Let's start with something light. Jotting down thoughts is not what I have been doing, but a blogg will provide that outlet.
Let's start with church music.
I have been to christian bookstores to find hymns on CD for my listening pleasure. The reaction that I get from the assistants is an eagerness to help but bewilderment as to how to help. "Worship" music is displayed in abundance. It is invariably sung by a group of musicians using instruments that include a guitar, keyboard and drums. The music items are Christian songs - but not hymns that would be listed as traditional.
A few albums feature traditional hymns. Unfortunately they are sung as a solo or by a group. The arrangements will be gentle and sentimental, also featuring guitar, keyboard and drums. If an old fogey like me needs a CD featuring traditional hymns sung by a good choir and organ or orchestra, one needs to go to the web or a large secular music store.
Some years ago I led the music of a church with an attendance of about 1800 people at each service. I was asked to select and teach modern "worship" songs to the congregation. I willingly complied, and we became familiar with the choruses and songs featured in most non-liturgical services today. However, being a bit of a rascal, I also inserted some of the old hymns and choruses. Amazing! Those were always the ones that were sung most lustily and enthusiastically.
In my youth, we always enjoyed singing those great hymns of praise with joyful enthusiasm. Those who were able were not bashful about singing in harmony. The congregation became a choir. Those old Wesleyan hymns that demanded knowledge of counterpoint like such hymns as "O for a thousand tongues to sing . . ." and "All hail the Power of Jesu's Name" were popular. Today, the congregations would not even know the original Wesleyan tunes, and wouldn't know enough to tackle them, so that pleasure is lost.
The most memorable church service to me was one I attended in Airdrie, a little coal mining town in Scotland. The congregation sang hymn after hymn at the tops of their voices in perfect four-part harmony! It was enormously stimulating!
I have a theory:
The old hymns and choruses we used to sing came from an age before television and MP3 players. People didn't sit and receive their entertainment passively. Group singing was enjoyed at church, in music halls and in pubs. The music, therefore was geared to group singing. Tunes were easy to remember, easy to harmonize, and easy to sing without straining voices.
Today's worship music reflects the taste in popular secular music. It should be sung by trained soloists, but the congregation is expected to do so. The tunes and harmonies are complex. The style is contemplative and, dare I say it, sentimental.
How I long to be able to stand with a whole congregation and sing five verses (stansas) of "Crown Him with many crowns" with tears in my eyes and the joy of triumph and praise in my heart! We no longer know that pleasure. Our God is a triumphant God, and our music should at times reflect this triumph and praiseworthiness.
When I was a teen, we were allowed to sing "our" music in church from time to time. Now we are the adults, teens have their music all the time.
Wouldn't it be lovely to let the adults have a service from time to time?
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1 comment:
Some great thoughts in your blog!
What type of music is sung in a church seems to depend on the tradition of the denomination. Because I've been a Lutheran all my life, I've learned many of the old complex hymns. And we still use them.
We also sing many great songs from other cultures. Some of these take traditional melodies from other countries, other continents, but Christian words have been written to fit the melodies.
I have friends who have come out of the Baptist and Covenant traditions, among others, and they have other old favorite songs, some that are termed "gospel" songs. Some of these have now become favorites in my church as well. Many of them seem, to me, at least, to have a more simplistic harmony than the old Lutheran favorites.
I personally have little knowledge with the modern "Christian" music, because I don't care for what I hear on the local Christian radio station. It often seems simplistic in music and meaning, to me. The praise music varies. Some of it seems like a simplistic melody line with lots of embroidery by the musicians. Sometimes it seems meant to induce a trance, if not boredom.
I personally think that any hymns that are good musically, singable, and have theologically sound meaning to the words, could be included in any worship service, for any age people. Some of the good Sunday School songs can be sung at the adult church service, as well as some of the good Christian camp music. And we can teach the children some of the old favorite hymns.
Segregating a congregation by music type is bad for the people because they don't get to know each other. If it leads to segregation by ages, it is bad for intergenerational support.
The only problem I have with some of the old hymns in my tradition is that they are translated from another language and, often, the sentence structure is convoluted, making the meaning obscure.
I posted on my blog today about old and new music in our church.
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