What is the attraction of religious music in a secular age?

Question

This question is promoted by my reading of the current edition of Gramophone magazine (May 2009). In the section covering Vocal (non-operatic) music there are reviews of 22 discs (counting sets as one). Of these 17 are religious works of one kind or another, of which 6 are discs of Bach cantatas and 4 of renaissance church music.

This is a British magazine and it is a fact that church going and religious observance in the country is very much a minority interest - one in 10 goes regularly, 1 in 7 once a month and a poll found that two thirds of respondents had not been to church in the last year (your questioner included), although 53% would admit to being Christians (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6520463.stm)

So why is there this great interest in religious music? Presumably, there must be a market or else the discs would not be recorded and sold? Going back nearly 50 years when I first became interested in classical music there were, for example, very few recording of Bach cantatas to be had, yet I would guess formal religious observance was 3 times what it is today (see, for example, the figures at http://www.churchsociety.org/issues_new/church/stats/iss_church_stats_attendance.asp#ASA). Yet now recordings of these rather pietistic works flood off the CD presses.

So what attracts people? Is it the actual value of the music, as music, without reference to its content? Is the interest in Renaissance music the thinking man's Yiruma - background new age? Or is it that people find in the music a spiritual solace that they cannot find elsewhere?

Answer 1

I think all three of your given possible explanations are plausible.



And too, the spiritually concerned, aware, amongst us - are there any serious classical music lovers who would not qualify as such? - yearn for that which is done with commitment, certainty, dedication and devotion. Most if not all of the great religious composition possess these qualities.



The pace of technological advance overwhelms us all sometimes: evolution in all arenas of human endeavor causes us all I think to become socially/culturally tense without being aware of it: in the back of our minds when we retire each night("will the world exist, when I get up in the morning; or will some psychotic head of state just have pressed the execute button, for the release of a 1,000 nuclear armed ballistic missiles that will shower down upon us in the next 30 mins.?")



Compositions of the present day or recent past, don't afford the kind of solace and reassurance that those of the religious genre in my view did, and still do. This is my best guess, for whatever it may be worth.



Alberich

Answer 2

Regarding text in sung music. I expect all music with sung texts to initially express enough to me through musical means to then draw my interest to the text. Really, if the music doesn't do it, the best text in the world won't save it. (That wise Methodist Minister was a primarily a Minister with 'an agenda' and secondarily a music lover.)



Almost all British plastic arts seem to me (American) affected by a literal mentality, Literature being such a great and strong British tradition, the mentality seems to predominate. (This is evident in the work of Thomas Ades and Damien Hirst, to name a few: the literal mentality even seems to permeate conceptual art.)



Unless the newly issued music you speak of is of the ilk a la John Rutter (considered by many as religio/cheesy movie music), I bet the majority is in Public Domain = cheap. Shall I guess that many of these newly recorded choruses are from some Parish, University, College, Choral Society, and those performers are unpaid or not paid the same as the Covent Garden chorus members?



Severe economic times have the public, lay and informed, seeking conservative entertainments.

They are familiar, or seem to be, and the familiar (falsly?) comforts.



The abandonment of church - going by many does not mean those people are now without spiritual or emotional needs or desires.



The 'new popularity' of the religious music could also be a manifestation of an ethos I hereby dub "sentimental tourism." If that is the case, it is ironically, pathos.



Best, Petr B.

Answer 3

I'm completely religiously neutral. I have been to church maybe five times in my life, when I've been with other family members. It was pretty nice. I don't believe that a guy who was his own father walked on water and fed the masses with a few fish and a couple slices of bread, but I still have a lot of respect for Christians and Christianity. Maybe it's because I have a fetish for Western civilization. Anyway, point is, I don't have some pro- or anti-religious agenda.



I listen to religious classical music because it is beautiful and has emotional power beyond most secular works. It's written for something higher than daily life, and to exalt a universal goodness. Christian rock is an abomination; the Pope can't stand it and what's good enough for him is good enough for me. :P



Go to Youtube and look for any religious music, and you'll have some dipsh*t atheist on there who's saying something like, a) LULZ GAWD AINT REAL U NOOBZ, b) What a shame you Christians are so delusional; this is nice music.



It's all just people letting their personal agendas get in the way of appreciating music. (This trait is a human one; Christians do it too.)



You don't have to be a Christian to appreciate that the Credo of Bach's Bm Mass is a happy, pretty piece of music.



People can watch fantasy movies and read sci-fi without getting personally offended, so why do they get so worked up about listening to music with words from the Bible or about God? They can have their little giggles by replacing 'Christ' with 'Thor' and still just listen to the dang harmonies.

Answer 4

Well, coming from a very religious person, sacred music is simply one of the most uplifting things there is, followed by classical music. Any of you familiar with the Mormon tabernacle choir? Massive choir, orchestra to back them up, big big big big big organ (I've actually played on it before! Only for 3 minutes, but it was a blast! Literally a blast!) When this thing performs, my heart just melts... ect. ect. I've actually (don't tell anybody!) cried once during a live performance.



But... To answer your question. I listen and sing plenty of songs that are in German or French or Italian, and I have NO Idea what they are talking about... But I still love em'. Sometimes when I'm to tiered to think about pronunciation, I'll even leave out the words and sing it in solfège or just with one vowel... I don't always care so much for the lyrics... Of course sacred music's lyrics are more important and valued to me.



Now, I know lots of nonreligious people that still like a good hymn. The melodies are quite beautiful. They don't listen to the words, they just enjoy the glorious singing and melody. This is a favorite hymn of mine, Come Thou Fount... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUhU0HgTq94 The words are rather, eh, different and most people don't understand them (for example, "here I take my Ebenezer..." "sing me some melodious sonnet, sung by flaming tongues of God") without longer study. But, the entire piece is beautiful, and it is very uplifting and edifying, even if you aren't religious.



Well... That's my little insight... Cheerio!

Answer 5

I'm an atheist, but I conduct choirs.

I listen to the music itself, and its' overall ambience.

Composers such as Byrd, Palestrina, Tallis, Purcell - are just timeless.

Handel I don't like, Bach is a genius, and modern stuff such as Rutter and Chilcott are ok.

I think many composers save their best for when they do Requiems.

Just look at Faure, Durufle, Verdi, Mozart, Cherubini, Britten, Berlioz...and so on.

I really think it doesn't matter about the text

It's the music that gives the emotion.

Just ask yourself - what makes you buy a song you hear on the radio? The music or the lyrics?

Answer 6

I will try and give a full answer when and If I get time.



10% regular churchgoers? for a minority interest that is quite sizeable. It would be interesting to compare what percentage of the population attend championship football matches regularly, I should be surprised if it came out as 10% or more!



I will deal with the rest of the question later