A quick Google search shows that we've pooh-poohed some of Anthony Esolen's thoughts on hymns in general, but now the Dante translator has written some of his own, which I think bear mention. A bad liturgist can still be a good poet, after all. In a recent article in Crisis, he quotes from one.
Hrmph, not bad, I thought, not bad. Which is high praise for a hymn: as the equation goes, bad theology + bad poetry + bad melody = good hymn. But perhaps that's too cynical. I don't think his hymn goes with the recommended melody, though.
YMMV!
Hrmph, not bad, I thought, not bad. Which is high praise for a hymn: as the equation goes, bad theology + bad poetry + bad melody = good hymn. But perhaps that's too cynical. I don't think his hymn goes with the recommended melody, though.
YMMV!