston Sacred Harp singing (begun in 2008), and a composer whose tune "Blessed Road" appears in the new 2025 edition
A Pillar of Anglican Worship - Barry Rose at 92
A Pillar of Anglican Worship - Barry Rose at 92 Sep 8, 2026 01:46:00 Barry Rose OBE is one of the towering figures of Anglican church music. At ninety-two he looks back over sixty years at the heart of the English choral tradition, with warmth, humour and disarming candour. He built the choir of Guildford Cathedral from nothing at twenty-six, rebuilt the choir of St Paul's Cathedral as Sub-Organist and then Master of the Choir, trained the choristers who sang a
Epic Conversation: Every Style of Georgian Chant Explained with Dr John Graham
Epic Conversation: Every Style of Georgian Chant Explained with Dr John Graham Aug 27, 2026 01:55:51 Why does the same ancient chant melody sound completely different depending on which corner of Georgia you're standing in?Musicologist John A. Graham returns for Part 2 of our exploration of **Georgian Orthodox chant**, this time going deep into the three great transcribed monastery schools: **Gelati, Shemokmedi, and Svetitskhoveli**. At the heart of Graham's research is a fascinating argu
How Old is Coptic Chant, Really? Dr. Michael Henein
How Old is Coptic Chant, Really? Dr. Michael Henein Aug 16, 2026 01:30:45 Is Coptic chant really 3,000 years old? Dr. Michael Henein set out to prove it — and his own experiment said no.Coptic Orthodox chant is often described as the last living echo of ancient Egyptian music, sung continuously since the time of the Pharaohs. Dr. Michael Henein decided to test that claim. With permission from the Cairo Museum, he had replicas made of ancient Egyptian flutes and asked a
The Future of American Catholic Architecture | Duncan Stroik
The Future of American Catholic Architecture | Duncan Stroik Aug 7, 2026 01:33:58 Notre Dame architecture professor Duncan Stroik on why modern churches fail — and how to build sacred ones again.Stroik is the designer of Christ Chapel at Hillsdale College and the chapel at Thomas Aquinas College. In this interview he traces Catholic church architecture from the earliest basilicas to the traditional parish churches going up across America right now. If you've ever walked int
Herman Middleton on the Protecting Veil, Orthodoxy, Technology, and the Future
Herman Middleton on the Protecting Veil, Orthodoxy, Technology, and the Future Jun 24, 2026 01:01:20 Herman Middleton joins me to discuss Orthodox Christianity, C.S. Lewis, the modern crisis of what it means to be human, Artificial Intelligcen, and the strange ways technology reshapes our souls, our communities, and even our understanding of salvation. Herman is the founder of The Protecting Veil and Gadfly Academy, and his work brings together Orthodox theology, patristic wisdom, media ecology,
Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Chant with Aram Kerovpyan
Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Chant with Aram Kerovpyan Jun 11, 2026 01:53:54 Armenian chant, Armenian church music, and the ancient sacred music of the Armenian Apostolic Church are at the center of this conversation with master singer and musicologist, Aram Kerovpyan, one of the world’s leading voices on Armenian liturgical chant. Recommended to me by Tigran Hamasyan, Aram speaks with rare honesty about the survival, decline, and possible renewal of Armenian sacred music,

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