I think this fella's fondness for religious music is a bit shallow. Religious music is beautiful because it speaks of an all encompassing love, solace, and forgiveness from a power so much more potent than the powers of man that it has to leave one grasping to touch it's hem. I don't have a single shred of faith but would that I did. What comfort it would be to have a vessel to put all my shame, fear and doubt into. I'm jealous of those who have found such solace. I could put up more and better but I'm pretty tired and can't seem to get neurons to fire.
this comment left me wondering how I could spend the morning earning a badge so that I could badge it. Great comment and GREAT music. It's kinda weird... I am super religious - but our music REALLY kinda stinks. OK - arguably the Mormon Tabernacle Choir is top shelf when it comes to traditional choral/hymn singing... but I gotta tell you... on Sundays - people certainly don't come to church for the music. We're a pretty tame bunch. I've always been partial to some of the southern baptist style, gown wearing, soloist howling, audience clapping, reverend dancing sound. Once while in NYC with some friends, while walking crosstown just east of NYU I was stopped in my tracks by the sounds of a SERIOUS gospel choir across the street. The church windows were open and the music was flowing out like a warm blanket. Anyway - thanks for the badge-able comment. Poetic and wonderful. Thanks for the music. It has made for a better Sunday morning. EDIT: I'm convinced that Marvin Gaye could sing the phone book and I would sit and listen like my life depended on it. Edit 2: I just quoted you over the pulpit at church.
One of the most memorable gigs I ever went to was The Inspirational Choir (of The Pentecostal First Born Church of the Living God) - the university I went to put them on. I was part of the entertainments committee that organised the gig, but I still don't quite know how we came to organise that one. I think it started as a sort of joke - the committee manager was contacted by their agent and we sort of went along with the joke and then one thing led to another and it eventually happened. Absolutely mind-blowing energy from the performers - despite low attendance in a completely inadequate venue. They absolutely blew the roof off. I've always had strong, but really quite eclectic musical tastes and lyrics have never really had a powerful effect when I listen to music. Sometimes I think they really get in the way or they can be too rigid in telling you what message you're supposed to be receiving. Of course the best lyricists are truly poetic and can leave the meaning up to you to interpret, but the point is I think I've never been too swung by the words, more focussed on the music. I remember posting For Every Mountain by the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir once and getting lambasted for the overtly religious nature of the song. Sorry but that performance makes my hair stand on end. You can see the ecstasy on the faces of some of the performers too. If you're too narrow minded or too inflexible to take a step back and just absorb and enjoy the experience, then that's a shame. I won't let that stop me though. Life's too short to let others sway you from what you enjoy. I've been searching for many years for recording by the Inspirational Choir with no luck :(
So, I'm an agnostic atheist. Formerly something very much like a fundie, in most of the bad senses of that word. Now I regularly sing lots of classically religious music. Over my years in choir I've noticed that good directors address the theological component of the music. REALLY good directors give historical perspective that gives emotional weight to the music. The people who were performing this piece felt this way, the audience had this amount of religious education and the composert was trying to make this emotional statement with their work. Having sung the full Messiah as an atheist, and enjoyed it, I am comfortable saying that one does not need faith of any kind to appreciate good music that happens to have religious themes.
I generally do not like religious music but am in no way offended if someone mentions Jesus or whatever. Sometimes I just can't help myself because the music is so good. I have no idea what a lot of the songs I listen to are about lyrically. Something like Hollaback Girl I had no idea what it was about for years. And some songs just contain nonsense lyrics, but I like a lot of those too. A few months ago I saw Yolanda Adams on the Tonight Show and her energy and the band and arrangement blew me away. Even though this is evangelical to the max, sometimes to me the lyrics don't matter. Just like when I listen to Black Sabbath or Iron Maiden, except I do not believe some of those bands actually believe their lyrics and are just saying it for fun. I believe I have mentioned all of these songs before but I also like things like ZZ Tops' Jesus Just Left Chicago or the Doobie Brothers' Jesus Is Just Alright . I also really like klezmer music but don't really know how religious the lyrics are since I don't speak Yiddish. :)
I'm atheist, I love traditional Christmas carols and some hymns. I also love the soundtrack to Saved! (and the film itself) though I probably wouldn't want to listen to it separately from the film. A good tune is a good tune. Ironically, we never sang one of my favourite hymns at school - I vow to thee my country - because it was considered putting patriotism above god.
My entry: I'm about as non-believer as you can get, but damn if that does not his some sort of ASMR response in me. Music theory works no matter the subject matter. Go through some of Mozart's old stuff and it is all church and mass/choir music. Go through Vivaldi (an ordained priest BTW) and almost all of it was written for the church. There is also something to be said for black Gospel music of the 40's and 50's. There is a part of me that wants to experience what it was like to be a church in the early 50's listening to this live. So what makes this non-believer seek out and listen to religious music? It's good music and I enjoy listening to good music.