Theology in Music

A blog considering theology as illustrated by Western Art Music

Choral Music

  • The desire of nations: release from fear and sin

    The story of Charles Wesley’s hymn ‘Come, thou long-expected Jesus’, published in Hymns for the Nativity of our Lord in 1744, tends to reference his consciousness of poverty and prayer for the coming of the Kingdom of God, and his reflection on Haggai 2.7, which reads (in the Authorised Version): And I will shake all Read more

  • Eternal light of this our wintry world

    I remember when, as a young Director of Music in a parish church, I was teaching my choir Charles Wood’ anthem ‘O Thou the central orb’, one of my sopranos said to me “I’m sure this is very lovely, but what does it actually mean?” Some might consider that a very fair question; indeed, at Read more

  • Mission and appropriation in the New World

    In 1631 a Franciscan priest in the ‘Viceroyalty of Peru’ published a liturgical manual setting out Catholic rituals explained in both Spanish and the indigenous language of the area he was working in, Quechua. This book includes what is generally considered to be the earliest work of vocal polyphonic music printed in the New World, Read more

  • Coequal in the Father’s light

    In 1892 the director of the Paris Conservatoire is supposed to have said of a dangerously modern candidate for that institution’s professorship of composition ‘Never! If he’s appointed, I resign.’ In 1896 that same candidate took up the professorship under a different director, and in 1905 became director himself in turn. Many years before, while Read more

  • Acceptance of suffering

    It is slightly cheeky of me to entitle my post this week with a movement title used in Petr Eben’s Job, discussed last week, while this week we are considering a different work entirely. Giant of contemporary classical music, and if anything even more so of music that might validly be considered theological, the Scottish Read more

  • These see the works of the Lord

    Today (25 June) is the International Maritime Organisation’s Day of the Seafarer. This fact alone puts me in mind of the setting by Herbert Sumsion of words from Psalm 107:23-30: They that go down to the sea in ships, and occupy their business in great waters;These men see the works of the Lord, and his Read more

  • The Mystery of the Most Holy Eucharist

    It would be inconceivable that this blog finishes with the music of Messiaen, but I do assure those of you who have stuck through my posts for the last few weeks that next week will feature music by a different composer. While doing Messiaen season, however, it would seem remiss for a post on the Read more