Music And Religion Research Papers (original) (raw)

Collected from presentations during the first biennial Christian Congregational Music conference (congregationalmusic.org), this book explores the role of congregational music in Christian religious experience, examining how musicians and... more

Collected from presentations during the first biennial Christian Congregational Music conference (congregationalmusic.org), this book explores the role of congregational music in Christian religious experience, examining how musicians and worshippers perform, identify with and experience belief through musical praxis. Contributors from a broad range of fields, including music studies, theology, literature, and cultural anthropology, present interdisciplinary perspectives on a variety of congregational musical styles - from African American gospel music, to evangelical praise and worship music, to Mennonite hymnody - within contemporary Europe and North America. In addressing the interconnected themes of performance, identity and experience, the volume explores several topics of interest to a broader humanities and social sciences readership, including the influence of globalization and mass mediation on congregational music style and performance; the use of congregational music to shape multifaceted identities; the role of mass mediated congregational music in shaping transnational communities; and the function of music in embodying and imparting religious belief and knowledge.

Turkic Soundscapes Edited by Razia Sultanova and Megan Rancier The Turkic soundscape is both geographically huge and culturally diverse (twenty-eight countries, republics and districts extending from Eastern Europe through the Caucasus... more

Turkic Soundscapes Edited by Razia Sultanova and Megan Rancier The Turkic soundscape is both geographically huge and culturally diverse (twenty-eight countries, republics and districts extending from Eastern Europe through the Caucasus and throughout Central Asia). Although the Turkic peoples of the world can trace their linguistic and genetic ancestries to common sources, their extensive geographical dispersion and widely varying historical and political experiences have generated a range of different expressive music forms. In addition, the break-up of the Soviet Union and increasing globalization have resulted in the emergence of new viewpoints on classical and folk traditions, Turkic versions of globalized popular culture, and re-workings of folk and religious practices to fit new social needs. In line with the opening up of many Turkic regions in the post-Soviet era, awareness of scholarship from these regions has also increased. Consisting of twelve individual contributions that reflect the geographical breadth of the area under study, the collection addresses animist and Islamic religious songs; the his¬torical development of Turkic musical instruments; ethnography and analysis of classical court music traditions; cross-cultural influences throughout the Turkic world; music and mass media; and popular music in traditional contexts. The result is a well-balanced survey of music in the Turkic-speaking world, representing folk, popular and classical traditions equally, as well as discussing how these traditions have changed in response to growing modernity and cosmopolitanism in Europe and Central Asia.

Religious music serves to co-create and carry strategies of theology, authen¬ticity, and behavior. This article examines the history of folk music and folk ideology in creating and maintaining such strategies. I examine several prominent... more

Religious music serves to co-create and carry strategies of theology, authen¬ticity, and behavior. This article examines the history of folk music and folk ideology in creating and maintaining such strategies. I examine several prominent examples of American folk music and Pagan music, articulating their shared historical and theological relationships. Focusing on national¬ism, feminism, and populism, I also argue that an ideology of the common ritual year is a prominent shared theme between American folk music and contemporary Paganism. While underscoring the need for greater attention to this area, the article concludes that the legitimization processes at work are similar to other American heritage musics and aspects of American cultural politics.

The article revises the role of the human voice in different religions and discusses vocal forms of religious music. It was published in the vloume: Karl Ermert (Ed.), 2016, Chormusik und Migrationsgesellschaft. Erhebunen und... more

The article revises the role of the human voice in different religions and discusses vocal forms of religious music. It was published in the vloume:
Karl Ermert (Ed.), 2016, Chormusik und Migrationsgesellschaft. Erhebunen und Überlegungen zu Kinder- und Jugendchören als Orte transkultureller Teilhabe, Wolfenbüttel: Bundesakademie für kluturelle Bildung, 69 - 80.

