Musically Speaking

Nat King Cole’s first major commercial hit came from an unlikely source, his father’s pulpit. In this episode, I reflect on the story behind Straighten Up and Fly Right, the folk fable at its heart, and what made the King Cole Trio so distinctive. Along the way, I share a few of my favorite Cole recordings, including his shuffle cover of On the Street Where You Live. Sometimes the best advice and the best music come from the same place.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a recording of “Straighten Up and Fly Right”: https://youtu.be/o-4VTlQlrosAnd one of my all-time favorites, his cover of “On the Street Where You Live": https://youtu.be/l0wfLdcV1ak This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

A few years ago, a friend told me I needed to hear Trio X of Sweden. He was right. In this episode, I reflect on this Swedish improvisational trio and their remarkable reinterpretations of Beethoven, Schumann, sacred music, and more. When they take on the Moonlight Sonata, it is not novelty or irony. It feels like another lens through which to hear a familiar work. Sometimes great art holds up precisely because it can be seen differently and still endure.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a link to Trio X’s Cover of Moonlight Sonata: https://youtu.be/s9HHNbQYoJo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

As America approaches its semiquincentennial on July 4, 2026, composer and pianist Stephen Limbaugh decided the occasion deserved more than a theme song. In this episode, I reflect on his America 250 Symphony, a full four-movement, 28-minute orchestral work documented in real time over two years on X. Working in the lineage of Dvořák, Copland, and Gershwin, and collaborating with Hollywood orchestrator Conrad Pope, Limbaugh is attempting something serious. Whether or not it becomes a landmark work, the instinct behind it is worth paying attention to.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s the link to support the work: https://www.givesendgo.com/A250symphony This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

On May 22, 1836, Felix Mendelssohn premiered his oratorio St. Paul in Düsseldorf to immediate acclaim. One hundred and ninety years later, one chorus from it still stops people in their tracks. In this episode, I reflect on what made St. Paul significant in his time, what How Lovely Are the Messengers does with a text from Romans 10, and why a group of fourth through tenth grade boys in West Monroe, Louisiana, sang it better than they may have known.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s the recording of “How Lovely are the Messengers”: https://youtu.be/wE5Ngf9_uqo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

This week’s episode briefly discusses the role of the choir when it comes to congregational singing in worship.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

For generations, church hymnals did more than preserve songs. They quietly taught ordinary people how to read music. A passing remark from country singer Ella Langley sparked this one, and this episode explores how the act of singing from the page, week after week, formed musical instincts most people never knew they had. I reflect on the shift from hymnals to lyric screens and ask what role the church should play in forming musically literate worshipers today.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.https://jarrodrichey.substack.com/p/music-on-the-screens-in-worship This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

On May 1, 1786, Mozart conducted the world premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna. 240 years later, it remains one of the most performed operas on earth. In this episode, I reflect on what made Mozart’s approach to opera revolutionary: music so precisely tailored to each character that you cannot swap their melodies. And in the opera’s very first scene, before the plot has barely begun, Mozart does something even more remarkable. He lets two characters sing in harmony to tell you something the text never says.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s John Mason Hodges’ talk at New Saint Andrews College on this exact subject: https://youtu.be/9OSFCcvtcFc This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, I reflect on why the pipe organ shaped Christian worship for centuries and what it still teaches us today. From Mozart’s description of it as “the king of the instruments” to its role in strengthening congregational singing, the organ models corporate worship: many voices unified under one guiding hand. More than nostalgia, it is theological architecture, breath turned into sound, reminding us that worship is proclamation, not private meditation.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

Colm Wilkinson’s Jean Valjean remains one of the defining performances of Les Misérables. In this episode, we listen to three moments from the 10th Anniversary Concert to hear how the grain and color of his voice reveal moral tension, resolve, and prayer. It’s a masterful example of vocal command and authentic storytelling in song.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

Easter is not just a day. It is a season. In this episode, I reflect on This Joyful Eastertide, a resurrection hymn set to a 1624 Dutch tune. With its bold proclamation of bodily hope and a refrain that climbs higher with each “arisen,” the music does more than accompany the text — it enacts it. Fifty days to rehearse what we confess. Christ is risen.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

On Good Friday, hope can seem out of place. Yet after hearing Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Tokyo, Japan, audiences often ask conductor Masaaki Suzuki to explain what “hope” means in the Christian sense.In this episode, I reflect on how Bach’s music carries the logic of death and resurrection across cultures, and why even in the shadow of the cross, Christian hope is never absent.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

