Worshipers from countless religions rely on music to deepen their experience of God to the same, if not greater extent, they rely on sacred text.\u00a0 If we define the purpose of worship as growing in intimacy with God, then we can think about music as a means of gaining knowledge of God.\u00a0 Sacred music conveys meaning to worshipers in two ways: first, music communicates meaning without text, or meaning inexpressible by words, second, music interprets the text it sets.<\/p>\n
Music\u2019s communicative qualities can, in some cases, surpass language.\u00a0 In learning more about God and divinity, music\u2019s ability to transcend and overwhelm listeners is particularly helpful.\u00a0 St. Augustine\u2019s account of account of his experiences with music epitomizes what Weiss and Taruskin refer to as a human susceptibility to music.\u00a0 In recalling his baptism, St. Augustine describes, \u201cThe tears flowed from me when I heard your hymns and canticles, for the sweet singing of your Church moved me deeply.\u00a0 The music surged in my ears, truth seeped into my heart, and my feelings of devotion overflowed\u201d (24).\u00a0 Without mentioning the texts from the \u201chymns and canticles\u201d, St. Augustine explains how his experience of music brought him into greater connection with God.\u00a0 St. Augustine\u2019s account suggests that sacred music, regardless of its text, can evoke deep emotion and intimacy with God.\u00a0 St. Augustine additionally remarks on music\u2019s greater ability to emote than language when he defines the jubilus<\/em> as, \u201ca certain sound of joy without words, the expression of a mind poured for in joy.\u00a0 A man rejoicing in his own exultation, after certain words which cannot be understood bursteth for into sounds of exultation without words . . . he cannot express in words the subject of that joy\u201d (25).\u00a0 Countless times throughout the passage St. Augustine observes language\u2019s inability to express how the music affects him.\u00a0 St. Augustine bears witness to music\u2019s capacity to communicate meaning beyond its text, making it crucial as a worship tool.<\/p>\n Although worshipers think of music as an enhancement of the text it sets, music also serves as an interpretation of that text.\u00a0 Where translations of sacred texts are not accessible, music allows worshiper\u2019s to glean an understanding of the text\u2019s meaning by the way it makes them feel. \u00a0The composer, in attaching a set of musically-espoused emotions to their music, contributes a reading of the text to the body of worshipers.\u00a0 Consider the relationship between text and musical setting.\u00a0 When composers set text with music, however appropriately or expectedly, they attach an interpretation of the text to their composition.\u00a0 Luther\u2019s use of folk songs and translated texts in his Deutsche Mass<\/em> insinuate that worship should be accessible and God should be knowable to worshipers.\u00a0 Musical settings make accessible the mysterious meanings of sacred texts by offering an emotional explanation.\u00a0 They uniquely participate in a quest to best interpret sacred texts by capturing the way worshipers ought to feel while singing that text.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Worshipers from countless religions rely on music to deepen their experience of God to the same, if not greater extent, they rely on sacred text.\u00a0 If we define the purpose of worship as growing in intimacy with God, then we … Continue reading