Why are G.F. Händel's ‘Messiah’, Giuseppe Verdi's ‘Messa da Requiem’ and Anton Bruckner with his ‘Locus iste’ inspiring us, and why is it worth listening to them?
«Some arguments speak in favour of the old chorale, which sounds harsh and ascetic to us, others for the joyful festivity and jubilant recognition of God in a Haydn or Mozart mass, others for simple folk singing, still others for the fact that the assembly also worships together in silence for long moments. […] It is precisely the ever new and surprisingly successful artistic expression that allows the Christian to experience anew his superior freedom in the Holy Spirit, who, without tiring, interprets the inexhaustible truth of God become man and “world” anew and differently and surprisingly throughout the ages and always lets new rays of absolute beauty shine through the colourful panes of the world.»
[H.U. v. Balthasar: Christliche Kunst und Verkündigung]
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