In this paper, I argue that through responding to Henry Purcell's choral anthem 'Hear My Prayer, O Lord' with a certain form of desire for God, one can come to knowledge about God in the capacity of providing satisfaction. Further, this... more

In this paper, I argue that through responding to Henry Purcell's choral anthem 'Hear My Prayer, O Lord' with a certain form of desire for God, one can come to knowledge about God in the capacity of providing satisfaction. Further, this knowledge is available even in the absence of satisfaction, and does not require belief in God's existence. It is thus possible for 'religiously minded' agnostics, and even atheists, to know about God in the way I describe.

An essay in music criticism: 'John Maus is one of the most intriguing artists in the millennial wave of lo-fi pop, assembling his unique and intimate language from synth pop, disco, baroque classical and church music. Yet Maus’s work is... more

An essay in music criticism: 'John Maus is one of the most intriguing artists in the millennial wave of lo-fi pop, assembling his unique and intimate language from synth pop, disco, baroque classical and church music. Yet Maus’s work is much more than another exercise in retroist hybridity, and his overtures on truth and love are, upon further listening, no mere ironic posturing. Does Maus have something to teach us
about arriving at the truth through personal musical expression,or is he on a doomed Romantic adventure? Has he really discovered Heaven - and can he take us there?

As an “icon” in mainstream popular culture, Lady Gaga has imbued a new standard of super stardom as a performance artist and transformative fashionista in today’s generation and thus challenged orthodoxy. Her interpretation and expression... more

As an “icon” in mainstream popular culture, Lady Gaga has imbued a new standard of super stardom as a performance artist and transformative fashionista in today’s generation and thus challenged orthodoxy. Her interpretation and expression of Christianity, in particular, places the iconic goddess under the critical spotlight of the religious community. Born a Roman Catholic, Lady Gaga experienced a series of life-changing events that has brought her to integrate risky biblical references into her lyrics. Her music is only one perspective, however, upon which this can be analyzed: her fashion, often unpredictable yet impressive, is equally influenced by her religious roots and ideas. The art of Lady Gaga’s music and fashion brings together new meaning both insightful and controversial to the Christian body, which elicits a response to examine and criticize the superstar’s interpretive messages. As a result, subjective interpretations of those references lie at the heart of Christian argument as well as Lady Gaga’s.

Ein reiches Programm mit Konzerten und Gottesdiensten, Referaten und Diskussionen prägte den 5. Internationalen Kirchenmusikkongress, der Ende Oktober 2015 in Bern stattfand. Dabei wurde das Verhältnis von Religion, Kirche und Liturgie... more

Ein reiches Programm mit Konzerten und Gottesdiensten, Referaten und Diskussionen prägte den 5. Internationalen Kirchenmusikkongress, der Ende Oktober 2015 in Bern stattfand. Dabei wurde das Verhältnis von Religion, Kirche und Liturgie zur Musik aus musikwissenschaftlicher, historischer und theologischer Sicht betrachtet. Der Kongressband enthält die Hauptreferate, aber auch Beiträge zu einigen der Workshops, die zwischen Reflexion und Praxis vermittelten – von Perspektiven des zukünftigen Orgelbaus bis zu Möglichkeiten des Zusammenwirkens von Musik und Liturgie.
Aufgenommen wurde auch eine Auswahl von Einblicken in die Arbeitsgebiete von Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden, die diese im Rahmen eines Forschungskolloquiums präsentiert hatten; zudem wird der Schlussgottesdienst des Kongresses im Berner Münster dokumentiert – mit der Predigt, Beiträgen zur Zusammenarbeit und zum Entstehungsprozess der Neukomposition von Lukas Langlotz und Gedanken von Teilnehmenden. Ergänzt wird der Band durch eine Übersicht über alle Veranstaltungen und einen Bericht zu den vorhergehenden Kongressen

Marco Lutzu (2016) Deus ti salvet Maria. Esperienze affettive nei Rosari cantati della tradizione sarda, «Musica Domani», vol. XLVI, n. 174, “Musica d’affezione e di amicizia”, pp. 20-25.

