The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson

01:33:59

Troubadours, Cathars, and why Jugglers go to Hell

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/10/06

Love songs that are secretly prayers. A dawn song that started in a monastery. A troubadour who became a bishop and persecuted heretics. Medieval singer Evgeny Skurat and instrumentalist Danil Ryabchikov join me from Montenegro to explore the hidden sacred side of troubadour music, and to perform it.We usually think of the troubadours as poets of courtly love, endlessly pining after women they couldn't have. But of the roughly 260 troubadour songs that survive with their melodies, some are

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01:18:35

so... why aren't you Orthodox? | Paul VanderKlay

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/09/29

Three years ago they were listening to Sam Harris. Now they're kissing relics. Reformed pastor Paul Vander Klay joins me to talk about the Orthodox moment, why liturgy is having a renaissance, and what screens have to do with it.Paul has spent years at the center of the conversation around Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau, and John Vervaeke, and he's the co-founder of Estuary, a network of small conversation groups meeting all over the world. We talk about how Estuary gets atheists and

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01:30:59

Appalachian Music: Sacred Harp Explained with Tom Ivey

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/09/23

Sacred Harp: A Living Tradition, with Thomas A. IveyWhat is Sacred Harp, and why are thousands of people still singing it every weekend? In this episode of Pursuit of Beauty, I talk with Tom Ivey, a shape-note singer for more than thirty years, a longtime member of the Charleston Sacred Harp singing (begun in 2008), and a composer whose tune "Blessed Road" appears in the new 2025 edition of The Sacred Harp.— RESOURCES MENTIONED —Sacred Harp Publishing Co.: http://sacredharp.comShenandoah

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01:46:00

A Pillar of Anglican Worship - Barry Rose at 92

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/09/08

Barry Rose OBE is one of the towering figures of Anglican church music. At ninety-two he looks back over sixty years at the heart of the English choral tradition, with warmth, humour and disarming candour. He built the choir of Guildford Cathedral from nothing at twenty-six, rebuilt the choir of St Paul's Cathedral as Sub-Organist and then Master of the Choir, trained the choristers who sang at the 1981 royal wedding, served as Master of the Music at St Albans Abbey, and produced BBC Radio's

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01:55:51

Epic Conversation: Every Style of Georgian Chant...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/08/27

Why does the same ancient chant melody sound completely different depending on which corner of Georgia you're standing in?Musicologist John A. Graham returns for Part 2 of our exploration of **Georgian Orthodox chant**, this time going deep into the three great transcribed monastery schools: **Gelati, Shemokmedi, and Svetitskhoveli**. At the heart of Graham's research is a fascinating argument: the schools inherited essentially the same model melodies, but each region learned to harmonize

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01:30:45

How Old is Coptic Chant, Really? Dr. Michael Henein

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/08/16

Is Coptic chant really 3,000 years old? Dr. Michael Henein set out to prove it — and his own experiment said no.Coptic Orthodox chant is often described as the last living echo of ancient Egyptian music, sung continuously since the time of the Pharaohs. Dr. Michael Henein decided to test that claim. With permission from the Cairo Museum, he had replicas made of ancient Egyptian flutes and asked a musician to play the responses of the Liturgy of St. Basil on them. The oldest flute produced exactly

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01:33:58

The Future of American Catholic Architecture | Duncan...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/08/07

Notre Dame architecture professor Duncan Stroik on why modern churches fail — and how to build sacred ones again.Stroik is the designer of Christ Chapel at Hillsdale College and the chapel at Thomas Aquinas College. In this interview he traces Catholic church architecture from the earliest basilicas to the traditional parish churches going up across America right now. If you've ever walked into a church that felt like an airplane hangar and wondered how we got here, this conversation is the

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01:01:20

Herman Middleton on the Protecting Veil, Orthodoxy,...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/06/24

Herman Middleton joins me to discuss Orthodox Christianity, C.S. Lewis, the modern crisis of what it means to be human, Artificial Intelligcen, and the strange ways technology reshapes our souls, our communities, and even our understanding of salvation. Herman is the founder of The Protecting Veil and Gadfly Academy, and his work brings together Orthodox theology, patristic wisdom, media ecology, and a deep critique of the modern machine-shaped world.We explore Herman’s own conversion from

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01:53:54

Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Chant with Aram Kerovpyan

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/06/11

Armenian chant, Armenian church music, and the ancient sacred music of the Armenian Apostolic Church are at the center of this conversation with master singer and musicologist, Aram Kerovpyan, one of the world’s leading voices on Armenian liturgical chant. Recommended to me by Tigran Hamasyan, Aram speaks with rare honesty about the survival, decline, and possible renewal of Armenian sacred music, from the modal chant tradition to the impact of genocide, Westernization, the organ, polyphonic choirs,

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01:49:09

where Japanese art and Medieval manuscripts collide |...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/05/27

In this conversation, I speak with artist Daniel Mitsui about sacred art, medieval manuscripts, Gothic symbolism, calligraphy, typography, Japanese woodblock prints, relics, pilgrimage, and the lost visual imagination of Christian civilization. Mitsui is a professional artist known for extraordinarily detailed religious ink drawings that continue the traditions of medieval Gothic art while also drawing from Celtic, Persian, and Japanese influences.Daniel's website: https://www.danielmitsui.com/

