The fortunes of a painting. (via Schism Matrix)

I have always envied musicians & especially composers: poetry to me is a grubby art, mixing elixirs out of old bath water; while composers draw miracles from the aether... Besides Jerry Hunt--who was as close to a Renaissance mage as anyone in the 20c could hope to be--the only other composer i've known personally is the young Denton composer & teacher Paul Bonneau. Recently he wrote a Latin Mass for his doctorate, & an amazing piece it is. Usually when later composers try this sort of thing, they end up stylizing a hollow shell. But his is rich in feeling & drama: one movement almost sounds like it has Crime Jazz influences; another is mysteriously anguished. I've already listened to it about ten times, & each time discover new felicities. (As performed by the Flower Mound Chamber Orchestra, the CD is not commercially available, but you might try emailing him at: paul at fmco dot org to see if there are any extra copies available.)