Monday, January 15, 2007

Gospel Music

We've had this discussion before and I reckon at least one eminent musician (ED, not my wife) was right to argue that not all music is as programatic as I (and it seemed Kevin Vanhoozer) were suggesting. But I still reckon that all music (and indeed all art) corresponds more or less to the gospel and is therefore more or less godly and pleasing to God.

The basic shape of the gospel (and of all stories) is a tick: good creation, crisis fall / tension, redemption, glorification / resolution, better end.

It is legitimate for a piece of music to sound any note(s) in the whole symphony (you could have thrash metal that rages against sin) and all this could be more or less conscious in the mind of the composers.

I guess Jonathan Edwards might be right when he speaks of communal singing as very close to the highest glory - though I don't see why there shouldn't be a huge orchestra too.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

no comment!