Christian influence on Music

Goals and purpose

-This class will look at the shaping influence Christianity placed upon music as we have it

-It will emphasize those aspects which would NOT have been had it not been for the influence of Christianity and the church

-It will investigate the role of church/Christianity in preservation and development of musical forms

Music: a working definition

The word music comes from the Greek mousikê (tekhnê) by way of the Latin musica. It is ultimately derived from mousa, the Greek word for muse. In ancient Greece, the word mousike was used to mean any of the arts or sciences governed by the Muses. Later, in Rome, ars musica embraced poetry as well as instrument-oriented music (Pythagoras)

Toward a working definition

In the European Middle Ages, musica was part of the mathematical quadrivium (the 4 part study of mathematics): arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and musica. The concept of musica was split into three major kinds by the fifth century philosopher, Boethius: musica universalis, musica humana, and musica instrumentalis. Of those, only the last—musica instrumentalis—referred to music as performed sound.

Boethius’(480-525) definition hinged on a concept of harmony: Harmony of the heavenly bodies (musica universalis), harmony of the human body (musica humana), mathematical proportion of sound (quanified earlier by Pythagoras)

Music: a category of perception

A cognitive definition Music is not merely the sound or the perception of sound, but a means by which perception, action and memory are organized. This definition is influential in the cognitive sciences, which search to locate the regions of the brainresponsible for parsing or remembering different aspects of musical experience. This definition would include dance. I believe the evidence points to this as a working definition of music as used and understood by Christians in the early era even before there was “science” to back it up

Music: why ask the question of church influence

It is important to realize that even asking this question and the placing into one context of many eras, genres and ethnicities of music is a unique opportunity of our time.

Few other times had any working knowledge of music except what was immediately around them.

Even the asking of the question arises in the Christian West. No previous society, religious or ethnic group has shown an interest and emphasis on examining, collecting comparing and preserving music not its own.

1)Musical notation and scholarship arose in the early middle ages and proceeded throughout the high middle ages and into the renaissance directly under the influence and guidance of the church.

2)The western musical tone scale was developed by and for musicians performing music in the churches.

3)The church was the incubator and driving force for the perceived importance of passing it on accurately

4)Preservation, restoration and reenactment of music of previous times was fostered. It was respected and gave a sense of place and appreciation.

Important observations of Christian influence

5) Development of numerous musical instruments grew under encouragement of choirmasters and other musicians working within the church: organ, symphonic stringed and wind instruments were refined here.

6) Many classical forms of music and numerous of its greatest composers were initially and many continuously employed in giving their talents in service of the church

7)Slaves ripped from their homelands preserved portions of their musical heritage while changing the lyrics to Christian themes.

8)The invention of musical recording (also born in Christian west, man acting as a co creator)

Nestled in the above observations reside the greatest contributions Christianity has made to the body of music (particularly Western) as we have it. And without which it is doubtful mankind would have the meaningful body of music we have today.

Now on to some of the history behind these assertions.

Music: a category of perception Important uses of Music:1. A Mnemonic device, helps us remember

Meter: Poetry --the steadfast Love of the Lord, Chant: ABCDEFG HIJKLMNOP QRS TUV WXYZ

2. An opening to celebration often praise or to deity --- (the very word Hymn means a song of praise to a god)

3. Events of state, recalling the heroic: “Star Spangled Banner”

4. Popular dance (all eras)5. Masking pain or reason (Attis, Cybele, Catullus 63)

often drumbeats accentuate thisSometimes ecstatic, the appeal to the emotion “standing outside of” the mind

Jewish influences

Early Christian familiarity with scripture:Ps 92:1-4It is good to give thanks to the LORDAnd to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; 2 To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning And Your faithfulness by night, 3 With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre. 4 For You, O LORD, have made me glad by what You have done,I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands.

Isa 12:4-5" Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name. Make known His deeds among the peoples; Make them remember that His name is exalted." 5 Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things;Let this be known throughout the earth.

Rev 5:9-129 And they sang a new song, -- 12 saying with a loud voice," Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing."

