For the Joy of Sacred Music: What Is Sacred Music?

Almost all worship uses music…Religion can no more do without the singing than it can without the word…Music represents the great struggle of reaching the wholly other.

 – Gerardus van der Leeuw, Sacred and Profane Beauty: The Holy in Art (van der Leeuw: 1963)

Although music can be composed for sacred spaces when it is removed from that space, does it still take with it the connotations of sacred music it held? Gerardus van der Leeuw believed that “dance is the original art,” and “All arts are found within in its undivided unity…From the unity, the arts free themselves by turning to the image: undanced drama and rhetoric, painting, sculpture, and architecture.” (van der Leeuw: 1963) His belief of all being found within the original can be broken into sacred and profane forms, with the profane originating from the sacred. This transition alters sacred spaces and their arts. Aristotle (c. 384–322 BC) believed that “… over time, a particular type of music – noble or ignoble – exerts a moral influence on its audience.”  (Dowley: 2018) Greek thinkers believed there to be a bond between music and piety as well as the power of music to purify the soul. (Dowley: 2018)

With the prevalence of performances of sacred music compositions outside the services of the church, does the holiness and sacredness of the work change and adapt to the secular concert stage? Does the performance of sacred music in a ceremony of state alter the presence of the music? These are all questions that may never be answered fully, as sacred music is constantly evolving and ever-changing.

Sacred Music and sounds are embedded within the fabric of today’s society. What was once restricted for services of the church can now be heard on street corners, radio stations, and various other mediums that we consume. The same contemporary Christian songs that are performed in sacred services of the church are extracted for us to enjoy in a guiltless listening experience that often changes how we feel about the music. From early Christianity to the present day, music has existed in Christian worship, either as a method of worship or as material to aid in the worship of the divine.

Early Christians in the centuries after the death of Jesus often sang and chanted in unison to demonstrate the unity of the self with the divine. Unison singing in the early church was “an image of the unity and harmony of all Christians.” (Westermeyer: 1998) “O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.” (Psalm 96:1 NRSV) Singing is referenced multiple times in the holy scriptures, with an entire book of the Bible being dedicated to the art. A book of songs to be sung in services, the Psalms recount not only praises of the Lord in all walks of life, but they command the worshiper to become an active participant in their own veneration of God. In the aforementioned verse, it is not only the worshiper that is commanded to sing, but all the earth. Mark’s Gospel recounts that following the Passover meal, Jesus and the apostles sang a hymn before adjourning to the Mount of Olives. Paul’s letters include instructions to sing Psalms: Ephesians 5:19 and Colossians 3:16, but the usage of Psalms in early Christianity was not recorded until c. AD 190. (Dowley: 2018) All of these references to hymn and psalm singing demonstrate that music is the most beloved of all the sacred arts and that it is meant to play an active role in worship.

The removal of sacred music from sacred spaces is not a new trend as Paul and Silas sang to comfort themselves during their missionary journey when imprisoned in Philippi. “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” (Acts 16:25 NRSV) Following this demonstration of praise through song, God destroyed the prison, but no prisoners escaped. Another example from the Bible of singing sacred music outside of gatherings occurs when James declares “Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise.” (James 5:13 NRSV)

Sacred music in its purest form is music, whether vocal or instrumental, that aids a participant in the process of worship of a deity of their choice. Music occupies a specific space within the worship experience, as discussed by van der Leeuw. “Beautiful sound reinforces the power of beautiful words. Singing is more effective than speaking.” (van der Leeuw: 1963) Take, for instance, the myriad of settings of the text of the Credo, and more specifically Crucifixus etiam pro nobis, sub Pontio Pilato passus, et sepultus est. Mozart, in his Missa Brevis in C (Coronation Mass), and Michael Haydn, in the Missa Sancti Hiermonyi, both altered the tonality of this section and drastically reduced the tempo where the listener could almost hear the crucifixion of Christ. Following the text, both composers utilized the drastic shift back to the original tonality and faster tempo to paint the picture of the resurrection.

The journey is just beginning. So, let us journy onward...

Cited Sources:

Beck, Guy L. Musicology of Religion: Theories, Methods, and Directions. Albany: SUNY Press, 2023.

Dowley, Tim. Christian Music: A Global History. Revised edition. London: SPCK, 2018.

McGowan, Andrew Brian. Ancient Christian Worship: Early Church Practices in Social, Historical, and Theological Perspective. Paperback edition. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2016.

Westermeyer, Paul. Te Deum: The Church and Music. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998.