We tend to think of hymnals as collections of church songs. But they once taught people how to sing.In 1761, John Wesley included seven “Directions for Singing” in his Methodist hymnal. They are not suggestions. They are instructions. Sing all. Sing in time. Sing modestly. Sing lustily and with a good courage. Above all, sing spiritually.In this episode, I read Wesley’s directions in full and reflect on how seamlessly he integrates technique, participation, unity, and spiritual focus. Congregational singing, for Wesley, was not ornamental. It was important. His words are still apropos today.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

Two singers can sing the same note, yet we instantly know who it is. Why? Because before we hear melody, we hear tone.In this week’s Friday Five, we explore the colors of the human voice — bright and dark, nasal and warm, gritty and clear. Through a few rapid contrasts, we consider how tone color shapes interpretation and even carries biography. This week, listen differently. Don’t just hear the notes. Hear the color.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

On this “on location” episode from a cabin in Branson, Missouri, I reflect on one of the most unusual and powerful choral works of the twentieth century: “Rejoice in the Lamb” by Benjamin Britten.Drawing from the eccentric and deeply devotional poem Jubilate Agno by Christopher Smart, written in part while Smart was confined in an asylum, Britten’s choral work bursts with rhythmic energy, playful strangeness, and persistent praise.From the famous “For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry” solo to the driving Hallelujah movements, this work reminds us that praise can persist even in fragmentation and confinement.My Delta Youth Chorale is preparing for an upcoming April 30 performance of this remarkable piece in West Monroe, Louisiana.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a recording of the first movement: https://youtu.be/TaRUv0c-Aes This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

No dialogue. Just four minutes of music — and an entire marriage. In this episode, I reflect on Michael Giacchino’s “Married Life” from Up and how music functions as narrator. Through melody, orchestration, and tempo, the score carries decades of joy and sorrow without a single word. Music does not decorate the story. It interprets it.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here's the scene if you've never seen it: https://youtu.be/XO77YuyMOek This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

No dialogue. Just four minutes of music — and an entire marriage. In this episode, I reflect on Michael Giacchino’s “Married Life” from Up and how music functions as narrator. Through melody, orchestration, and tempo, the score carries decades of joy and sorrow without a single word. Music does not decorate the story. It interprets it.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here's the scene if you've never seen it: https://youtu.be/XO77YuyMOek This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode I ask a simple question: when you sing in worship, who are you singing to? Drawing on Paul Munson’s helpful framework, I reflect on three audiences that show up in Scripture, especially in the Psalms and in Paul’s epistles: sometimes we sing to our own souls, always we sing to God, and often we sing to one another through teaching and encouragement. Remembering the audience of congregational song can change the way we think about worship and the way we participate in it.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this bonus longform episode of Musically Speaking, I sit down with Maestro John Mason Hodges, music director of the Monroe Symphony Orchestra and founder of the Center for Western Studies, for a wide-ranging conversation about music, meaning, and maturity. Maestro Hodges also teaches for us at the Redeemer School of the Arts.What happens when we are surrounded by constant sound but slowly lose the ability to listen? Why does so much modern music feel instantly accessible and instantly forgettable? And how can Christians recover the tools needed to love what is truly worth loving?Drawing on examples from Bach to pop music, we discuss the difference between passive and active listening, the six elements of music, the dangers of both chronological snobbery and cultural laziness, and the importance of musical literacy in forming our affections. From cotton candy versus steak to soda versus fine wine, this episode challenges listeners to expand their musical palate and deepen their engagement.If you’ve ever wondered how to move beyond “Do I like it?” to “What is it doing, and why?”, this conversation will stretch your ears, your mind, and perhaps even your loves. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, I introduce listeners to the Welsh bass/baritone Bryn Terfel, a singer whose career has spanned the world’s great opera houses while also reaching audiences through concerts, recordings, and broadcasts far beyond them. I offer three observations about what makes his artistry so compelling: the depth and flexibility of his voice, his gift for communication and character, and his rare ability to move authentically between opera, musical theater, folk song, and hymnody. If you are new to Terfel, this episode offers a place to begin, with further listening suggestions in the show notes.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s Bryn singing Handel’s Ombra Mai Fu aria:https://youtu.be/kUKHAXR34pEHere’s one of my favorite Schubert Lieder, Die Forelle:https://youtu.be/Twp9_JKtKmI This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

