If Augustine Could Sing, He Might Sound Like This….

If Augustine Could Sing, He Might Sound Like This…. August 27, 2014

Sam RochaSam Rocha is a talented guy: a professor of philosophy of education, and a darned good writer, to boot. He’s written some college textbooks, and Sam’s blog is making waves here at Patheos.

I didn’t know until a few months ago, though, that Sam Rocha is also an accomplished guitarist and vocalist. Sam has combined two of his interests—his music and his Catholic faith—in a new CD, Late to Love. Based on the Confessions of St. Augustine, Late to Love is an interesting blend of soul music for the soul. According to the record company, Wiseblood Records:

Late to LoveLate to Love is an original concept album that performs a reading of Augustine’s Confessions through soul music. It is not a generic ode to a saint or holy person, nor is it a neutral celebration of an important ancient book. Rocha hones in on the paradox of the self in the Confessions. In pointing to the erasure of self, Augustine posits the possibility of a radical love in its place, a love that, whether early or late, is the only substantive reality one can put in the self’s place. Guided by this understanding of Augustine, Rocha offers a bold and fresh reading of Augustine’s Confessions where the form is the content, where melody and verse take the place of assertions and argument.

 

Since Sam is my friend, of course I promised to help him get the word out on social media. After listening to the mellow lyrics in one selection, then the high-energy riffs in the next, I’ve gotta say: I think you’ll like it!

If you’d like to listen before you buy, check out the short clips available in the right margin at Sam’s blog.

If you want to buy it, here’s a link for that.

 


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