This is the draft version of the first half of a chapter from my forthcoming monograph on minimalist aesthetics, A Theory of Minimalism, that will be published later in 2016, and that reframes a great deal of canonical minimalism from a... more

This is the draft version of the first half of a chapter from my forthcoming monograph on minimalist aesthetics, A Theory of Minimalism, that will be published later in 2016, and that reframes a great deal of canonical minimalism from a transhistorical and philosophical perspective. This chapter re-examines the disputed phenomenon of "holy minimalism" across various media, and in particular in relation to transhistorical ascetic practice and some of its consequences for aesthetics. The second half of the chapter (not included here) examines the relation of minimalism to theurgy and ritual practice in greater detail. As is perhaps implicit in this provisional title, "The Other Austerity," I make only brief mention of austerity politics and economics. Although I expand on this elsewhere, my view here is that aesthetic austerity reveals, albeit indirectly, how contemporary conceptions of austerity disingenuously appropriate concepts and turn them to a strategic purpose radically different from their historical usage, or their horizons as revealed in aesthetics practice.

Music is a powerful cultural medium. The volume explores the varied roles that music plays in human culture and society, and its unique symbolic and communicative properties. Contributors discuss Richard Wagner, Bob Dylan, John Cage, Eric... more

The article discusses Richard Wagner’s last music-drama, which today is the traditional Good Friday “opera” in New York, Vienna, and other venues around the globe. I argue that Parsifal utilizes traditional Christian symbols and thereby... more

The article discusses Richard Wagner’s last music-drama, which today is the traditional Good Friday “opera” in New York, Vienna, and other venues around the globe. I argue that Parsifal utilizes traditional Christian symbols and thereby transforms them, in order to help transform the world of the audience. The first part of the article summarizes the dramatic conflict and analyzes how the work appropriates the Christian
symbolism of the Lord’s Supper. I also look at Wagner’s essay “Religion and Art,” which was written during the composition of Parsifal and presents an ethical critique of Christianity in the name of “true religion.” The second part of the article presents two assessments of Parsifal, both of which acknowledge its inherent religious symbolism but come to different conclusions regarding its significance (Christian versus atheistic). The third part of the article offers an alternative interpretation and implies trajectories for further research.

Scholarly writing on the music of Arvo Pärt is situated primarily in the fields of musicology (analyzing Pärt’s signature “tintinnabuli” method), cultural and media studies (Pärt’s audience is uncannily broad within and beyond the... more

Scholarly writing on the music of Arvo Pärt is situated primarily in the fields of musicology (analyzing Pärt’s signature “tintinnabuli” method), cultural and media studies (Pärt’s audience is uncannily broad within and beyond the contemporary classical world) and, more recently, in terms of theology/spirituality (Pärt is primarily a composer of sacred music). For the most part, this work is centered around the representational dimensions of Pärt’s music (including the trope of silence), writing and listening past the fact that its storied effects and affects are carried first and foremost as vibrations through air, impressing themselves on the human body. In response, this ambitiously interdisciplinary volume asks: What of sound and materiality as embodiments of the sacred, as historically specific artifacts, and as elements of creation deeply linked to the human sensorium in Pärt studies? In taking up these questions, Arvo Pärt: Sounding the Sacred “de-Platonizes” Pärt studies by demystifying the notion of a single “Pärt sound.” It offers innovative, critical analyses of the historical contexts of Pärt’s experimentation, medievalism, and diverse creative work; it re-sounds the acoustic, theological, and representational grounds of silence in Pärt’s music; it listens with critical openness to the intersections of theology, sacred texts, and spirituality in Pärt’s music; and it positions sensing, performing bodies at the center of musical experience. Building on the conventional score-, biography-, and media-based approaches, this volume reframes Pärt studies around the materiality of sound, its sacredness, and its embodied resonances within secular spaces.