The Psalms: always a musical or chanted element

Christians were familiar with synagogue worship

In temple there were instruments as it was THE place to worship God, a place of pilgrimage employing trained singers and musicians

In the synagogues singing or chant was likely “sotto voce” (voice only)

instrumental music was not revived and used in the synagogue after destruction of the Second temple in 70 AD, although they kept the symbolic Shofar (a horn) still used in orthodox communities. "the chant continued, and research has made it increasingly clear that many of the forms and even melodic patterns of the Byzantine and Western Christian chants were adaptations from the music of the synagogues.“ William Smoldon

Greek influences

Long oral tradition :Homer’s epics Iliad and Odyssey were sung/chanted Love poetry Music from Delphi (even with notations we do not know how to reproduce it with any accuracy. Examples then are educated attempts no more.)Instruments: Stringed (kithara, Lyre), flute/oboe (aulos)Music was an element of education

Music: in Greek culture  On philosophy and music It is common to hear the term "music of the spheres" and read of Pythagoras and his school, who laid the foundations of our knowledge of the study of harmonics—how strings and columns of air vibrate, how they produce overtones, how the overtones are related arithmetically to one another, etc.

It is important to note that the entire study of such things by the Greeks was less a formula for the production of playable music than it was a mathematical and philosophical description of how the universe, in general, was perceived to be constructed—the stars, the sun, the planets, all vibrating in harmony. Wikipedia

Music was produced modally, in 4 modes (akin to but dissimilar to modern key signatures because the intervals were different)Aeolian, Dorian, Ionian, Lydian (the church later adopted these names.)

Music: in Greek education 

Our music was once divided into its proper forms...It was not permitted to exchange the melodic styles of these established forms and others. Knowledge and informed judgment penalized disobedience. There were no whistles, unmusical mob-noises, or clapping for applause. The rule was to listen silently and learn; boys, teachers, and the crowd were kept in order by threat of the stick. . . . But later, an unmusical anarchy was led by poets who had natural talent, but were ignorant of the laws of music...Through foolishness they deceived themselves into thinking that there was no right or wrong way in music, that it was to be judged good or bad by the pleasure it gave. By their works and their theories they infected the masses with the presumption to think themselves adequate judges. So our theatres, once silent, grew vocal, and aristocracy of music gave way to a pernicious theatrocracy...the criterion was not music, but a reputation for promiscuous cleverness and a spirit of law-breaking. Plato Laws

Music may serve to form judgments (of the child) by connecting moral concepts and pleasure. It is thus for teaching to form tastes. Plato Laws

Music: influence on the Christian early form 

1. Music expressed the human emotions with emphasis on adoration of God, hence umnos hymn a song of praise.

2. Music was more than our current popular cultural definition of “pleasant sounds’ it implied examination of the “harmony” of the universe

3. Music was a principal medium of transmission of truths

4. Music was an integral part of education, related to mathematics

5. Music was used to induce ecstasy in pagan rituals

Sample ancient Greek Music on Lyre and aulos

The sounds of Nature are the promise of music, it takes a human being to keep them Igor Strravinski

God created ex nililo (from nothing) man ex quo (from something) i.e. in context, building on our forefathers

Music is neither an aid to worship nor a tool for producing itIt is an offering given to GodWho is both means and end

Music making is subordinate to and informed by the larger doctrines of creation, worship, offering, faith, grace, stewardship, redemptive witness, excelling and love.

Harold Best

Within the incubator of the church, these were guiding principles in the formulation and development of music.

Christianity exerts influenceThe Christian/church influence AD 33 to Constantine 325

• “the early history of music in Western Europe is almost entirely based on its use and development within the church as its source” Heritage of Music Oxford 1989

• Early church Hymns were sung to instruct and to praise: • Eph 2:5-11, I Cor 13

• Mostly unaccompanied “acapella” because the instruments of the day were used and associated with pagan ritual

• Early Hymns: The word hymn should be conceived in terms of ancient thought. It is futile attempt to differentiate among psalms, hymns and canticles (spiritual songs).

• Specialists in liturgical matters testify to the confusion existing among ancient writers in the use of these words and to the uncertainty of definition which results.

• By the time of Ambrose(bishop of Milan) in the fourth century Greek and oriental elements had long since merged in other aspects of civilization and, in the course of time, Christian hymns felt the effect of a universal development.

