Sacred Art & Music, MES-RIB
Faith has inspired some of humanityâs most moving creative work, from icons and architecture to hymns and chant. Explore art and music made for worship, devotion, and the expression of the sacred.
Sacred Art & Music Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Messiah
Messiah, oratorio by German-born English composer George Frideric Handel, premiered in Dublin on April 13, 1742,......
MeĆĄtroviÄ, Ivan
Ivan MeĆĄtroviÄ was a Croatian-born American sculptor known for his boldly cut figurative monuments and reliefs.......
Mi-Sinai tune
Mi-Sinai tune, in the music of the Ashkenazic (Yiddish-vernacular) Jews, any of a group of melodically fixed chants......
Michelangelo
Michelangelo was one of the towering figures of the Italian Renaissance, celebrated as a sculptor, painter, and......
Monn, Matthias Georg
Matthias Georg Monn was an Austrian composer and organist whose compositions mark a transition from the Baroque......
Montagna, Bartolomeo
Bartolomeo Montagna was an early Renaissance Italian painter, the most eminent master of the school of Vicenza.......
Montañés, Juan MartĂnez
Juan MartĂnez Montañés was a Spanish sculptor who was instrumental in the transition from Mannerism to the Baroque.......
Monte, Philippe de
Philippe de Monte was one of the most active composers of the Netherlandish, or Flemish, school that dominated......
Monteverdi, Claudio
Claudio Monteverdi was an Italian composer in the late Renaissance, the most important developer of the then new......
Montgomery, James
James Montgomery was a Scottish poet and journalist best remembered for his hymns and versified renderings of the......
Moody, Dwight L.
Dwight L. Moody was a prominent American evangelist who set the pattern for later evangelism in large cities. Moody......
Morales, CristĂłbal de
CristĂłbal de Morales was a composer who, together with TomĂĄs Luis de Victoria and Francisco Guerrero, is recognized......
Morales, Luis de
Luis de Morales was a painter who was the first Spanish artist of pronounced national character, considered to......
Mostaert, Jan
Jan Mostaert was a Netherlandish painter of portraits and religious subjects. Little is known about Mostaertâs......
motet
motet, (French mot: âwordâ), style of vocal composition that has undergone numerous transformations through many......
Moulins, Master of
Master of Moulins was an anonymous French painter and miniaturist, considered the most significant artist of the......
Mouton, Jean
Jean Mouton was a composer in the Franco-Flemish style of the early 16th century, known for his sacred music. Mouton......
Mozarabic architecture
Mozarabic architecture, building style of Christians who stayed in the Iberian Peninsula after the Arab invasion......
Mozarabic art
Mozarabic art, architecture and other visual arts of the Mozarabs, Christians who lived in the Iberian Peninsula......
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer, widely recognized as one of the greatest composers in the history......
Munakata ShikĆ
Munakata ShikĆ was a Japanese woodblock artist whose vivid works are known for their bold, random, and vigorous......
Mundy, John
John Mundy was an organist and composer of choral and keyboard music. The son of the composer William Mundy, he......
Mundy, William
William Mundy was an English composer of polyphonic sacred music and father of the organist and composer John Mundy.......
Murillo, Bartolomé Esteban
Bartolomé Esteban Murillo was the most popular Baroque religious painter of 17th-century Spain, noted for his idealized,......
Musgrave, Thea
Thea Musgrave is a Scottish composer best known for her dramatic concerti, operas, choral works, and chamber music.......
Namdev
Namdev was a leading poet-saint of the Indian medieval period, who wrote in the Marathi language. Namdev was the......
Nammazhvar
Nammazhvar was a South Indian poet-saint who was the most important and prolific of the Azhvars, Vaishnavite singers......
Nanino, Giovanni Maria
Giovanni Maria Nanino was an Italian singer, teacher, and composer who was one of the better-known figures in late......
Nativity
Nativity, a theme in art depicting the newborn Jesus with the Virgin Mary and other figures, following descriptions......
Nayanar
Nayanar, any of the Tamil poet-musicians of the 7th and 8th centuries ce who composed devotional hymns of great......
Newman, St. John Henry
St. John Henry Newman ; beatified September 19, 2010, canonized October 13, 2019; feast day October 9) was an influential......
