My final project consists of observing music of Christianity and the symbolic role it plays in the Christian faith. This project will begin with the role of Gregorian Chant in early Europe and proceed to modern day Christianity. Be sure to keep in mind that this religous musical journey will obviously not hit every century that had religous music incorporated into Christianity (we would be here forever, trust me :-), but rather looks at a general progression of Christian music and the moods and motivations behind particular progressions.
Gregorian Chant- The video above is an example of Gregorian Chant. Chants were the most important part of Christian masses for they made up almost the entire mass. Gregorian Chants were composed in such a way that the focus was strictly on what was being sung. The chants were composed so that every person of the congregation could sing comfortably. You might also notice the amount of repetition in the chant. By repeating the same notes and much of the same text over and over again, the message or verse of the Bible (usually Psalms!!!) would be embedded into their minds. Also, keep in mind that monks who chanted usually sang for 8 hours a day. The Gregorian Chant was one of the most important symbols of Christianity for its time.
Chants (cont.) with Hildegard von Bingen- Because of the ultimately male domination of the Catholic Church enstilled by the Pope, women played little to no role in the church, and relevantly, the music of the church. Hildegard von Bingen was a member of a Catholic convent since the age of 8. She began composing in response to her visions of the Virgin Mary that she claimed to have. She composed chants for the women of her convent in which they performed them secretly. The one melodic line that accompanies Gregorian chants are composed so that the human voice is the only thing being heard. The early Christian ideals viewed the human voice as being made from God and therefore perfect and was a perfect symbol to represent God and praise him. Hildegard composed for women because she believed that a woman's voice was by far more heavenly and God-worthy for singing. Hildegard's music changed the way people viewed who was worthy enough to perform in a church setting. In conclusion, the chants composed in the early Christian era were used as an ultimate symbol for God's greatness.
Polyphony, Organum and Ockeghem- The clip above is a composition by the composer Ockeghem. This composition explores the use of polyphony (many voice parts) rather than monophony (one voice part) that was present in early Gregorian Chant. Ockeghem's composition showed how many different voice parts performing sacred text could also be used as a symbol for Christianity and the Catholic church. When first composed, this polyphonic style of music was considered very radical because it was vastly different and contained many intricate voice parts rather than one voice part. Leaders of the church were afraid that by adding many voice parts, different rhythms, and different harmonies, the "pureness" of the human sound would be lost and therefore the message would be lost. However, this new polyphonic style became more popular in sacred compositions. Composers of polyphony argued that by adding more human voices and more intricacies, the praise for God would be even greater.
Martin Luther and the Reformation- So now we're going to skip ahead to the 1500s. I'll fill you in on what you've missed. Secular music was beginning to gain popularity throughout Europe, especially in France. Madrigals, chansons, and other types of secular compositions were banned by the church. Also, the use of instruments were banned in the Catholic Church as well. The Catholic officials viewed instruments as a symbol of the devil. They thought this because instruments were made from human hands and did not come directly from God (like the voice) and therefore was corrupt. Martin Luther, who was famous for posting his '95 thesis', disagreed with this ideal. He wanted to harness the power of music for good. Martin Luther composed music that focused strictly on the community aspect of religious services and therefore created "Lutheranism". Luther's music borrowed music from secular sources (aka Madrigals) and fused them with sacred text. This combination was extremely controversial, but people were able to relate more to this "popular", secular style, but still be able to gain spiritual guidance. Of course the Catholic officials were furious, but it shows how influential music is on the Christian community. Luther also translated the sacred texts from Latin to German in order for the lower class people could gain spirituality from music and not just people who could read Latin. Martin Luther stated in one of his writings "Why does the Devil get all the good music?" Just to let you know the clip above incorporates instruments, not quite sure if instruments would have been used in Luther's services.