• There was a certain departure from biblical models (i.e. using solely the Psalms) and movement from the old poetic forms toward forms adapted to the worship (liturgy) of the church.

Worship (liturgical) forms retained textual evidence: Benedictus, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel (Luke 1:68-79), spoken by Zacharias,Nunc dimittis, Lord, now let thou thy servant depart in peace (Luke 2:29-32), the words of Simeon upon seeing the infant Jesus Magnificat, My soul doth magnify the Lord (Luke 1:46-55), MaryGloria in excelsis, Glory to God in the highest (Luke 2:14), angelic host

• There was external evidence to Christian hymnody: •“They sing hymns to Christ as to a god” letter from Pliny to Trajan ca 120 AD

Important elements of early church music or hymnody

1. Hymnody developed using the psalms of OT plus original NT writing.

2. It was used to instruct in moral and orthodox teaching

3. The predominant absence of instrumentality was borne of desire to be separate from the pagan religious festivals which employed them extensively often to ecstatic ends.

4. It was preserved much as other music was meaning that evidence is scarce and it is near impossible to accurately reproduce.

Delphic hymn to Apollo on stone text with musical notation undecipherable

Examples of early musical notation

Greek text papyrus with musical notation undecipherable can only assume up/down

Ochrhynchus hymn: oldest fragment of Christian Hymn

Oxyrhynchus HymnThird century

From Egypt

Let it be silent Let the Luminous stars not shine, Let the winds (?) and all the noisy rivers die down; And as we hymn the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Let all the powers add "Amen Amen" Empire, praise always, and glory to God, The sole giver of good things, Amen Amen

325 – high middle ages (ca 1000)• Origin and development of plainsong (chant)

monophonic and modal increasingly became the work of the monks

• Church sought uniformity across western Christendom for the liturgies.

• Rise of plainsong modeled after psalmody and the mass

• Concurrent retreat of earlier hymnody the music of the church became more and more the work of those with special training

• What is plainsong or chant: text sung in unison over a modal framework and with varying or no metrical component

Ambrosian Plainsong (Ambrose of Milan 340-397)

Call and response style

Kyrie Eleison, Christie Eleison, Kyrie eleison

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy

Ambrose of Milan 340-397 (Ambrosian plainsong) Psalmody unites those who disagree, makes friends of those at odds and brings together those who are out of charity with one another. Who could retain a grievance against a man with whom he had joined in singing to God.

Augustine 354-430: wrote a 6 volume work on music with emphasis on the serenity, doctrinal integrity and importance of the church’s singingI wept at the beauty of your hymns and canticles, and was powerfully moved at the sweet sounds of your church’s singing. These sounds flowed into my ears, and the truth streamed into my heart, so that my feeling and devotion overflowed, and the tears ran from my eyes, and I was happy in them.

Gregory the Great (540-604, pope from 590-604)

• attributed “father” of plainsong hence the name Gregorian Chant

• unlikely the composer of the body of plainsong rather the proponent and codifier for use in various worship settings

• during this period writers were anonymous out of humility

• the writing of music was still rudimentary so the actual early styles were preserved orally awaiting further development of musical notation

Agnus dei qui tollos peccata mundi miserere nobisAgnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi dona eis pacem

Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world pity usLamb of God who takes away the sins of the world grant us peace.

Important developments during this period:

• church music was exclusively acapella

• “Instruments recall the cult of the pagan gods and the songs of the actors” St. John Chrysostom (347-407)

• The chant taught the illiterate. So the church used and cultivated music as a means of instructing

• Became less participatory and more the work of the monks (specialization and rise of musical leaders)

• the desire to replicate the music from place to place gave the rise to the beginnings of modern musical notation

Refinement of musical notation

• first notation showing up and down (no tonal references)

• then single line representing beginning note (so singer should know where he was to begin and end)

• later multiple lines (to codify all notes)

• Importance of word painting: the words were to take precedence with the lyrics there to carry them along and simultaneously evoke the sentiment thereof. This bore fruit later in the efforts of sacred/secular composers who write their music to specifically evoke certain feelings (now often without words).