The paper treats the correspondence of Russian rock music and the peculiarities of religiosity in the late Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia. Russian rock music history is divided into several periods: the earliest period when rock music just... more

The paper treats the correspondence of Russian rock music and the peculiarities of religiosity in the late Soviet and Post-Soviet Russia. Russian rock music history is divided into several periods: the earliest period when rock music just came to the Soviet Union and mostly copied Western prototypes; the music of the perestroika period where religious motives were among the central and reflected spiritual and religious search typical for the country of that time; and Post-Soviet rock music which showed more and more interest in Orthodoxy often mixing it with identity search and nationalism. These trends had tight connection with general religious situation in the country. First of all, Russian rock music has never been anti-religious or anti-clerical, as in the country with official atheism both religion and rock music were underground and non-conformist. At the end of the 80-s many Russian musicians were seeking for the truth and spirituality in Oriental religious traditions and this interest to the East was among other factors provoked by Western culture and Rock music. In the 90-s Russia faced religious supermarket, and religious bricolage can be easily distinguished in the rock music of that period. Since the Soviet Union collapse Russian rock musicians were becoming more and more inspired by Orthodoxy which was often tightly connected with their search for individual and national identity. It is also essential that Russian rock music was not just influenced by religious, political or social situation in the country, it had a big impact on it as well. For example, during perestroika rock music played an important role in social and political situation, for it formulated a very clear and urgent request for change. At the same time many popular rock music bands promoted religion, primarily Orthodoxy, among their fans and thus influenced religiosity in Russia.

This article aims to further the ethnomusicological study of pilgrimage by examining the role of music in two US evangelical Christian conferences. Through congregational singing, participants imagine the conference gathering to be an... more

This article aims to further the ethnomusicological study of pilgrimage by examining the role of music in two US evangelical Christian conferences. Through congregational singing, participants imagine the conference gathering to be an embodiment of the heavenly community, bringing heaven to earth through song. Examining lyrics, musical style, and social organization as forms of eschatological discourse reveals several crucial differences in how social relationships in heaven are imagined, which carries strong implications for how the religious community on earth is formed. Examining music in conference pilgrimage shows how twenty-first century evangelicals understand community, negotiate difference, and construct a religious imaginary.

ABSTRACT In the thirteenth century the mass cycle became established as a sacred musical form. By the end of the twentieth century the politicised concert mass had overshadowed it. Surprisingly, despite becoming a significant contributor... more

ABSTRACT
In the thirteenth century the mass cycle became established as a sacred musical form. By the end of the twentieth century the politicised concert mass had overshadowed it. Surprisingly, despite becoming a significant contributor to the Western art music repertoire, the concert mass has never attracted serious scholarship. While individual concert masses have been the subject of some studies, the form itself has received only limited attention, and never been comprehensively defined. This anomaly is addressed here by investigating three main topic areas: the variety of attitudes to sacred music within the Roman Catholic Church, the changing social, political and religious nature of Western societies, and the text of the mass itself. Focusing particularly on the twentieth century, this study brings together selected sources that span eight centuries to show that at each stage of the transition of the liturgical mass to its politicised form it has reflected changing attitudes towards religion in Western societies. While analysis of elements of key transitional concert masses provides the most substantive evidence, as a work of historical musicology that deals with religious as well as musical changes, the research of historians, sociologists and religious studies scholars, among others, has also been drawn upon. In combination, these primary and secondary sources reveal that it was the convergence of a range of human-centred impulses that brought about the establishment of first the concert mass in the later eighteenth century and then the politicised concert mass in the twentieth century. Whereas Renaissance masses presented God to humankind, and concertised masses presented humankind to God, politicised concert masses present humankind to humankind.

This study examines the role of musical tradition in unifying the spiritual itineraries of a globalized religious community. Within the Muridiyya, an important Senegalese Sufi order, the singing of Arabic poetry written by Shaykh Ahmadu... more

This study examines the role of musical tradition in unifying the spiritual itineraries of a globalized religious community. Within the Muridiyya, an important Senegalese Sufi order, the singing of Arabic poetry written by Shaykh Ahmadu Bamba is a fundamental rite of sacred journeys, the most notable of which is the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Touba. At the heart of this pilgrimage is the story of Bamba’s departure on exile, a foundational story powerfully evoked in the singing of the shaykh’s poetry. For Murids in diasporic communities distant from Senegal, the singing of sacred poetry can become a compelling substitute for ritual journey to Touba. Poetic performance can produce and maintain a vital connection to the spiritual home, even when that home has become geographically inaccessible. Through sung poetry, believers in widespread Murid diaspora fulfill a sonic pilgrimage, an acoustic homecoming to their beloved holy city.