Newton, John
John Newton was an English slave trader who became an Anglican minister, a hymn writer, and later a noted abolitionist,......
NiccolĂČ dellâArca
NiccolĂČ dellâArca was an early Renaissance sculptor famed for his intensely expressionistic use of realism combined......
Nicetas of Remesiana
Nicetas of Remesiana was a bishop, theologian, and composer of liturgical verse, whose missionary activity and......
nigun
nigun, wordless song sung by កasidic Jews as a means of elevating the soul to God. Because they lacked words, the......
Niles, John Jacob
John Jacob Niles was an American folksinger, folklorist, and composer of solo and choral songs. Niles came from......
Nordraak, Rikard
Rikard Nordraak was a Norwegian composer perhaps best known as the composer of the music for the Norwegian national......
Novello, Vincent
Vincent Novello was an English composer, conductor, and founder of the Novello music publishing house. From 1797......
Nunc Dimittis
Nunc Dimittis, in the New Testament, a brief hymn of praise sung by the aged Simeon, who had been promised by the......
Obrecht, Jakob
Jakob Obrecht was a composer who, with Jean dâOckeghem and Josquin des Prez, was one of the leading composers in......
Ockeghem, Jean de
Jean de Ockeghem was a composer of sacred and secular music, one of the great masters of the Franco-Flemish style......
Odetta
Odetta was an American folk singer who was noted especially for her versions of spirituals and who became for many......
Orant
Orant, in Christian art, a figure in a posture of prayer, usually standing upright with raised arms. The motif......
oratorio
oratorio, a large-scale musical composition on a sacred or semisacred subject, for solo voices, chorus, and orchestra.......
Orcagna, Andrea
Andrea Orcagna was the most prominent Florentine painter, sculptor, and architect of the mid-14th century. The......
Orff, Carl
Carl Orff was a German composer known particularly for his operas and dramatic works and for his innovations in......
organum
organum, originally, any musical instrument (later in particular an organ); the term attained its lasting sense,......
Orley, Bernard van
Bernard van Orley was a Flemish painter of religious subjects and portraits and designer of tapestries. Orley was......
Overbeck, Johann Friedrich
Johann Friedrich Overbeck was a Romantic painter of Christian religious subjects, who was leader of a group of......
Pacher, Michael
Michael Pacher was a late Gothic painter and wood-carver, one of the earliest artists to introduce the principles......
paean
paean, solemn choral lyric of invocation, joy, or triumph, originating in ancient Greece, where it was addressed......
Paisiello, Giovanni
Giovanni Paisiello was a Neapolitan composer of operas admired for their robust realism and dramatic power. Paisielloâs......
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of more than 105 masses and 250 motets, a......
Parker, Horatio
Horatio Parker was a composer, conductor, and teacher, and a prominent member of the turn-of-the-century Boston......
Parmigianino
Parmigianino was an Italian painter who was one of the first artists to develop the elegant and sophisticated version......
Parry, Sir Hubert Hastings, Baronet
Sir Hubert Hastings Parry, Baronet was a composer, writer, and teacher, influential in the revival of English music......
Parton, Dolly
Dolly Parton was an American country music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress who pioneered the interface......
Passion music
Passion music, musical setting of the suffering and Crucifixion of Christ, based either on biblical texts or poetic......
Patinir, Joachim
Joachim Patinir was a Flemish painter, the first Western artist known to have specialized in landscape painting.......
Pergolesi, Giovanni Battista
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was an Italian composer whose intermezzo La serva padrona (âThe Maid Turned Mistressâ)......
Perugino
Perugino was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Umbria school and the teacher of Raphael. His work (e.g., Christ......
Pesellino
Pesellino was an Italian artist of the early Renaissance who excelled in the execution of small-scale paintings.......
Petrassi, Goffredo
Goffredo Petrassi was one of the most influential Italian composers of the 20th century. He is known for incorporating......
Pettersson, Allan
Allan Pettersson was a Swedish composer known as the creator of BarfotasĂ„nger (âBarefoot Songsâ), a collection......
Philips, Peter
Peter Philips was an English composer of madrigals, motets, and keyboard music of considerable reputation in his......
Piazzetta, Giovanni Battista
Giovanni Battista Piazzetta was a painter, illustrator, and designer who was one of the outstanding Venetian artists......
