I was raised by my late Silent Gen parents to appreciate “good music”, meaning what we understand to be Classical, Romantic, Baroque, etc. They both had zero tolerance for rock music and my mother of blessed memory frequently referred to it as “just noise.”
I like to think of it as akin to kudzu vine. An invasive species that grows and grows, taking over the environment until there’s no room left for anything else. It’s loud and noisy to be sure, but it also infiltrates the general public’s consciousness until they have no interest or respect left for the old musics, the classical and (!) church music. Not that anyone goes to church any more. Do they? All silly superstitious nonsense they like to say.
Those of us who work in church are happy to point out the benefits of community that our sacred spaces offer. Of course, the non-churchgoers claim they can find similar community at their raucous “music” festivals. With the now unfortunately legal drugs that are most likely available at these events, there’s an added draw. Pretty sure this is not what our Lord wanted us to do with the minds and bodies He gave us but people insist. And clarity of mind is essential for the study of complex music…
“All things are lawful unto me,” but all things are not expedient. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be brought under the power of any. 1 Cor. 6:12.
The kudzu vine of popular/rock music has become like an infectious disease, taking over to the point that no one cares about classical anymore. The results of this unfortunate attitude are abundant: symphony orchestras struggle to pay the bills, classical music schools cite finding funding difficult (see recently Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam), and trying to encourage/find proteges is difficult. The annoying pop/rock is everywhere: it’s on the overhead speakers at the supermarket, at the gas pumps, thumping car stereos going past your quiet house. It is to the point where, when mentioning that one is a musician, the first question you’ll get in response is an excited, “what’s the name of your band?!” followed by references to “songs” (we don’t play “songs”). Upon informing the questioner that you are a church organist (or harpist), silence descends. Moments later, you’ll quite likely find that a space has opened up around you and you’re standing alone.
It doesn’t end there. The kudzu has extended itself globally, invading previously isolated rural communities, changing and permanently transforming traditional folk musics so that now music around the world sounds an awful lot like a modified export from America. It is not just Western countries that have been infected, but countries ranging from South America, Africa, Central Asia and beyond. For centuries music was created on hand made instruments and not always for entertainment purposes. Worship, funerals, weddings and other needs were met by traditional sounds. The Western notion of music as loud entertainment and continuous background wallpaper has altered many traditions and perceptions of what “music” is. Ancient musics, handed down from one generation to the next are fragmenting and in some cases are being lost.
Why is this? Contempt. Disrespect. For classical music. For traditional church music. For traditional cultures. After all, everyone listens to pop and rock these days! Nobody listens to that old stuff anymore. Not cool. And the religion part bothers them even more.
I’ve watched this deterioration over my lifetime and it has only gotten worse. People who are now in their late ’80’s and 90’s certainly do know better and will appreciate a fine string quartet or a Bach unaccompanied partita on the violin solo. Most likely elders in countries around the world witness the same decline as their youth gravitate to the same beat from America. Nevertheless, I have hope for the up and coming generation; I’ve been seeing a resurgence of good taste forming there.
Meanwhile, the outdoor amplified bad taste in summer abounds, determined to persist despite obvious drastic climate change, even as we seek to keep our churches open, keep them from closing because there’s something folks would rather do on Sunday morning, and the notion persists that church is not “fun”. Fun is not really the point…
Would that we church musicians of the classical vintage could bring in more to hear the soft, the quiet, the meditative, the reflective, that which is subtile and complex on many levels if one is willing to listen closely… is that too much to ask? We do not concern ourselves with “the words” as the pop music people do, except perhaps for our priest who carefully chooses the most liturgically appropriate hymn for that morning’s worship, but we are concerned with melody, line, texture, counterpoint and such reflective feeling as to bring the thoughtful parishioner closer to the Spirit of God in close communion, in quiet prayer. It cannot be about us, as is with the vainglory rockers. Because we are called to be that which the pop/rock world is not, perhaps that is why there are so few of us.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. John 15:19