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01:08:30

This Meal Changed His Life

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/05/08

What happens when a meal becomes something sacred?In this conversation, Matthew Wilkinson sits down with John Heers of First Things Foundation to explore the ancient Georgian tradition of the Supra: a feast built around wine, poetry, hospitality, storytelling, beauty, memory, and human communion. What begins as a discussion about Georgian culture slowly becomes something much deeper: a meditation on why modern people feel spiritually exhausted, emotionally isolated, and disconnected from one

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01:21:23

They Sing for 15 Hours Straight (And That's a Short...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/04/20

Deacon Mihret Melaku is an Ethiopian Orthodox deacon, host of the Burning Bush Podcast, and author of Defending the Ancient Faith. In this conversation we explore the full breadth of Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity — its theology, its extraordinary sacred music system, its deep roots in Second Temple Judaism, and its living traditions of liturgical poetry.Burning Bush podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCKL74lcBHGYh2Xwsz8X68Nw Dcn. Mihret's book: https://www.defendingancientfaith.com/We begin

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01:39:11

Bishop Maximus & Evgeny Skurat | Resurrecting the...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/04/10

Matthew Wilkinson sits down with Bishop Maximus of Pelagonia and musicologist Evgeny Skurat to discuss one of the most extraordinary sacred music projects in recent memory: a full reconstruction and live recording of the medieval Byzantine Divine Liturgy, filmed at the Hermitage of St. Ignatius in Santa Cruz Naranjo, Guatemala. Drawing on years of manuscript research and decipherment of Middle Byzantine notation, Evgeny has worked to bring to life a musical tradition that has not been heard in its

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01:01:10

From Heavy Metal to Armenian Orthodox Chant | Tigran...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/04/01

Armenian jazz piano legend @TigranHamasyan joins Matthew Wilkinson on Pursuit of Beauty for a rare, in-depth conversation at the intersection of jazz, Armenian sacred music, medieval polyphony, and the theology of musical beauty. This is not a typical jazz interview, it goes deep into the musical, spiritual, and cultural roots that have shaped one of the most original voices in contemporary music.Tigran shares how influences like Jan Garbarek and Keith Jarrett first led him back to his own

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01:41:12

From Hagia Sophia to the Coronation: Alexander Lingas...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/03/24

Dr. Alexander Lingas — musicologist, conductor, and Founding Director of Capella Romana — joins Matthew Wilkinson for one of the most wide-ranging conversations in the history of the Pursuit of Beauty podcast. From reconstructing the lost sounds of Hagia Sophia to conducting Byzantine chant at King Charles III's coronation, Lingas has spent 35 years at the intersection of sacred music scholarship and performance. This is the definitive interview on the Byzantine chant tradition, its history, its

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02:07:56

Rock & Roll Is a Trauma Response — Neil DeGraide of...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/03/13

Neil's links: @dirtpoorrobins https://www.dirtpoorrobins.com/In this episode of The Pursuit of Beauty Podcast, Matthew Wilkinson speaks with musician and rock star Neil Basil DeGraide of Dirt Poor Robins about faith, music, culture, and the search for truth in the modern world.Neil shares the story of his journey from Catholicism through Protestant and charismatic churches and eventually into Eastern Orthodoxy. He reflects on growing up in New England during the Catholic scandals, searching

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01:22:52

What Is Sarum Chant? The Medieval English Tradition...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/03/07

Dr. William Renwick joins the podcast to discuss Sarum chant, the medieval English plainchant tradition centered on Salisbury Cathedral that once dominated worship across most of England, Scotland, parts of Ireland, and even Northern France. William is a retired music theory professor from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, and has devoted the latter part of his career to transcribing, editing, and publishing the entire Sarum chant repertoire at his free website, sarum-chant.ca.In this

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01:36:54

The Beauty of Coptic Iconography (And Why It Matters)...

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/02/28

Why do some coptic icons look cartoonish? Makary argues that the loss of apprenticeship, the absence of formal art education, and the pressure of rapid church construction have weakened artistic formation. Iconography is not a matter of copying lines and colors, but of understanding composition, light, volume, and the relationship between the image, the viewer, and the liturgical space. Sacred art must be treated as art in its fullness, not as a mechanical formula.The conversation then moves into

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01:52:36

The King's Iconographer

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/02/12

In this conversation, I sit down with Aidan Hart, an internationally renowned iconographer, liturgical artist, and multiple-time artist commissioned by King Charles III, to explore the meaning of sacred art in the modern world.We discuss what iconography really is, why hierarchy does not mean domination but the transmission of grace, and how the architecture of East and West reveals radically different theological visions. Aidan explains the difference between Romanesque and Byzantine art, why

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01:02:38

Why the Avant-Garde Isn’t the Enemy of Tradition

The Pursuit of Beauty with Matthew Wilkinson ·

2026/02/04

Modern music, classical music, avant-garde, tonality, postmodernism, and music philosophy are at the center of this conversation between composer and analyst Samuel Andreyev and host Matthew Wilkinson. Together, they examine one of the most common stories we are told about modern music and ask whether it is actually true.A central claim explored here is that tonality never disappeared. While figures such as Pierre Boulez, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Milton Babbitt developed new and experimental

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