Everyone has his or her preferences, prejudices, and preconceived notions: Coke or Pepsi. Purdue or Indiana. Fossil fuels or alternative power sources. Republican or Democrat. Boxers or briefs. Letterman or Leno. Thin crust or deep dish. Pop or classical. Network or PBS. Dog or cat. And putting one of each of those people together in a small room is like an "Itchy and Scratchy" cartoon!
So, pity the pastor or choir director who has to select music for the weekend service. Hymnals or overhead projector. Hymns or choruses. Clapping on beats 1 and 3 or on 2 and 4.
Congregational singing itself was a radical departure from tradition. From Solomon's temple (950 B.C.) to the gothic cathedrals of the 1300's, music was left to trained professionals. Ordinary people could only participate in worship with responsive readings and, of course, the offering.
Critics of contemporary church music have complained as loudly as a 300-pipe organ with all the stops pulled out. Maybe you've heard one or more of these complaints:
"Guitars have no place in worship services!"
That complaint was first voiced in A.D. 200 when instrumental music was banned in most churches due to its association with, and I quote, "debauchery and immorality." Lyres (which were early versions of the Gibson "Les Paul Custom") were considered "pagan" and associated with prostitution. And everyone knows that sex and drugs lead to rock and roll!
"I don't like all those new praise choruses."
Ambrose of Milan (339-397) was first to introduce hymns with metrical stanzas which were often sung while marching. He's often referred to as the father of hymnodoy. Until the 300's all church music consisted of psalms chanted with a cantor voicing a line and the congregation repeating it--sort of like today's "rap" music without the electronic drums and #*+@ &%@! lyrics.
Up through the 600's, songs were often limited to a cycle of 150 psalms sung every year.
In the 900's music began to be notated for the first time allowing choirs to sing from sheet music. This allowed much more complex music which could not have previously been passed along through vocal tradition. Starting in France around 1200, harmony replaced the solo melody line with two-, three-, and even four-part harmony. One critic wrote that harmony "sullies worship by introducing a lewdness into church."
Isaac Watts (1674-1748) created a stir by freely paraphrasing Scripture in his "man-made" hymns.
"I can't hear the words over the music!"
As music became more complex and sophisticated, John Wycliffe (1330-1384) complained, "No one can hear the words, and all the others are dumb and watch them like fools."
"That music doesn't belong in the church!"
During the 1600's many churches such as Anglican, Lutheran, and Roman Catholic began using the organ as a part of worship, often as a solo instrument rather than accompanying singing. The Reformed churches, however, fought against this "worldly? instrument.
Charles Wesley, who was the song leader for the John Wesley Evangelistic Association during the late 1700's, took English pub tunes and added Christian lyrics, many paraphrased from the Church of England's Prayer Book. Did you know you can sing "One Hundred Bottles of Beer on the Wall" to the tune of "O, For A Thousand Tongues to Sing"? Just a coincidence? I don't think so.
William Booth (1829-1912), who founded the Salvation Army with its "ska? brass bands, was first to ask, "Why should the devil have all the best music?" Booth was probably inspired by the worship band found in the Bible's Psalm 150:
Praise the Lord . . . with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals.
So for over two thousand years, parishioners have complained about contemporary music in the church. My guess is that the sour notes will continue until George Beverly Shea records "The Best of the Supertones.? Until then, maybe we can be a bit more understanding of those whose musical style isn't in tune with ours--just like tolerating Coke, cats, and PBS.
© Copyright 2001 James N. Watkins
Comment
Quick funny story. Our congregation has always been very traditional, so this new service has been a big shock to many people's ears. We, of course, kept a traditional service and added the contemporary one, so everyone has a choice, but some people just don't even like the idea of keyboard and drums and microphone even being in the church.
We've had many discussions about what is "appropriate" church music. Did it have to originally be in The Lutheran Hymnal? Did some church "father" have to compose it? What made it appropriate?
Our new assistant music director is a fantastic keyboardist and he can make any music sound like the heavenly choir. At one traditional service at which he was playing (another sore spot for the traditionalists--he plays on the keyboard that he makes sound like an organ, NOT the real organ), he was playing something that gave me chillls, it was so beautiful. He glanced over at me several times to guage my reaction, and I mouthed "Beautiful!" Gorgeous!" He grinned his rather mischievous grin, which made me wonder what he was up to.
When he finished the prelude, even our minister complimented him on the beauty and solemnity of the piece. He nodded and grinned at me again. Then he showed me the sheet music from which he was improvising. It was the Country Western tune, "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy." Linda teacherlin@verizon.net
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