| |
|
|
Worship should be a wholistic experience: environment, style, form, elements: music and spoken word need to enhance and illuminate each other. As Marion J. Hatchett states so eloquently in his book A Guide to the Practice of Church Music:
From the early days of the church, music has been integral to
the worship of God. Music gives solemnity, beauty, joy and enthusiasm
to the worship of the community. It imparts a sense of unity and
sets an appropriate tone for a particular celebration. It is an
effective evangelistic tool. It nourishes and strengthens faith
and assists worshipers in expressing and sharing their faith.
It heightens texts so that they speak more fully and more cogently.
It highlights the basic structure of the rites. It expresses and
communicates feelings and meanings which cannot be put into words.
As Messiaen expressed it: "The joy of music is that it can go
beyond words—which are too precise. Music can express what
there is in the soul." Music however must not dominate the liturgy;
all elements of liturgy must work in harmony. Music, and the other
arts, including speech, serve together in the liturgical action.
Music is not necessarily helpful in a service. It can, in fact,
be destructive of a rite. This is the case when music is used
for its own sake or only as a demonstration of the virtuosity
of the performers, when it is beyond the abilities of the performers,
when it interferes with the basic movement of the service, when
it gives undue prominence to secondary elements in a service,
or when the mood is out of keeping with the day or occasion.
Music should serve to set a tone, to convey texts, to highlight
basic structures, to unify the congregation to express the highest
possible excellence. An appreciation of the proper relation of
music and of other arts to the liturgy must be sought and developed
if the church is to resume a major role as patron of the arts.1
The first criterion for wholistic worship is having a sensitive church musician, as well as a sensitive minister, who understand the requirements for a co-ordinated and purposeful service. "Non-liturgical" services are sometimes more challenging to co-ordinate since they contain fewer fixed elements than services in more liturgical traditions. In either case, it is important to arrange regular meetings with clergy and church musician to plan worship.
Service planning is made easier if a common lectionary is used. Use of the lectionary helps co-ordinate prayers, psalms, hymns, readings, and anthems through a systematic use of Scripture. If a lectionary is not used, the musician must then gather information as far ahead as possible about future services, sermon topics, etc.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Contents
|
|
|
|
