There is a theory called the Great Emergence, that attempts to explain
the major shifts that occur in Christianity every 500 years. According
to this theory, we are in a major shift right now. The move in church
music away from the traditional is considered as part of this shift.
Here's the reference:
http://www.thegreatemergence.com/TheBook
'The Other' Stephen Stubbs
Champaign, IL USA
On 3/15/2012 7:56 AM, Christopher Wilke wrote:
Hi Eugene,
I must respectfully disagree that the subject is off topic. While
not specifically lute related, the discussion revolves around the
Church's (in America at least) rejection of a living tradition of early
music. As you say, the decline in church attendance is due to many
other cultural factors and of course, music was not the sole cause.
However, the rejection of an entire ancient tradition was surely
symptomatic of larger attitudes within the Church regarding the role of
art. What social factors made those in charge conclude that the old
aesthetic traditions were totally irrelevant and appropriate for
wholesale ejection c.1965?
Ironically, we see the rise of HIP as a legitimate movement just
as the Church was abandoning the living tradition of it's own
(admittedly non-HIP) early music. Many of our post-war early music
"heros" were just starting their concert work in ernest at this time
and finding enough public interest to sustain specialized performing
careers dedicated solely to old music. A fairly sizable portion of this
repertoire consisted of Catholic music or music that the general public
would perceive as having "that ancient church sound." Church officials
apparently came to the conclusion that, although people where willing
to PAY to hear this music performed well, they found it's use in the
original context off-putting. Imagine how differently the development
of our own field be if the Church had joined forces with the budding
HIP movement and embraced sacred musical heritage. What if they had
financially supported someone like Gustav Leonhardt and his many
students to turn their efforts towards a HIP overhaul of church music
both within and outside of services?
In spite of these efforts to stamp out the old ways, the sound of
ancient repertoire is none the less part of pop culture consciousness.
To this day, whenever an interior shot of a church is featured in a
movie, the soundtrack will feature a a few seconds of chant. This
immediately tells the viewer that something Seriously Grave and
Important (usually involving some sort of epic battle between Good and
Evil) will follow. How different would those scenes be with pseudo-folk
guitar (capo 3) strumming?
Chris
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