A fair amount of the best in both classical and what I’d have to call “traditional popular” music was written with religious intent. And a fair amount of people who aren’t active as regards church/synagogue/whatever still find some of it moving or touching. (For a quick parallel, consider gobear, who emphatically does not believe in the Christian God, but who regards several elements of religious pictorial art as some of the finest art he’s ever seen.) So the idea behind this thread is, whether or not you happen to have a particular religious faith, what pieces, written for religious reasons, speak to you as a person?
What items of “religious music” do you enjoy the most, what ones do you consider your favorites, and perhaps you might discuss why they speak to you?
I’ll start it out by naming two, one classical and one popular hymnody:
Classical: Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus is a devotional piece aimed at the Blessed Sacrament, a very Catholic concept founded in the Real Presence of Jesus in the consecrated communion bread and wine. But for me, the absolute beauty of that piece, especially as performed by a youthful treble voice, is the closest I will ever come on earth to hearing the song of the angels. And I nearly always tear up when I hear it performed well.
Popular Hymnody: I Come With Joy to Meet My Lord is a hymn that speaks to me of what a Christian community ought to be, and what the one I’ve been lucky enough to find and become a part of aspires to be. (Warning: Midi of music is activated by clicking on the link.) It’s set to a lovely old Southern gospel tune, “Land of Rest,” and the words are very meaningful to me.
I am fond of chants, particularly Theravada Buddhist chants. Melodically they are fairly uninteresting, but the Pali language is beautiful. I find that they help greatly in creating a meditative atmosphere.
I also like Christian music from the early-to-mid 19th century revivals, particularly sacred harp. My introduction to it was from The Watersons doing “The Good Old Way” and “Idumea,” then I got further hooked on it through T-Bone Burnett putting it in the soundtrack for “Cold Mountain” (and also “The Ladykillers,” but the movie’s hard to stay awake for.
I love Francis Poulenc’s sacred choral pieces, especially his Mass in G Major, which is by turns haunting and joyful. That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to check out some of his secular work.
And is “Run On” by Moby too corny to count? I fell in love with it the very first time I heard it on the very short-lived D. B. Sweeney series, “Harsh Realm” and tracked down Play because of it. It’s still far and away my favorite gospel (-style) song. Makes me want to jump up and testify! Er. . . to the . . . uh . . . non-existence of . . . uh . . . supernatural . . . beings. In the same vein, “(The Rock Cried Out) No Hiding Place,” which I know only for the nerdiest of reasons, it having featured prominently in an epsiode of Babylon 5. Both are songs ‘bout the Lord smitin’ down sinners, such as myself, come to think of it. Weird.
“One of the most famous melodies of the Gregorian Chant, Dies Irae was traditionally ascribed to Thomas of Celano (d 1260), but now is usually attributed to an unknown Franciscan of that period. The piece is based upon Zep 1:14-16, a reflection upon the final judgment. It was formerly part of the Mass of the Dead and the Office of the Dead. Today it is found in the Liturgia Horarum for the last week of Ordinary time (34th). In placing it there, the emphasis is upon the upcoming Advent season and the Second Coming of Christ. In Diocese of the United States, it is still used in the Office of the Dead and the Feast of All Souls (Nov. 2).”
I’ve already made most of the plans for my own funeral, including having the music picked out. Here are my two selections (both from the 1982 Hymnal):
Love Divine - Wonderfully uplifting sentiment and lyrics, plus a good song to sing. The same tune serves another hymn, but I want this one for the particular lyrics.
Just As I Am - A very simple sentiment. I’ve loved this song every since I was a little kid listening to it at altar calls.
Boof, that’s a rough one. The best thing to come out of religion was the music, paraphrasing Carlin.
Classical is a toss up between Handel’s Messiah (entire, not just the chorus) and Bach’s Jesu Joy of Man’s Desiring.
Traditional hymns covers half of The Green Hymnal (ELCA) plus some others. I mean, picking a favorite Advent/Christmas song over a favorite Easter tune is rough enough Christ the Lord is Risen Today versus Let All Mortal Flesh? How do you pick?
The first two that came to mind are the Navy Hymn (damn that bootcamp brainwashing!) and Come Ye Thankful People Come (farm chick) so I suppose I have to go with those.
I’d have to second Hildegard. Absolutely worth studying even if you don’t like the music (or aren’t Christian - one of the smartest people ever, IMO.)
I’m sort of neopagan-Buddhist-agnostic (depending on the day) but I’ve been a music fan & singer for quite a while, and there’s lots of “sacred” music I like.