Palestrina and the Counter-Reformation- During the Reformation many church officials and devout Catholics were upset with the forming of Lutheranism, and more specifically the music that was being used to represent God. The Counter-Reformation when the Council of Trent was formed in order to restore "purity" back to the Catholic church. Music was one of their objectives that they discussed. They did not agree with the intrusion of secular music into sacred music and the use of complicated polyphony. The Council of Trent believed that these new musical practices distracted listeners from the meaning that sacred music was supposed to portray. The Council of Trent and the Pope hired Palestrina in order to restore music's "purity" by writing Gregorian Chants. However, as you can here from the clip above Palestrina did not exactly do what the Pope told him too. Rather he combined some of the compositional techniques from secular sources (madrigals) and combined them with certain harmonies and sonorities that sounded pure and holy, much like early polyphony. Palestrina was able to successfully combine sacred and secular music in order for it to be accepted as a symbol of Christianity. It both stayed true to early Christian ideals, but also showed the progression and adaptivity of the changing times. Nice job Palestrina!
Instruments in Church??!!- The clip above shows Lawrence University's performance of George Friedrich Handel's Hallelujah Chorus of his master work "The Messiah". After listening, what are your thoughts? I remembered when I first heard "The Messiah" I was blown away by the power the orchestra and chorus had. The use of instruments in sacred music started to become popular around the 1600 and 1700s. Composers such as Vivaldi, Bach, and Handel all used heavy orchestration in their sacred works. It is interesting how much sacred music in the Christian faith has grown from one voice singing a solo line to a full-blown orchestra playing a two hour piece. Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" is praising God and that he will reign forever. The message is still heard; however, the use of instruments in sacred music is used to enhance the text. This shows how music is able to adapt to changing times in order to still represent Christianity as a whole. Not to mention the profound community effect (an important aesthetic of religion)this kind of music has on both performers and audience members.
Up until this point, I've described Christian music as a part of the church service. It's interesting how nowadays, much of the music you here on the radio is not geared toward religion at all. How is it that music is still stands as a large symbol for Christianity when a majority of the population does not listen to "Christian music". Sure, music is still incorporated into many christian services, but Christian music is still present outside of the church. Below are a few examples, of modern day Christian music. You might find yourself very surprised at how many different genres Christian music has explored. Another interesting aspect of contemporary Christian music is that it has moved out of the church. Christian music is no longer limited or confined to just a church. Take a look at these examples...
Grace Like Rain by Todd Agnew- This example takes a more contemporary approach. As you can tell this example uses more contemporary instruments than say what Bach would have used. This music is still considered sacred, even though the text is not taken from any specific Bible verse. This type of music caters possibly to a younger, more contemporary Christian based audience. "Grace Like Rain" is yet another example of how music of the Christian faith adapts in order to stay a symbol for the current day followers.
Jesus Music by Lecrae- So this might take you off guard at first...it did for me. Again, just as Agnew's "Grace Like Rain", "Jesus Music" by Lecrae is able to convey a Christian message through the popular genre of hip-hop. This is yet another example of how music of Christian faith has evolved and adapted in order to maintain a symbol for Christianity.
The One Thing I Have Left by Hawk Nelson- Yes, it seems that Hawk Nelson has found a way to turn a rock show atmosphere into a place of worship. This shows how again how music in the Christian faith has branched out to many different genres in order to reach a wider population of followers. Although, the argument could be made that the followers of bands such as Hawk Nelson and Lecrae could only like their music because of the style and how it "sounds good" without really focusing on the message. Although this is a valid argument, I believe that it depends on the individual. Some may only like the music because of it's style and others may enjoy the more contemporary christian music because of the positive message it portrays.
This last clip is taken from an interview with Lacey Mosler, lead singer of the heavy metal Christian band Flyleaf. She describes why she writes and performs music and the purpose it's supposed to have in todays world. She also goes to describe the type of audience Flyleaf aims toward in order to renew, revive, and replenish people's (especially younger people's) faith. The interview also addresses the issue of just listening for the sake of listening and not focusing on the message as well.