Prior to ca 850 no musical notation was used with significant regularity. These slides show progression of notation from ideas, to direction, to notes to be of same pitch

Ideas: needed to already know the music

Direction: you knew what direction the tune was headed

Red line: notation indicating “same note”

Fully developed 4 line Neume (pneuma) system of notation Credited to an Italian Benedictine monk who lived from 995–1050.Guido D'Arezzo

Previously and even until recently with invention of recording instruments few if any ever heard music other than what was produced in their own area BUT now it could be shared

Modern western musical notationused from 16th century forward

Musical development proceeded along the needs of the church or in many cases the monasteries:

The hours: (monastic times of prayer): Matins midnight, Laude 3:00, Prime 6:00, Terce 9:00, Mass 10:00, Sext, 12:00, None 3:00, Vespers 6:00, Compline, bedtime.

Incorporated many Psalms on plainsong and the mass.

Because there were so many times of prayer (and singing was part of the prayer hour) music and its development became very important.

Late Middle Ages (ca 1000-1400)

Universities emerged in major centers: Bologna , Chartres (where music was a specialty), Oxford, Cambridge Linked to the churches in those places

Course work included Classical studies (Greek Roman) Quadrivium: Arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy.Trivium: Grammar, rhetoric, Dialectic

Music was viewed as a microcosm of the universe.

Music was taken seriously, elevated on pedestal, not casual.

The Center of musical effort was the MassThe Mass (centered on the Lords supper):

having 2 parts: Ordinary and ProperThe “Ordinary” was that part common to all masses regardless of the time of year i.e. period in the church calendar. It uniformly consists of :

Kyrie “Lord have mercy” Gloria “Glory to God in the highest” Credo “I believe” Sanctus “Holy Holy” Agnus Dei “Lamb of God”

This was the center of musical effort and involved the most intense efforts of composers, many to this day.

The requiem (or mass for the dead)This form of worship traces back to second century

association with songs at funeral

· Dies Irae days of wrath· Domine Jesu Lord Jesus· Sanctus Holy Holy· Benedictus fare well· Pie Jesu O sweet Jesus· Agnus Dei Lamb of God· Lux Aeternum Light eternal· Libera Me Deliver me· In Paradisum into paradise

This is mentioned because composers form Mozart, to Gabriel Faure, Giuseppe Verde, to name a few wrote masterworks in this form.

The Mass has been addressedBy many serious composers

• From days of Plainsong (Chant) ca 500 AD to the current day• Composers up until ca 1000 were unknown, consciously not

named. Around 1000 history began to record the names of composers (often those who brought innovation)

• Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) incorporated “folk song” and thereby “dignified it” also individualized plainsong

• Leonin (1135-1201) and Perotin (1160-1230) successive choirmasters at Notre Dame developed early polyphonic (Harmonic) styles

• Guillaume De Machaut (1300-1377) France developed multipart harmony

• John Dunstable (1385-14530 England motets, songs and hymns

• Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474) Belgium under patronage of dukes of Burgundy refinement of harmony, wrote sacred and secular music

Emergence and development of polyphony:Ca. 1200-1400

Polyphonic styles are simply more than one note sung together (harmony in its simplest form) musical melodies moving in alternate directions.

Experimentation with the forms of music: First 2 part then 4 part form called organum, still acapella.

Ears untrained, required trained singers.

Measured music: a lot of ¾ timing (because of the Trinity)

Musical notation led to transportability and accurate reproduction (as opposed to improvisation)

This meant that people could share ideas.

A few examples follow:

Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)German nun (She was the tenth child in the family and at age 8 was sent to monastary) She wrote religious poetry set to music.

It resembled the Gregorian chant, but was highly original and never drew from existing repertory.

This particular chant "O pastor animarum" (O Shepherd of Souls) had an important part to play in later music, when it was used as the foundation of structures of greater complexity.

Guillaume de Machaut (1300-1377) La Messe de Notre Dame “Agnus Dei”

Music with clear whole tones the full development of “ars Nova” or then new music

Strange rhythm and harmonies to the modern ear.

Imagine being in a cathedral and hearing this after plainsong.

Not all new music was well received.

• Guillaume Dufay (1400-1474) Belgium under patronage of dukes of Burgundy refinement of harmony, wrote sacred and secular music

Modern church music is so constructed that the congregation cannot hear one distinct word. Desiderius Erasmus 1466-1536 (renaissance humanist)

Setting of the Kyrie based on the "Lux et origo" chant for Mass in Eastertide, composed by Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397 - 1474).

