It's Meant for the Church

Ralph Vaughan Williams understood the purpose of corporate worship. It is for the church. This entire article was replete with that thesis. Worship can be done through Choirs and beautiful solos, it can be found within the instrumentalist. All of these bring wonderful aspects and varieties to worship but as Williams well understands, these are not the focus. ”The music is intended to be essentially congregational in character, and this end has been kept in view both in the choice of tunes and in the manner of setting them out.” It’s for the congregation! Let’s keep it that way!

Simple Grandeur

“Instances are not wanting of musicians and composers of the greatest eminence, having been deeply affected by the simple grandeur of congregational unison.” (p. 165)

It’s nice to listen to four-part writing, especially good four-part writing. The harmony and counterpoint is delightful to hear and (for some…freaks…like me) to think about. But joining every voice on the melody (especially a rare good melody) in parallel octaves creates a different effect, both for the hearer and the singer. The parts are no longer independent, but strong, focused and entirely unified.

What could be finer?

I was surprised by some of the straightforward and strong language that Ralph Vaughn Williams used in his Preface to The English Hymnal with Tunes. I especially enjoyed his treatment of what is "musically correct."

"The usual argument in favor of bad music is that the fine tunes are doubtless "musically correct", but that the people want "something simple". Now the expression "musically correct" has no meaning; the only "correct" music is that which is beautiful and noble. As for simplicity, what could be simpler that "St. Anne" or "The Old Hundredth", and what could be finer?"
(pg. 171)

To Vaughn Williams, good or "correct" music and simple music are innate in each other. He seemed offended by the thought that something that is "musically correct" could be anything other than what is beautiful and noble. And why should anything less than what is "musically correct'' be used in worship of God? If we strive for what is simple and modest it will naturally be beautiful and correctly inform our worship of God.

Muan Pi's Hymn Text

O Lord our God, how glorious

Your Name in all the earth?

Your fame excels in Majesty

The highest heav’n above

Let ev’ry man and babe proclaim

Your strength you did ordain

Unrighteous foes You did restrain

To glorify Your Name

And I behold the heaven’s joy

The works Your hand display,

The moon, the stars proclaim Your might

Set in the sky arrayed

Lord, what are all these worthless men

That You should love them so?

That You remember yet our kin

Who dwell on earth below?

Crowned him with glorious majesty

As mighty angels are

You’ve given him authority

To all things here below

Beasts of the field, birds of the heav’n

And creatures of the sea.

How glorious in all the Earth,

Is Your name, O our Lord

THE END OF THE WORLD...but only as we know it

As expected, some who posted earlier use such colorful words as “dangerous,” “mystical,” and “heresy.” I’ll give Morgenthaler a chance.

Basically, “emerging worship” is a reaction against the typical contemporary model, the “generic wrapper” (p.219) bringing the worshipper to “Aha, this is what my problem is and this is how I fix it” (p. 223).

Their concern is not so much making church postmodern (though that may happen as result), as it is accepting that we live in a postmodern world, with “a profound recognition of personal and societal brokenness” (p. 221), and working from there. Emerging worship contains “Creator-referenced, God-focused expressions” rather than the contemporary/seeker-sensitive “self-referencing—focused on human perceptions needs and desires” (p. 222).

Morgenthaler admits services like this will fail when they become “experiences for experience’s sake” (p. 230. In the same way, contemporary can become “newness for newness’ sake” and traditional “for tradition’s sake” and liturgical “form for form’s sake.” This is not a problem particular to this model.

The creative examples were not “this is what we do,” they were more like “this is what could happen.”

So is she deconstructing theology or just theology “as we know it?”

Anna'a Hymn Text

From Psalm 62

v. 1
To God alone I cling
From Him comes my salvation
My rock, my fortress great
Never shall I be shaken

v.2
Put not your hope in gold
For riches cannot bring peace
In God alone find rest
for his strength will never cease

v. 3
You people, trust the Lord!
To him pour out your heart
A refuge all your days
From you he will never part

ref.
Salvation comes from God
He has chosen you in love
For you his son he gave
Find your rest and hope above

Elijah's Hymn Post

O, Israel, the time is drawing nigh

When Loving-kindness will be o'er

O, Israel, your well is running dry

Come, taste the fount of life out-poured

O, Israel, return again to me

You seek the things that cannot save

O, Israel, despite Christ's death for thee

You trade you rights for those of slaves

O, Israel, my love, whom I adore

I brought thee out of Egypt's land

O, Israel, remember Christ, thy Lord

Who gave you life with nail-pierced hands

refrain:

I loved you when you did not love me

I gave you eyes so you would see

You are my bride bought with a price

The lamb of God's blood sacrifice