Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: mangoe@cs.umd.edu (Charley Wingate) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Some thoughts on "Christian Music" Message-ID: Date: 22 Feb 90 09:13:54 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: U of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Science, Coll. Pk., MD 20742 Lines: 50 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I am becoming increasingly disturbed by some of the comments made about religious music. When I was an undergraduate living in the dorms here at UMCP, a friend of mine who was an organ student told me one day at lunch that rock music was physically harmful because the beat worked contrary to that of the heart. Now, nobody is saying anything *quite* that rediculous, but I see similar efforts to prove the superiority of this or that kind of music. I don't want to suggest that music is "spiritually neutral". I hear very little heavy metal, for instance, but I hardly have to; the whole atmosphere of it is stridently antithetical to a whole laundry list of christian values. And I love gregorian chant very much indeed. But these sweeping generalizations are far too sweeping. Let me suggest an extremely difficult religious piece: Leonard Bernstein's _Mass_. For the full effect you should seek out a videotape of the 10th anniversary performance, or failing that, the lyric book. _Mass_ is a performance piece, and the music doesn't deliver the full effect by itself. Bernstein is noted for his unconventional religious views, and I might suggest that Joe Buehler and other sensitive RC souls might want to take a strong tranquilizer first. Some of this piece makes me very uncomfortable. And yet, I hear a very strong prophetic voice coming out of it. There is a complaint against the christian church which, I think, is largely justified. At the same time, the voice of the psalmist and the voice of Job arise out of the noise, and often. Someone spoke about classical music. The separation between "classical" and "popular" music is a blurry line indeed. Some of the best religious music was written by a group of modern english composers who were also scholars of english folk music. It is often very hard in Vaughan-Williams, for instance, to distinguish between the various fantasies to see which comes from religious sources and which from secular; and then consider that V.-W. contributed a very large portion of modern hymnody. My main problem with pop religious music is that, by and large, it has little connection with the traditional liturgy. John Michael Talbot is a notable exception, but then he is a former monk. Too much of it seems trivial and too "nice". It's too safe. Some of the best hymns in the present and former episcopal hymnals are found in the passion hymns, but it seems unlikely that I shall ever hear Amy Grant singing about how she crucified Jesus, or about how all but one of the disciples were martyred. Well, that's my prejudices.... -- C. Wingate + "The peace of God, it is no peace, + but strife closed in the sod. mangoe@cs.umd.edu + Yet let us pray for but one thing-- mimsy!mangoe + the marv'lous peace of God."