I was asked to address a session on "Music in Worship" at the annual convention of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) held last month in Salt Lake City. I decided to challenge these musicians (most of whom work in Christian churches of various denominations) to wrestle with the fact that most music that is used in worship fails to challenge anyone's comfort level. 

 

In a recent New York Times op-ed piece, Bernard Holland wrote, "Less important music is being written for the church these days. . . . With its hand-clapping, inspirational, just-folks character, how different this music is from a tradition that ran from plainchant through Josquin and Palestrina to Mozart and Beethoven, and finally to Messiaen and Britten."

 

Doesn't the congregation ever want to just stop and listen and be inspired?

 

I'd like to share four inspiring quotes on this topic by one of the great humanist conductors, the late Robert Shaw.

 

"One does not gain strength for the terrifying stresses of virtue by gorging his muscles on fraud and hanky-panky. A God of Truth, Goodness and Mercy is not honored by laying last night's top-40 or disco derivatives on his altar."

 

"Popular music is not the people's music. The people think so little of it that they tire of it in six to sixteen weeks."

 

"The truth is that worship should be a heart-wrenching, soul-searing, mind-stretching and generally exhausting experience. One should not be required to check his mind at the door."

 

"Great music is worship."

Doesn't the congregation ever want to just stop and listen and be inspired?

 

Here's a beautiful little poem by the 16th-century explorer, Sir Francis Drake:

 

"Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too well pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we have dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore."

 

Why do we sail so close to the shore? Why do we resist a musical experience that could ruffle us a little bit, disturb us, shock us, speak to our spirit, a musical experience that could inspire, that could trigger a peak experience?

 

Great art has the power to transport us to a different place...

The great American composer Charles Ives wrote, "Is not beauty in music too often confused with something which lets the ears lie back in an easy-chair? Many sounds that we are used to do not bother us, and for that reason are we not inclined to call them beautiful?"

 

Great art has the power to transport us to a different place, to take us deeper into ourselves, or to take us way outside of our normal zone of experiences. But so much of the music that we hear, so much of the music that we program, so

much of the music that we perform tends to keep us in our comfort zone.

 

I love this statement attributed to the Ba'al Shem Tov, the 18th-century founder of a radical Jewish movement called Hassidism:  "Music is that which takes you from where you are to where you want to be." And I might add that great music takes you from where you are to where you didn't even know you wanted to be. Surprise! How did I get here?! Wow! Awesome!

Thursday, June 18, 12:30 pm, State House, Boston: Zamir will be appearing with the Jerusalem Youth Chorus. The JYC is "an ensemble of high school students from East and West Jerusalem working to attain high levels of collaborative musicianship and empathy for one another. Through music and dialogue, the Palestinian and Israeli singers learn skills of communication and trust," according to the JYC's website. Later that afternoon, Josh Jacobson will present a session, "Great Choral Music on Jewish Texts," at the Park Plaza Hotel as part of the annual Chorus America convention, this year held in Boston and hosted by the Handel and Haydn Society. Chorus America is an organization promoting advocacy, research, and leadership development that advances the choral field. This session will introduce attendees to the often-surprising breadth and depth of choral music from the Jewish traditions, with a live performance by Zamir. Participants will learn about and hear music both secular and sacred, modern and ancient, classical and traditional.