Christian Sacred Music and Liturgical Traditions
Overview of Christian Sacred Music and Westermeyer
Westermeyer's Article on Christianity and Music: The lecture is framed by the article by Westermeyer, which provides a comprehensive overview of the relationship between the Christian faith and musical practice.
Name Dropping and References: The article contains numerous references to composers and specific pieces of music. Students are encouraged to use the internet and YouTube to explore these composers and compositions further.
Dynamics of Participation: A central theme in Christian music is the emphasis on participatory services. * Congregational Music: Music designed specifically for the entire congregation to sing as a means of maintaining engagement in the service. * Professional Performers: These include celebrants (priests), cantors, and professional choirs. * The Greek Orthodox Tradition: This tradition specifically employs cantors whose primary task is to read from scripture. * Professional Choirs: These groups perform the more sophisticated and complex parts of the repertoire, particularly during Sunday services.
Liturgical Tools: Modern churches typically provide music books or hymnals in the pews. This allows those who can read music to follow along, while more complex pieces are performed by the professionals.
Passive Services: While participation is common, many Christian services are inherently more passive, where the congregation observes professional performances.
The Oratorio Genre and Seasonal Music
Seasonal Liturgical Music: In the Western tradition, specific music is associated with particular holy days and features annually in a professional's repertoire.
Oratorio Definition: A genre of classical music specifically designed to tell biblical stories. * Composition: Written for an orchestra, a choir, and soloists. * Audience Participation: The audience does not participate; it is a performance for professionals. * Theatrical Elements: Unlike passion plays, an oratorio is a music concert. It lacks traditional theatrical trappings such as costumes or sets.
Lent and the Passion: During the season of Lent (the period immediately preceding Easter), it is traditional to avoid theatrical shows. Consequently, the most famous oratorios focus on the Passion, the crucifixion, and the Easter story.
Johann Sebastian Bach: His St. Matthew Passion is one of the most famous oratorios in the classical repertoire. * Narrative: It tells the story of the crucifixion of Jesus according to the Gospel of St. Matthew.
Professional Composers and Economic Realities
Source of Income: Historically, for those with musical talent, the local church was the primary source of employment and income.
Duties of Church Composers: They were hired to compose special liturgical music for specific times of the year (e.g., Christmas, Lent), compose choir music, and lead the choir.
Johann Sebastian Bach as Kapellmeister: Bach moved between towns serving as a Kapellmeister (Choir Master). * Personal Life and Finances: Bach reportedly had over children, creating a significant need for steady church income.
Hymnals and Laypeople: Hymnals are a staple of Protestant churches, containing songs designed for people without formal musical training. * Hymn Design: They are meant to be easy to follow and easy to sing, often learned by heart or by following neighbors in the pews. * Airs: These are older, traditional melodies used in the English tradition. New lyrics are often set to these familiar tunes to facilitate congregational singing. * Vernacular Influence: Local musical practices and traditional melodies feed directly into the congregational hymnal tradition.
Early Christian Attitudes and Monasticism
Early Worship Dynamics: In the first centuries of the Common Era, Christian worship was less formal. Groups met in private apartments to share songs and discuss scripture informally.
Monastic Isolation: As monasteries became established, monks sought to distance themselves from urban life.
Negative Views on Music: Some monastic figures, such as Abbot Pambo, viewed music as "too showy" and associated it with the "big city." * Abbot Pambo's Critique: He described singers as "bellowing like oxes" and criticized the physical nature of processions ("picking up one foot and putting it down").
Pagan Associations: Early Christians often avoided musical instruments because they were associated with the pagan world and "false gods."
Cross-Fertilization: There was an intense blending of vernacular and sacred music in early Roman times. Secular melodies from the pagan tradition were often "Christianized" by adding Christian lyrics.
