In studying Reformation theology and traditions, it is important to evaluate the ways in which St. Olaf\u2019s Lutheranism adheres to and differs from Luther\u2019s thinking.\u00a0 Christmas Festival, in particular, bears witness to the complicated interconnectedness of Church and college at St. Olaf. \u00a0Although Christmas Fest identifies neither as a worship service nor a concert, but an ambiguous m\u00e9lange of the two, it\u2019s use of liturgical music as art music necessarily suggests a sacred dimension.\u00a0 A comparison with Luther\u2019s worship service reveals that Christmas Fest is in tension with Luther\u2019s communitarian and antihierarchical ideals.\u00a0 While Christmas Fest encourages a Lutheran delight in music, it asserts a hierarchy between instrumentalists and singers and a choir versus audience professionalism Luther would have opposed.<\/p>\n
St. Olaf\u2019s insistence on professionalism in Christmas Fest conflicts with Luther\u2019s most important values of accessibility and community in worship.\u00a0 In his rewritten liturgy, Luther and other Reformers made worship music more accessible by setting texts in the vernacular to folk tunes.\u00a0 Lutheran worship also replaced professional choirs with congregational singing to encourage active participation among congregants and community in Christian faith.\u00a0 While Christmas Fest includes congregational singing, the choirs\u2019 performances greatly overshadow the few instances where the audience joins.\u00a0 Likewise, the performers are clearly distinguished from the audience in their attire and position in the \u201cauditorium\u201d, analogous to a professional choir.\u00a0 Luther would also criticize the choirs\u2019 overly-professional behavior in performance.\u00a0 For instance, pressure to perform perfectly and flawless coordination in processing, standing up, and sitting down foster a sense of stiffness and detachment between audience and performers. \u00a0Christmas Fest combines aspects of a worship service and a performance, and so it differs in practice from a service intended purely for worship.\u00a0 Nevertheless, Christmas Fest deviates from the Lutheran tradition of church music.<\/p>\n
In addition to his condemnation of music out of touch with ordinary life, Luther sought to remove hierarchy in his reformed liturgy.\u00a0 His use of chorales and congregational singing suggest Luther valued equality among those participating in music.\u00a0 The hierarchy of singers and instrumentalists in Christmas Fest contradicts Luther\u2019s desires for equality and community in worship.\u00a0 Christmas Fest privileges singers with jewel-toned robes, lighting, and elevated position on the stage, and performance of the vast majority of music on the program.\u00a0 By contrast, the orchestra musicians disguise themselves in black, sit below the choirs, and function primarily as accompaniment. \u00a0In asserting a preference for choral music above instrumental music, Christmas Fest divides the priesthood of all believers Luther hoped to create with equality in music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In studying Reformation theology and traditions, it is important to evaluate the ways in which St. Olaf\u2019s Lutheranism adheres to and differs from Luther\u2019s thinking.\u00a0 Christmas Festival, in particular, bears witness to the complicated interconnectedness of Church and college at … Continue reading