Performed by Music Divine at the Church of Notre Dame, NYC on May 3, 2009.

Renaissance, reformation and counter reformationCa 1500-1650

Backdrop:

The Renaissance began in times of religious turmoil. The late middle ages saw a period of political intrigue surrounding the Papacy culminating in the Western Schism (divided papacy Avignon France and Rome Italy) in which three men simultaneously claimed to be true bishop of Rome. While the schism was resolved by the Council of Constance (1414), the 15th century saw a resulting reform movement known as conciliarism, which sought to limit the pope's power.

Although the papacy eventually emerged supreme in ecclesiastical matters by the it was dogged by continued accusations of corruption, most famously in the person of Pope Alexander VI, (Borgia) who was accused variously of simony, nepotism and fathering four illegitimate children whilst Pope, whom he married off to gain more power.

Humanism:A shift on the way of thinking (the center of thought).

In some ways Humanism was not a philosophy per se, but rather a method of learning. In contrast to the medieval scholastic mode, which focused on resolving contradictions between authors, humanists would study ancient texts in the original, and appraise them through a combination of reasoning and empirical evidence.

Humanist education was based on the programme of 'Studia Humanitatis', that being the study of five humanities: poetry, grammar, history, moral philosophy and rhetoric. (contrast the Quadrivium: Arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy)

HUMANISM: a “middle of the road” definition... the movement to recover, interpret, and assimilate the language,

literature, learning and values of ancient Greece and Rome".

Above all, humanists asserted :"the genius of man ...

the unique and extraordinary ability of the human mind."

Renaissance

a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century.

Beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe.

As a cultural movement, it encompassed:learning based on classical (Greek Roman) sourcesdevelopment of linear perspective in paintingwidespread educational reform.

Traditionally, this intellectual transformation has resulted in the Renaissance being viewed as a bridge between the Middle Ages and the Modern era. Renaissance saw revolutions in many intellectual pursuits, as well as social and political upheaval.

Best known for its artistic developments and the contributions of such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, who inspired the term "Renaissance man".

Reformation

The Protestant Reformation began as an attempt to reform the Catholic Church, by priests who opposed what they perceived as false doctrines and ecclesiastic malpractice — especially the teaching and the sale of indulgences or the abuses thereof, and simony, the selling and buying of clerical offices — that the reformers saw as evidence of the systemic corruption of the Church's Roman hierarchy, which included the Pope.

Protests against the corruption emanating from Rome began in earnest:

Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk at the university of Wittenberg, called in 1517 for a reopening of the debate on the sale of indulgences and the authority to absolve sin and remit one from purgatory. Luther's dissent marked a sudden outbreak of a new and irresistible force of discontent.

John Calvin: Institutes acknowledges its central theme. The sum of human wisdom consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves.[63] Calvin argues that the knowledge of God is not inherent in humanity nor can it be discovered by observing this world. The only way to obtain it is to study scripture. Calvin writes, "For anyone to arrive at God the Creator he needs Scripture as his Guide and Teacher.

Counter reformation

Counter-Reformation:

(denotes the period of Catholic revival beginning with the Council of Trent (1545–1563) and ending at the close of the Thirty Years' War, 1648.

A response to the Protestant Reformation. The Counter-Reformation was a comprehensive effort, composed of four major elements:

Ecclesiastical or structural reconfigurationReligious orders (Jesuits, Ignatius of Loyola)Spiritual movementsPolitical dimensions

Such reforms included the foundation of seminaries for the proper training of priests in the spiritual life and the theological traditions of the Church, the reform of religious life by returning orders to their spiritual foundations, and new spiritual movements focusing on the devotional life and a personal relationship with Christ, including the Spanish mystics and the French school of spirituality.

It also involved political activities that included the Roman Inquisition

Music in the Renaissance

For 1000+ years music had been “a capella” first monodic (chant)polyphonic (working in harmonies

Use and development of instruments was largely outside the church until this time.

The organ, in its primitive and rude form, was the first, and for a long time the sole, instrument used to accompany the chant. It gave the pitch to the singers and added brilliancy and sonority.