My favorites, though- Pachabel’s Canon in D major - very traditional but beautiful. I have a CD that’s titled “Pachabel’s Greatest Hit” and contains about 18 different versions.
Bach Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring - makes me think of waterfalls flowing over & over.
Handel Messiah - I sang in this for 3 or 4 years straight in a community choir at Christmastime starting when I was 12 or 13. I even sang “He Shall Feed His Flock” as my audition piece for the Indiana All-State Choir. Unfortunately, I’m no longer a first soprano.
I also like the hymn Nearer My God to Thee - I had always liked it, but I sang it as a solo at church the Sunday after Challenger.
I like most Christmas carols, too.
Ok, next?
FriarTed, are you the same person who comes up to Indianapolis for Contra Dancing? If so, we may know each other from a different venue.
Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote a Requiem that is absolutely beautiful. Placido Domingo, Sarah Brightman, and Paul Miles-Kingston sang the tenor, soprano, and treble respectively. I have the CD, and early in the morning, before anyone is here, I crank it up.
Popular hymnody - #151, “Christ is Risen! Alleluia!” in the ELCA’s LBW is Easter for me. I can hit the high note with my maximum volume, much to my children’s horror and dismay (“Daddy! You’re singing louder than anyone else in church!”). “Earth and All Stars” is another good one to cause them to die of embarassment.
“A Mighty Fortress is Our God” and “Guide Me, Oh Thou Great Jehovah” are wonderful, but I cannot remember the new words and consistently revert to the old lyrics in the Service Book and Hymnal of my childhood. And “Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken” was forever ruined when I realized it was the same tune as “Deutschland Uber Alles”.
Most of my favorites have associations with my youth. Sitting next to my grandmother as a child at Pine Lake Bible Camp, singing “Day is Dying in the West” -
*Day is dying in the west,
Heaven is touching earth with rest,
Wait and worship while the night
Sets her evening lamps alight
Throughout the sky.
Holy holy holy,
Lord God on high
Heaven and earth are full of thee
Heaven and earth are praising thee,
Oh Lord most high.*
I can see the cover of the booklet we used - the moon shining thru the pine trees.
If I have to choose one classical piece, it’s “For Unto Us a Child Is Born” from Handel’s Messiah.
Favorite hymn: “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah”. I like the Welsh hymns in general. Second place: “Jesus Christ Is Risen Today” (Lyra Davidica melody)
Just a few of my other classical favorites:
[ul][li]The rest of the Messiah, especially “Every Valley”, “O Thou That Tellest”, “The Trumpet Shall Sound”, and of course, the “Hallelujah” chorus.[/li][li]Most of Faure’s Requiem, especially the “In Paradisum”[/li][li]“Laudate Dominum” from Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes De Confessore[/li][li]“Alleluia” from Mozart’s Exultate, Jubilate[/li][li]“How Lovely Is Thy Dwelling Place” from Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem[/li][li]“Alleluia” and “The Last Words of David” by Randall Thompson[/li]A lot of specifically Christmas stuff, but I’ll just mention “There Is No Rose” and “Balulow” from Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols.[/ul]
I have to echo the votes for Bach above, and I do love Mozart’s Lacrymosa movement from his Requiem.
As far as “popular” musicians go, I think that Aaron Neville’s version of Ave Maria is one of the most amazing I have ever heard (it runs over the ending credits of the film Alive).
I fear that some of my faves won’t be played at my funeral. But since I’ll be dead it won’t matter, will it? I am thankful that Beth Nielsen Chapman released her Hymns CD because it’s chock full of the Marianist Greatest Hits (AKA: My Childhood on CD), with such greats as “Salve Regina” (in English, “Hail Holy Queen Enthroned Above”) and Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” Believing in the True Presence, my Lutherans shouldn’t have quite as much trouble with “Tantum Ergo,” though many have died in the Transubstantiation/Consubstantiation/Spiritual Presence battles (metaphorists like me keep our yaps shut when the bullets start flying, especially since I’m married to a Transubstantiationist) and when folks start worshiping the Host Lutherans cough politely and roll their eyes.
Most of the ones I mentioned are available as MIDIs here.
Electric Prune’s Mass in F Minor, various Kyrie’s[sub]sp…how does one pluralize this anyways[/sub] - hmmm, wonder if the Kyrie Eleison is my top favorite piece… anyways.
Pretty much all of the Medieval Babes’ versions of hymns…Sal Va Nos, and Verbum Caro in particular, though. I’d give up a small, hardly used body part to be able to sing like that.
Oooh, and Salve Regina from “Sister Act”.
What was that line anyways…something about “…make a joyful noise unto the Lord…”? I always thought that was a wonderful idea.