Heresy, Music, and the Orthodox Response
Arius and Arianism: A Christian heretic in the residing in Alexandria, Egypt. * Theology: He preached that Jesus was a human being and a prophet created by God, rather than the son of God. * Musical Talent: Arius wrote incredibly catchy and popular hymns whose lyrics promoted his specific theology. * Arius's Choir: He included many women in his choir, which contributed to the popularity of the songs sung throughout the Roman Empire.
John Chrysostom's Response: As the Archbishop/Patriarch of Constantinople, Chrysostom fought the Arian influence with superior music. * "Fighting Fire with Fire": He hired the best professional singers and cantors to perform Orthodox hymns. * Castrati: To compete with the female vocal range of Arian choirs without actually using women (whom he barred from the pulpit), Chrysostom hired singers with high vocal registers known as Castrati. * Castrati remained in demand across Europe until the .
Jewish Origins and the Liturgical Tradition
The Destruction of the Second Temple: After the Jewish revolt was suppressed by Romans in (as noted in the transcript), the Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. * Instrumental Ban: In mourning, the Jewish community decided against using musical instruments in temples until the temple's restoration.
Acapella Tradition: This influenced the Greek Orthodox Church, which to this day uses only the human voice (acapella) in its liturgy.
Common Liturgical Lyrics: Specific Latin texts are frequently recomposed by Western composers, including: * Magnificat: "My soul magnifies the Lord." * Benedictus: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." * Nunc Dimittis: "Lord, now let your servant depart in peace."
Monastic Musical Life and Technical Evolution
Ministry of the Voice: In convents and monasteries (such as Hildegard's), talented monks and nuns served God specifically through their voices.
Cycle of Prayer: Communities chanted prayers around the clock, sometimes starting as early as
Technological Advancement in Music: * Unison: Early services featured single melodic lines sung in unison. * Harmony and Counterpoint: These elements (playing several notes simultaneously and independent melodies playing off each other) did not become common until the late or . * Orchestras: By the Renaissance, composers introduced full orchestras and intricate harmonies into church compositions, requiring a "phalanx" of musicians.
Protestant Reformation and Musical Diversity
Martin Luther: He respected the Catholic musical tradition, including the use of harmony and instruments, and insisted on universal congregational participation.
John Calvin: He preferred a simpler approach, utilizing a single melodic line where everyone sang in unison.
Ulrich Zwingli: A Swiss Protestant who viewed music as secular, popular, and coming from Satan. He preferred silence and was highly suspicious of church singing.
Quakers and Shakers: * Quakers: Services are traditionally conducted in almost complete silence; people speak only when moved by the spirit. * Shakers: A branch of the Quakers that developed their own unique, simple musical vocabulary and sacred music forms.
Musical Notation Systems
Ta'ani (Jewish Notation): Resembles vowel markings in Hebrew. These markers indicate the melodic structure and direction of the chant.
Greek Orthodox Notation: Notation is placed above the text to indicate movement rather than a specific starting pitch (pitch depends on the individual's vocal range). * Somata (Bodies): Simple notation in black ink indicating a move of one step up or down. * Pnevmata (Spirits): Black ink notation indicating larger leaps of two or three steps. * Hypostases (Substances): Subtle notation in red ink indicating nuanced movements. * Theological Link: The term Hypostasis relates to the formula for the Holy Trinity: mia usia tris hypostasis (one essence, three substances).
Modern Western Notation: Relies on vertical and horizontal reading. * Verticality: Allows for the coordination of harmony (multiple notes at once). * Voices: Typically divided into four parts: Soprano and Alto (women), Tenor and Bass/Baritone (men).
The Tradition of Bell Ringing
Context: Prevalent in Great Britain, involving teams of ringers in massive church bell towers.
Physical Setup: Large bells weighing tons are rung from platforms halfway up the tower using rope systems.
Mathematical Complexity: Many towers have , , or bells. * Rounds and Peals: Bells are rung in sequences that change each round. No two rounds sound exactly the same as the notes recombine. * Plaques: Teams commemorate successful, error-free performances of mathematically precise sequences. Some sequences take upwards of hours to complete. * Hall of Fame: These plaques list the duration of the ringing and the names of all participants.