As the Winter Olympics begin, I reflect on the music of John Williams and how his work has come to define some of our most recognizable public moments. While he is best known for film scores, Williams’s music reaches far beyond the cinema into television, football broadcasts, and Olympic ceremonies. In this episode, I consider how his commitment to the symphony orchestra, his use of fanfare and leitmotif, and his trust in musical development have helped bring orchestral sound to a global audience, often without listeners even realizing it.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, I share a handful of musical recommendations centered around Joshua Lee Turner and Carson McKee, musicians I first discovered during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning with their delightful banjo and guitar cover of ABBA’s “Mamma Mia,” I reflect on what drew me to their work and to collaborations with Tony Lindgren and Elle Cordova, including memorable covers of “Stuck in the Middle with You,” Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” Paul Simon’s “Baby Driver,” and Peter Gabriel’s “Solsbury Hill.” As the pace of life has slowed again in recent days with Winter Storm Fern, this episode simply offers a few sounds worth revisiting and enjoying at an unhurried pace.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s the “Mamma Mia” Cover: https://youtu.be/lWpmALY8Z_sHere’s “Stuck in the Middle of You”: https://youtu.be/1T3B502Ut94Live album on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/7mAGwobSNRrXmcTlfvnWZT?si=boneXJNQSma6UIZ3nWe8IA This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode I reflect on silence, not as the absence of sound, but as an active and necessary partner to music. Drawing on musical examples like rests, cadences, and communal pauses before and after singing, I consider how silence shapes meaning, gives weight to words, and trains our attention. In a culture filled with constant noise and distraction, this episode invites listeners to notice silence again and to let it do its quiet work.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week's episode, I reflect on how many of us were quietly introduced to orchestral music through cartoons long before we ever set foot in a concert hall. From Tom and Jerry to Looney Tunes, familiar animated worlds trained our ears to recognize musical gesture, drama, and beauty. This episode explores how public domain classical music became the soundtrack of childhood and why those sounds still shape how we hear and feel music today.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, I reflect on why lyrics tend to stay with us when they are sung, but often fade when they are merely spoken. From familiar popular songs to Scripture memory projects, I consider how melody binds words to memory and shapes how those words live inside us. With examples from Integrity Music and Dr. David Erb’s Cantica Sanctorum, this episode invites listeners to reflect on what we allow to lodge in our minds, as what stays with us often shapes us.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a link to hear David Erb’s Cantica Sanctorum on streaming platforms:Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2KL6DXzAmazon Music: https://amzn.to/2ZiBJZVGoogle Music: http://bit.ly/2XnNGLUiTunes: https://apple.co/2Xj8Las This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

What happens when truth is communicated without beauty?In this bonus episode of Musically Speaking, I sit down with Dr. Scott Aniol to argue that beauty is not an optional accessory to truth, but the means by which truth is perceived, embodied, and lived. Drawing from theology, philosophy, and the Western artistic tradition, they explore why aesthetics shape belief, why all art is inherently interpretive, and how modern culture has detached the arts from formation and worship.The conversation also discusses the vision of the Redeemer School of the Arts, a residential, church-based academic program committed to forming artists within community, discipline, and the pursuit of the good life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, recorded in the first days of the new year and still within the twelve days of Christmas, I reflect on the meaning of Auld Lang Syne. Tracing its roots in the poetry of Robert Burns, I consider how this simple and enduring song gives us words for memory, friendship, gratitude, and hope. With reflections on recordings by Harry Connick Jr. and Lou Rawls, I invite listeners to make room for remembering, giving thanks, and carrying what is good into the year ahead.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s Lou Rawls’ cover of Auld Lang Syne: https://youtu.be/yBv9_oP7pVA This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, I consider the quiet richness of the days that follow Christmas and why the season is worth more than one day. Drawing on Robert Herrick’s Christmas Carol poem, I invite the listener to make room in their mind and heart for the joy that continues beyond December 25.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a recording of Rutter’s musical setting of Herrick’s poem: https://youtu.be/yckjpO1vvnE This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

Merry Christmas Eve - Bonus Mini-Episode This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, we reflect on singing as a communal act that forms us in ways private listening cannot. Drawing on recent performances by my Delta Youth Chorale and Geneva Academy students, we consider how making music together binds singers and listeners alike, especially during Advent and Christmas. In an age of earbuds and individualized playlists, this episode invites us to recover the joy, fellowship, and shared presence that come from singing aloud with one another.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

