Sound Theology by Colleen Butcher

If you’ve ever had a conversation about scripture and worship, you’ve heard or used the phrase “the Psalms are the hymn book of the Bible.” Although we all know this phrase, the reality is that most churches never sing the Psalms . . . well, except for maybe Ps 46 (Be Still and Know), Ps 42 (As the Deer Panteth (which has bad grammar)) and variations of Ps 150 (any hymn or song that repeats “Praise the Lord!”).  read more…

Anton Bruckner lived in the hinge between the romantic and the modern eras. As an Austrian in the 19th century, Bruckner had access to the broadest experience of contemporary, classical music. He was a devout Catholic, and he played the organ extraordinarily well, even presenting concerts of organ improvisations for his musical friends. Although this was his primary instrument, Bruckner wrote just a small fraction of his compositions for the organ. He is most well-known as a composer of symphonic works … extremely long symphonic works!  read more…

The church I attend has a wonderful practice during Lent – a Wednesday evening service of songs and stories. It is a structured service, using the Holden Evening Prayer as the foundation, interspersed with extended scripture readings and a question (or two) for discussion. The congregation has been using this musical resource for many, many years, and although, liturgically, it was not designed for Lent, it has deep meaning for this congregation. They can’t imagine travelling through Lent together without this music as their soundtrack.

Deep spiritual seasons – like Lent – can, and I would argue, should, be paired with music. In fact, finding ways to use more, or all, of our senses should be a priority during every liturgical season. And Lent offers an invitation to begin. During Lent, practices which incorporate our bodies, such as moving around the worship space and kneeling, are more frequent. Some churches share communion weekly during Lent to heighten our experience of taste in worship. Others use visual clues such as liturgical colors and symbols to engage us visually. A common thread through these practices is that they have become familiar: they create and express shared rituals that we perform together, as a community of faith. read more…

Over the next few weeks, Sound Theology will provide listening resources for your Lenten journey.

Knowing this Lenten story, and how it all turns out, is both a benefit and a hindrance to our travels. On one hand, we know that there is a great rejoicing to be revealed; on the other hand we know that there is also great pain. Our willingness to walk into the pain, again, knowing all that we know, is tempered by re-entering the story with open hearts to learn more, to be broken, and ultimately transformed … again. read more…

When we listen to music, as with all listening, we are hearing a number of layered elements that come together.

When we hear a person’s story, we primarily listen to their words. But, implicit in the telling, is their body language, their tone of voice, and their emotional response to us and to their own words. Music is a combination of instruments, voices, sound production (for recorded music), and the acoustics of the performance venue. But behind (or under, or before) the performance of music, is the composer’s creative use of voice. The instrument used to carry the melody is a fundamental compositional choice.

The creative process of taking music from one’s imagination to the written page is a combination of voicing, counter point, and orchestration. Each of these individual elements plays a significant role in how the work sounds when it is performed. Whether a composer voices the primary melody with a soprano singer, or a flute, or an electric guitar, the melody is the same, but the effect is entirely different. Sometimes, musicians love a particular work so much, that they want to make it available to play on their own instrument. When a work is changed in this way, it is called a transcription. Today there are many transcriptions of Bach’s works. Not only did Bach transcribe his own compositions for different contexts, but his pieces were used to teach counterpoint and orchestration in studios and conservatories across Europe. Mozart, Liszt, Elgar, Rachmaninoff, Stokowski, Stravinski, and even the Swingle Singers have all created transcriptions of Bach’s music: changing the voicings, but not the melodies. read more…