Piero della Francesca
Piero della Francesca was a painter whose serene, disciplined exploration of perspective had little influence on......
Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona was an Italian architect, painter, and decorator, an outstanding exponent of Baroque style. Pietro......
PietĂ
PietĂ , as a theme in Christian art, depiction of the Virgin Mary supporting the body of the dead Christ. Some representations......
Pinturicchio
Pinturicchio was an early Italian Renaissance painter known for his highly decorative frescoes. By 1481 Pinturicchio......
plainsong
plainsong, the Gregorian chant (q.v.) and, by extension, other similar religious chants. The word derives from......
Pontormo, Jacopo da
Jacopo da Pontormo was a Florentine painter who broke away from High Renaissance classicism to create a more personal,......
Pope Marcellus Mass
Pope Marcellus Mass, mass by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, the best known of his more than 100 masses. Published......
Pordenone
Pordenone was a High Renaissance Italian painter chiefly known for his frescoes of religious subjects. Pordenone......
Poulenc, Francis
Francis Poulenc was a composer who made an important contribution to French music in the decades after World War......
Poussin, Nicolas
Nicolas Poussin was a French painter and draftsman who founded the French Classical tradition. He spent virtually......
Power, Leonel
Leonel Power was one of the leading English composers of the 15th century. He was associated with Christ Church......
Praetorius, Michael
Michael Praetorius was a German music theorist and composer whose Syntagma musicum (1614â20) is a principal source......
Prokofiev, Sergey
Sergey Prokofiev was a 20th-century Russian (and Soviet) composer who wrote in a wide range of musical genres,......
Proud, Joseph
Joseph Proud was an English Swedenborgian minister and hymn writer who possessed considerable gifts as a preacher.......
Prudentius
Prudentius was a Christian Latin poet whose Psychomachia (âThe Contest of the Soulâ), the first completely allegorical......
psalm tone
psalm tone, melodic recitation formula used in the singing of the psalms and canticles of the Bible, followed by......
Psalmody
Psalmody, singing of psalms in worship. In biblical times professional singers chanted psalms during Jewish religious......
Pulzone, Scipione
Scipione Pulzone was an Italian Renaissance painter whose early work typified the 16th-century International style.......
Purcell, Henry
Henry Purcell was an English composer of the middle Baroque period, most remembered for his more than 100 songs;......
PĂ€rt, Arvo
Arvo PĂ€rt is an Estonian composer who developed a style based on the slow modulation of sounds such as those produced......
PĂ©rotin
PĂ©rotin was a French composer of sacred polyphonic music, who is believed to have introduced the composition of......
PĂ©tursson, HallgrĂmur
HallgrĂmur PĂ©tursson was a poet, and one of the greatest religious poets of Iceland. Though he came from a âgoodâ......
qawwali
qawwali, in India and Pakistan, an energetic musical performance of Sufi Muslim poetry that aims to lead listeners......
Rachmaninoff, Sergey
Sergey Rachmaninoff was a composer who was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism and a......
Rameau, Jean-Philippe
Jean-Philippe Rameau was a French composer of the late Baroque period, best known today for his harpsichord music,......
Raphael
Raphael was a master painter and architect of the Italian High Renaissance. Raphael is best known for his Madonnas......
Ravenscroft, Thomas
Thomas Ravenscroft was a composer remembered for his social songs and his collection of psalm settings. He took......
Rembrandt
Rembrandt was a Dutch Baroque painter and printmaker, one of the greatest storytellers in the history of art, possessing......
Reni, Guido
Guido Reni was an early Italian Baroque painter noted for the classical idealism of his renderings of mythological......
Requiem
Requiem, requiem mass by Giuseppe Verdi, intended as a memorial to a departed heroâthe poet, playwright, and novelist......
Requiem in D Minor, K 626
Requiem in D Minor, K 626, requiem mass by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, left incomplete at his death on December 5,......
requiem mass
requiem mass, musical setting of the Mass for the Dead (missa pro defunctis), named for the beginning of the Latin......
Rethel, Alfred
Alfred Rethel was a German artist who painted historical and biblical subjects on a heroic scale that was rare......
Ribalta, Francisco
Francisco Ribalta was a Spanish painter who was one of the first artists to be influenced by the new realism initiated......