This episode looks at how a paraphrase of Psalm 98, written centuries ago without a single reference to Bethlehem or the Nativity, found its way into the heart of the Christmas season. From Isaac Watts’s text to the lively tune that echoes Handel’s style, we explore the surprising journey that turned a psalm into a hymn/carol many of us now know by heart.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

This week’s Friday Five features a recommendation of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones’ Christmas album Jingle All the Way. From a jazz-infused take on Jingle Bells and Linus and Lucy to a stunning twelve-key, twelve-meter setting of The Twelve Days of Christmas, this album offers a playful and virtuosic reimagining of familiar holiday music. With surprising touches like Tuvan throat singing, a Bach tenor aria arranged for banjo, and standout tracks like River, Christmastime Is Here, and The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, this is a Christmas record for listeners ready for something fresh.Here’s the link to the album on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2W76N8D76BqfRlDjzQSOKL?si=VemG571DRVeM8ygmQH296QAnd here is the link to listen on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kwmxu3QlA_NKtaU611KStU7Jqreaf_UGQ&si=Y5GDOqjgKGvjd8qPThe Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

This week we look at how a musical diet shapes musical desires and how teaching students to read music frees them to participate rather than just consume. Featuring recordings from Geneva Academy’s ninth and tenth grade musicianship class, this episode explores why Renaissance polyphony, music literacy, and singing outside our own time form not only better musicians but stronger communities.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this long-form Musically Speaking conversation, I sit down with theologian Alastair Roberts at Theopolis Institute to explore what happens when we learn to hear the Bible musically. Alastair argues that Scripture isn’t something we simply analyze from above like a map. It’s more like music we enter—where themes develop, time interpenetrates, and the rhythms of typology and liturgy work together like a great symphony.We talk about why modern theology has become so flat and spatial, how recovering the primacy of the ear helps us read Scripture more faithfully, and why worship is meant to function musically, rather than as a collection of disconnected parts. We also dig into the Psalms, the creativity of Christian hymnody, and how a psalm-soaked imagination gives rise to richer and more faithful new songs. If you care about music, Scripture, worship, or the shape of Christian time, I think you’ll find this conversation both challenging and deeply encouraging.You can read more from Alastair Roberts at The Anchored Argosy here on Substack. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

This week’s episode reflects on the music of childhood and the way a musical mother shapes the imagination. In honor of Suzi Richey’s birthday, I look at a few songs near to her when I was growing up, from Sweet Beulah Land to music from Scott Sontag and Reba Rambo. These artists and tunes have stayed in my memory even though decades have passed.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we look at how Randy Newman writes through invented characters rather than speaking in his own voice. From satire to tenderness, his songs use irony, perspective, and a distinctive piano style to help us hear truth in unexpected ways.Here’s a link to the heartbreakingly beautiful song, Wandering Boy:https://youtu.be/I2s1WNagdA0Here’s a link to Randy Newman’s NPR Tiny Desk Concert:https://youtu.be/1wFWR5qCB2kThe Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we look at what happens when the words of one song are forced onto the tune of another. The result is usually funny, cringeworthy, or both. But our reaction teaches us something important. We do not just hear lyrics. We hear music as meaning. The tune and the text are meant to support one another. When they disagree, we notice instantly.Here’s a recording of Girlfriend in a Coma if you wish to hear more than the eight seconds in the episode: https://youtu.be/tTfSYPjmTyoOr this version of John Lennon’s Imagine sung to the Muppets Theme song, complete with Kermit the Frog voice imitation: https://youtu.be/IbzBw3Uiu48The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we look at why there are two commonly sung versions of A Mighty Fortress Is Our God. We listen to the familiar slower tune and then to the original rhythmic version that Luther wrote. We consider how rhythm helps congregational singing and why this hymn still matters today.Here’s a PDF of the song if you want to sing it yourself: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/gbo4baculoj49c6xo7iep/A-Mighty-Fortress-Is-Our-God_LJR.pdf?rlkey=1ydnxei10cmp2u6yzj7o2nu8j&dl=0The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we listen to the many talents of Phil Keaggy — the guitarist, the vocalist, and the musical interpreter of great texts. From the lyrical compassion of The Little Ones to the Beatles-like shimmer of Love Divine and his haunting setting of C. S. Lewis’s As the Ruin Falls, Keaggy shows how excellence and devotion can live in the same song.Here’s an interview with Phil Keaggy and the poet Malcom Guite talking about Lewis’ poem: https://youtu.be/BoPzW8SIBM4Here’s Keaggy’s song Little Ones that is so moving: https://youtu.be/0SAQhl9pDM4The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

