TeachingRE Issue 4.pdf - the Second Level Support Service

The Bible:THE MUSIC OF GODBy Louise O’Sullivan, IBVMSincere thanks to Louise O’ Sullivan for her continued support of ‘Teaching Religious Education’.In previous issues Louise has included articles to support students’ understanding of varioustopics from Inter-faith dialogue, the Kingdom of God,The Search for Meaning in Music and theMarking of Time in Judaism. She presents here a comprehensive exploration of somecomposers whose work has been influenced by the Bible.This article will be of particularrelevance for those students who are researching the LCRE 2010 Prescribed Title requiringthem to conduct a case study on the influence of the Bible on a piece of work in either art,literature or music. Louise has included here a generous array of notes and suggestions forfurther reading in this vast area. I very much appreciate her careful attention to detail and thebreadth of scholarship included.If one were to look from the beginning of time, music has constituted part of our self-understanding. Even our beingis bound up with the rhythm of life; our heartbeat pulsates with the rhythm of our very existence. The essence ofour lives being connected to that of God is not a new concept and provides the basis of fruitful dialogue betweenthe arts and theology. More specifically, in the dialogue between music and theology, there is a concept of musicencapsulating something of the transcendent, of the mystery of God, in ways that words alone could never do. Onehears of the concept of music as ‘theophany’ (a revelation of God), music as an ‘icon of sound’ revealing somethingof God, and music as ‘theosony’ (the sound of God). 1 Music is a language capable of communicating meaning andmystery.Therefore, it stands to reason that music should be influenced by the Bible in its subject matter and thatmusic should endeavour to communicate that in some way.In Scripture, David sang songs before the Lord and to soothe Saul’s petulant temperament. Miriam played hertambourine as she and the Israelites escaped the clutches of the Egyptians crossing the Red Sea.The Psalms, prayersof the heart of the people of God, were composed in order to be sung. In the Gospels, there are accounts of thedisciples singing on their way to the Mount of Olives. In the letters of St. Paul, singing was recommended whenone’s spirit was troubled or depressed.SYLLABUS LINKLEAVING CERTIFICATESECTION HTOPIC 1.1The Bible as Living ClassicFrom the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, to the last, the Book of Revelation, it is possible to tracecertain texts in each book and to find their resonance in the music of composers dating from the ninth century. Iam keeping my focus to the western art music repertoire, but this is not to say that examples are not to be foundin popular or ethnic music. 2 The composers who wrote this music based on scripture were not necessarilythemselves considered to be religious people. Some were strongly influenced by their own faith tradition, e.g. J.S. Bach,Lutheran; James MacMillan, Roman Catholic; others would profess to be atheist, e.g. John Rutter. 3 There is music whichis based directly on the texts of Scripture, and there is music which is loosely based on it or reflecting the essenceof a text, but not the actual texts themselves. And there is music which is purely instrumental, and some which isvocal and instrumental.There is a vast scripturally-based repertoire of Music which is used for liturgical settings inthe Christian traditions, or in the religious services in the Jewish tradition which is not my focus here. 4 What Ipropose to do is to give a flavour of some of what is on offer if one were to explore the above outcome and makesome suggestions using the works of composers right through the ages of all religious denominations and none.Below is a chart of some themes in which I name the work, the composer, the musical setting, and I also give someinformation about the scriptural background of the work itself. I have taken all these from the Old Testament sinceit is common to both Christians and Jews.TEACHING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION ISSUE FOUR SEPTEMBER 200931