Per Christum Catholic Blog

John Shepherd tells us why the Church should have no “truck with banality” when it comes to our sacred music.

Shepherd writes:

In monastic terms, the liturgy is the path towards an exalted “ecstasy”, a flight into the cloud of unknowing, the place where God is, and where the true contemplation of the creative stillness of God is possible.

And this is a reality which is beyond the ability of historians, theologians, linguists, biblical scholars or even pastoral liturgists to express. Their contributions may even hinder rather than help. The intensity and intangibility of this experience can only be expressed through the arts.

This is why music of quality is a critical element within the life of the Church. It is a necessity, not a luxury. It is neither a frivolous confection nor an elitist distraction from the real business of faith. Music of quality, in the context of worship, does not entertain or divert. It reveals.

By means of evolving harmonies, rhythms, textures, modulations, orchestrations, melodies, counterpoints, imitations, this rich art form has the potential to create an aural environment which enables us to contemplate the mystery of God.

Now, I am the first one to admit that there are differing views of what constitutes “banal.” Perhaps my taste would not be up to Shepherd’s… However,  we have a strong history of beautiful music that has been deemed “sacred” by people across generations and geography, and even officially deemed as such by the Church. This is the type of music that Hollywood producers use well, playing this music when a scene is meant to be meaningful. When I hear chant (particularly the Eastern form of it) or sing something like “The King of Love my Shepherd Is,” I really do feel as if I am transported elsewhere, to heaven even. Even popular music can have this effect on me. My mind, and body, tell me that I am somehow being taken “outside myself.” Strict materialists would, of course, say my body is lying, but alas, I am not a strict materialist!

Putting words of songs aside for this post, let me ask, can a style of music set the tone of our lives? Absolutely. In fact it is verified by science. Studies show that certain types of music make us smarter, help us kick addictions (.pdf), relax more, and strengthen the immune system. One theory of how reality works is that the universe is made up of tiny vibrating strings (strings which may consist of up to 11 dimensions!). Another suggests that the tiniest levels of reality (electrons, photons, etc) is waves that are collapsed into what we know as matter by our observation. Waves. Vibration. See a connection to music here? Do certain types of music actually “take us to heaven” or outside of our present reality? Can music fundamentally align us with what our Creator intends for us? I believe that yes, music has these properties. Plato recognized quite rightly that “music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul.” Dismissing the positive (and negative) influence music has on our perceptions is irresponsible.

Regarding church music, many people would probably say “music is just music,” but do they really mean this? For most people I know, music is the soundtrack to their lives, a powerful symbol of meaning for them. Thus, I think it is inconsistent to suggest that the music we sing or hear at church is unimportant. If there are certain songs we would never choose to listen to on inappropriate occasions, then there certainly exists music that would be inappropriate when worshiping, or experiencing, God.

The more I study physics and the mind, the more I realize that the choice of sounds, sights, smells, etc, that we employ in worship affects our experience of worship tremendously (see a previous post Correcting a Symbol Deficiency for my thoughts on this). Of course, Romantics and Sacramentalists know this intuitively, that the symbols that we employ powerfully influence our conception of reality. I think it is often assumed that a church’s beliefs influence their choice of music, which is true. But, let’s also consider the alternative: musical choice determines a church’s beliefs. Can we expect people to approach the Eucharist, where earth and heaven meet, in a sacred manner, if the music we choose does not “transport them to heaven?” Maybe music, in its very nature, has this ability, if only we would use it!

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 6th, 2010 at 6:53 am and is filed under Liturgy and Worship, Physics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.