I’m finishing up PhD Qualifying Exams in Fort Worth, TX. Enjoy this early episode of the Friday Five, which features a fun story about Artificial Intelligence and music. The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we listen to one of the most quietly powerful voices in modern music. Jennifer Warnes is best known for her unforgettable duets and her interpretations of Leonard Cohen’s songs, but her gift runs deeper, carrying a kind of quiet grace that lingers long after the song ends.Here’s a YouTube playlist of the album Famous Blue Raincoat: https://youtu.be/tNYiMxHbcE4?si=BiMm1JwSlk9yaK-mThe Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we hear three of my eighth-grade students sing Dona Nobis Pacem as a round and explore why canons are more than warm-ups. Canons help singers grow in independence, blend, and harmony, making them one of the best tools for choirs of any age.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we explore Joachim Neander’s hymn Wondrous King, All-Glorious, and reflect on how singing it before dinner became a surprising moment of connection both in our home and online. We consider what makes table singing so meaningful, why this hymn is a treasure, and how incorporating hymns into daily life reshapes our experience of community.Here's a link to the viral singing reel: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO2POO3DLb4/The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we consider how singing polyphonic music trains our ears for harmony, strengthens independent musicianship, and builds music literacy. With examples from Victoria and Byrd, we explore how this music shapes both singers and listeners.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a link to listen to the Victoria “O Magnum Mysterium” piece with sheet music: https://youtu.be/9xPh-fXYAc4 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we reflect on hymns that guide us through moments of grief and turning. From Abide with Me to A Mighty Fortress, these hymns, among others, help us lift our eyes from sorrow to the sure hope that God’s kingdom remains.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we hear how pianist Jacques Loussier and his trio reimagined Bach with the swing of a jazz rhythm section. From the famous Air on a G String to the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, these works remind us that sometimes all they need is a modern genre like jazz to bridge the gap and let us hear just how vibrant they would have sounded when first created.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a link to a live performance in Leipzig in the church where Bach is buried: https://youtu.be/BFEj7NfIRY0Here’s Trio X of Sweden’s version of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9HHNbQYoJo This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we consider why certain voices move us even when they sound rough around the edges. These are voices that break the mold, resist polish, and still draw us in. What makes them so compelling?The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a few listening links. First is Leonard Cohen’s “If It Be Your Will”:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fICsHinJNbcHere’s Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zDt8xyVKtw This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we look at how the familiar Doxology, “Praise God, from whom all blessings flow,” was not originally a stand-alone hymn. It was the shared ending of three different texts by Bishop Thomas Ken. Morning, Evening, and even Midnight devotion all resolve in the same four lines of praise, a pattern that still teaches us how to frame our days.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s a link to a PDF of the Doxology: https://shorturl.fm/JyR4lHere’s a recording of the whole thing from Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Austin: https://redeemerpres.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Doxology-Old-Hundredth.mp3 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this week’s episode, we consider Chris Stapleton’s Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore and why it leaves such a lasting impression. Along the way, we’ll make a surprising connection to a classic country hit and explore what makes songs like this worth returning to again and again.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here’s the links promised in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nTch_IbOHEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=es1uCh48TNY This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, we look at the life and legacy of Cecil Frances Alexander (1818–1895), who wrote many hymns for children, including All Things Bright and Beautiful, Once in Royal David’s City, and There Is a Green Hill Far Away—but whose poetic clarity and theological depth often surpass what many churches sing for adults today. We explore how her lyrics arm young worshipers with truth, invite children of all ages into the riches of the faith, and challenge some of our modern expectations for congregational song.The Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com

In this episode, I take a look at one of Mason Williams’ lesser-known but brilliantly crafted pieces: “The Last Great Waltz.” You probably know him from “Classical Gas,” but this tune tells a quirky story using shifting meters and clever musical turns.Here’s the link to listen to “The Last Great Waltz” in its entirety on YouTube: https://youtu.be/H0jMhedM_-IThe Friday FIVE is a weekly five-minute podcast series from Musically Speaking that features five minutes of music commentary, examples, and recommendations from Jarrod Richey.Here are the links to listen to the other Mason Williams songs referenced in this episode: “Classical Gas”- https://youtu.be/mREi_Bb85Sk“I’ve Heard that Tear-Stained Monologue You Do There By the Door Before You Go” - https://youtu.be/-e3RJjTFfaoToday’s episode is in loving memory of Ted & Rodger Richey. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit jarrodrichey.substack.com