While it is certain that as early as the fifteenth century instruments besides the organ were used in connection with polyphonic liturgical compositions, it has not been definitely ascertained to what extent such was the case, what passages were played by the instruments alone, and where they simply reinforced the voices.

The closely-knit, compact polyphonic structure which had predominated up to this time, needed no extraneous aid for its effectiveness and sonority. This was not the case with the new style of composition.

The great perfection reached in the construction of stringed instruments in the sixteenth century was both a manifestation of, and an aid to the growing tendency; virtuosity, not only on stringed, but also on wind instruments was a common accomplishment. The character and individuality of the instruments, so to speak, were being made available as means of expression for the subjective moods, dramatic feelings, and conceptions of the composer.

It was natural that the people should like to hear in church the forms of composition which delighted them so much in the theatre. The severe simplicity of liturgical chant was set aside; polyphony was considered too formal and artificial.

The spirit of universality animating them had to yield to the new style expressions of individual feelings enhanced by the sensuous charm of the instruments. That which was in accordance with the prevailing and growing taste of the generality was, if not desired, at least tolerated by those in authority, and there was no hindrance to the triumphal conquest by instrumental music which we have witnesses since.

Musical instruments in Church servicesCatholic encyclopedia

As music had developed in complexity the simplicity and straightforward message of the text was “lost in the shufle”

Many notes extended over one syllable of text making the sense of the text hard to discern. The church even before the Protestant reformation had periods of reaction and condemnation for this “too complex” music.

The introduction of instruments also met considerable resistance.

“no argument is new under the sun”

Within Catholic communities development of quality and artistry in instrumental use was captured and capitalized upon by many choirmasters (capel meisters)

Josquin Despres 1440-1521 Conde, FranceHis music conveyed emotion if the texts (often psalms) which he put to music

Giovanni Palestrina 1525-1594 “If men take such pains to compose beautiful music for profane songs, one should devote as much thought to sacred song, nay, even more than mere worldly matters”

William Byrd 1543-1623A Catholic composer in Henry VIII’s England, last “English composer for over 200 years

Giovanni Gabrielli 1556-1612He incorporated large and multiple (5) choruses and big musical ensembles

Why mention these names at all:

They were famous in their time

They are studied by musicologists to this day such is their influence

They are performed and enjoyed by many (OK a select few)

They worked their craft significantly in the realm of “church” music

They advanced the styles and technique of musical performance.

Miserere mei deusGregorio Allegri 1582-1652

This is a setting to music of the text of Psalm 51. It represents the pinnacle of renaissance form.

The work acquired a reputation for mystery and inaccessibility between the time of its composition and the era of modern recording.The Vatican, wanting to preserve its aura of mystery, forbade copies, threatening any publication or copyist with excommunication. They were not prepared, however, for a special visit in 1770 from a 14-year-old boy, who, on a visit to Rome with his father, heard it but twice and transcribed it faithfully from memory, thus creating the first unauthorised copy. The boy was W A Mozart.

Musical paths divergeIn Protestant churches there was new emphasis on involvement of the congregation (not mere recipients of the musical offerings but active participants). This gives rise to modern hymnody which is singable by the less than fully trained musician, like most of US!

The 2 streams of music that emerged may simplistically be viewed as “popular” and “classical” contrasting the music of and by the congregation and the music of the devoted music lover and professional.

But so much of it occurred within and under the influence of the churches that it is impossible to imagine many forms of even popular music without the influence of the church

The Baroque Era 1600-1750Continuing the classical stream

This is the era of many widely recognized composers and universally recognized music. Listing but a few:

Antonio Vivaldi 1678-1741 “the red priest”

-Catholic priest

-Music director, violinist and composer at an orphan girls school in Venice

-Composed operas, masses, sonatas, motets, oratorios, and influenced the forms of later music

“The 4 seasons”

George Frideric Handel 1685-1759

-Born in Germany but traveled extensively to Italy and then resided in England where he composed music for royalty and in the English Language

- Messiah a 260 page fully orchestrated manuscript composed in 24 days. (though upon analysis it ie clear that many melodic elements were borrowed and adapted from his earlier works.

- The text is entirely from scripture (KJV) and tells the gospel story.

