Theology in Music

A blog considering theology as illustrated by Western Art Music

contemporary music

  • A patience as we wait

    During this season of Advent we are watching and waiting. Watching for signs of the Kingdom of God as we await His glorious παρουσία (however we might discern or imagine the details of what this might mean). There seems to be a lot of waiting in many aspects of our lives, and perhaps there is Read more

  • 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

  • The light of His countenance

    I have, occasionally, been accused of various sorts of musical snobbery – and anyone who has read much of this blog will understand that it is written by someone with taste tending usually towards the high-brow. So, to go counter to type, let us consider John Rutter and his anthem ‘The Lord bless you and Read more

  • The Mystery of Faith in Sound

    In 2003 the French and Lebanese organist and composer Naji Hakim wrote, to a commission of Leo Abbott of Boston, a former student of his, a piece in memoriam Theodore Marier, noted teacher and advocate for Gregorian plainchant. That inspiration, together with Hakim’s extensive practice as a liturgical improviser, leads to no surprise that the 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

  • Alleluias on a morning in spring

    As we continue in Easter Season I turn this week to a choral work by a contemporary composer: Easter Light for choir and organ by Cecilia McDowall. Capturing the mystery of that early morning in a garden rather than the triumph of Christus victor more often presented in Easter works, the composer’s usual rich (though Read more

  • Alleluia: we see a star

    If last week’s initial instalment of this blog focussed on a famous chorus from a Baroque oratorio, it may be taken as a statement of intent as to the diversity of musics expected to be discussed here that this second entry concerns a solo work by a contemporary composer. Former BBC Young Composer Kristina Arakelyan’s Read more