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:

• Physical CD https://markchristopherbrandt.com/the-nightingale-album.html
• iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-nightingale/id1253776983
• Amazon MP3 https://www.amazon.com/Nightingale-Katherine-Colburn-Christopher-Brandt/dp/B073LJ96LV/

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

The artists:

• Pianist and composer Mark Christopher Brandt http://markchristopherbrandt.com/
• Flutist Yana Nikol http://yananikol.com/
• Cellist Katherine Colburn at Prince William String Academy https://pwstringacademy.com/
• Engineer Bill McElroy at Slipped Disc Audio https://www.slippeddiscaudio.com/billbio.htm

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/

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