- From his biographer: “Messiah has probably done more to convince thousands of mankind that there is a God about us than all the theological works ever written”

When commended for his excellent entertainment Handel replied: “My Lord, I should be sorry if I only entertain them; I wish to make them better.”

J S Bach: 1685-1750Lived entire life in small region in Germany

A choirmaster and organist for Lutheran churches

“Music’s only purpose should be to the glory of God (soli Deo Gloria) and the re-creation of the human spirit.”

-he was instrumental in the formation and resolution of the modern tone scale foundational to most current western musical forms.

-The Well-Tempered Clavier a series of studies and lessons for keyboard instrument is generally regarded as one of the most influential works in the history of Western classical music.

-was ecumenical in spirit. One colossal work “Mass in B minor” is nearly 2 hours in length and was likely never heard in its entirety during his lifetime.

-His music was soon forgotten until Beethoven in his musical studies rediscovered and championed its performance.

The Classical Era 1750-1825

W A MozartLudwig Von BeethovenJoseph Haydn

The Romantic era 1825-1900Johannes BrahmsRichard WagnerFelix MendelsohnFranz SchubertFranz Liszt

All these men composed sacred as well as secular music though by these eras the influence came from popular tastes, the experimental nature of the composers and received less direct influence form the church

This is the bulk of the classical repertoire and safely it would not have existed without the influence of Christianity.

The Protestant catch-up 1500-1750

Protestant variations:-the mass not central-trained selected singer/performers emphasized-a return to hymnody with intentional simplicity and congregational participation-Martin Luther “Music is one of the greatest gifts that God had given us”

-musical forms of Hymn, anthem, chorale-written in common language (no longer Latin)

-one note to syllable (return to simplicity and textual understandability

-Note that while hymns were written before the Protestant reformation they were not allowed to be utilized in church (the mass or the hours)

Note that hymns authorship and recognition is more for the writer of the text than the one who put it to music

Examples:

“O sacred Head” Bernard of Chairvaux 1090-1153the tune to which it is sung was once a popular love

song“All creatures of our God and King written 1225

St. Francis of Assisi 1182-1226“A mighty Fortress” Martin Luther ca 1550

Isaac Watts 1674-1748 when he complained about his church’s music his father challenged him to do something about it. He wrote over 600 hymns. “joy to the World”“When I survey the Wondrous Cross”“Am I a soldier of the Cross”“Alas and did my Savior Bleed”

Charles Wesley 1707-1788

Influenced by Moravian missionaries and their hymns, GermanHe set out to write English Hymns:

“O for a thousand Tongues to Sing”

“Jesus Lover of my Soul”

“Hark the Herald Angels Sing”

“Christ the Lord is Risen Today”

“Love Divine all love excelling”

All are known for their rich theological content .

It is worth noting that we have the advantage of perspective for our appreciation hymns from other eras like Watts’ and Wesley’s.

They composed literally thousands of hymns as did Fannie Crosby and others. Of those thousands only a hundred or so remain and are actively sung.

So it is with the church or Christian music of our times. Much is being produced but relatively little of it will survive over time. Likely it will be that which has good theological content and better musical underpinning.

But isn’t this just church music and therefore not part of our study of how Christianity affected music. Not exactly!

That’s like saying that because it exists it serves only itself. This would imply that it has no broader sphere of influence.

Because this form “Hymnody” was influential to many other peoples it has had profound cultural influences well beyond any spiritual or religious meanings it possesses. It has given rise to Gospel music, which gave African slaves the cover of Christianity to preserve their musical roots without criticism of their “masters”. This then gave rise along with other influences to the blues and jazz, both unique American musical art forms.

It has influenced the sound structure and content of country music, folk music, and to some extent “rock n roll” as it and CCM (contemporary Christian music) play off of each other, though currently it appears that popular mainstream music currently influences the form/sound of a more significant portion of CCM than vice versa.

After all it was not stated that Christianity was the “all in all” of music. Of course music would exist without Christianity It predated Christianity. Christianity’s greatest period of direct influence was from 325-1750.

But it has had profound influence on the sound, style, transportability, forms, subject material, aspirations of its authors and performers and ultimately all consumers of music. Whether they care it admit it or not.