Sound and music play a vital role in many religious and spiritual practices around the world. However, they have not been studied considerably in the field of religion or in related disciplines thus far. This article begins to bridge this... more

Sound and music play a vital role in many religious and spiritual practices around the world. However, they have not been studied considerably in the field of religion or in related disciplines thus far. This article begins to bridge this gap by drawing a preliminary cartography of the research field and proposing a transdisciplinary methodological basis for further studies. It includes a survey of the state of research and firmly locates the field within the secular study of religion rather than within phenomenological, theological or religious approaches. The key concepts “sound,” “music” and “religion” are introduced; and the manner in which common perceptions of these concepts have prevented us from noting some of the most interesting phenomena, especially in contemporary religiosity, is discussed. Finally, a spectrum of potential research perspectives that could be covered by future studies is proposed.

"Sinfonia di Salmi" è il titolo della prima, grande opera di musica sacra di Igor’ Stravinskij: un monumentale pezzo per coro e orchestra su testi biblici, composto nel 1930. Un avvincente romanzo sonoro popolato di luci e di ombre, in... more

"Sinfonia di Salmi" è il titolo della prima, grande opera di musica sacra di Igor’ Stravinskij: un monumentale pezzo per coro e orchestra su testi biblici, composto nel 1930. Un avvincente romanzo sonoro popolato di luci e di ombre, in cui l’immagine di un tempo immutabile ed eterno, che evoca la solenne maestosità delle icone bizantine, sembra tranquillamente convivere con la dirompente vitalità ritmica dei riti arcaici e primitivi che aveva dato vita alle sue prime opere.
La possibilità di conciliare in un unico oggetto musicale istanze così diverse, e all’apparenza contraddittorie, ci invita prepotentemente ad attivare un processo di interrogazione, di ricerca di senso. Accogliere il richiamo di questa sfida è il principale obiettivo di questo libro, in cui la realtà sonora di Sinfonia di Salmi viene messa in relazione con i possibili universi di significato che ruotano intorno ad essa.
L’analisi investe questioni di estetica, di poetica e di tecnica compositiva, ma anche di etica e di interpretazione musicale. Ci si interroga sui processi di ascolto, e in particolare sul modo in cui la musica di Stravinskij ci invita a sperimentare un rapporto più consapevole con l’esperienza della temporalità, stimolando la scoperta di nuovi modi di costruire il nostro senso del reale. Fino ad evidenzare la presenza di un orizzonte di pensiero teologico profondamente radicato nell’universo creativo del compositore, al di là del suo effettivo impegno nell’ambito della produzione di musica sacra.

Many universally recognized jazz masters have been drawn toward spirituality and/or religion. Some have fused various sonic elements of religious musics with jazz, while others have been known to musically adapt intellectual or emotional... more

Many universally recognized jazz masters have been drawn toward spirituality and/or religion. Some have fused various sonic elements of religious musics with jazz, while others have been known to musically adapt intellectual or emotional themes found in sacred texts. There are also those who have not only realized an inseparable bond between their music and their faith, but who have found lifelong purpose and fulfillment through spiritual and/or religious discipline. Yusef Lateef, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane not only devoted themselves to the pursuit of musical mastery but also to the pursuit of self-realization. This paper discusses the unique paths each took to get there as well as their similar desire to connect with a deeper part of themselves.

Evyatar Marienberg, “Death, Resurrection, Sacraments, and Myths: Religion Around Sting”, in: Cultural Icons and Cultural Leadership, Edited by Peter Iver Kaufman and Kristin M. S. Bezio, Edward Elgar Publishing, UK and Northampton MA,... more

Evyatar Marienberg, “Death, Resurrection, Sacraments, and Myths: Religion Around Sting”, in: Cultural Icons and Cultural Leadership, Edited by Peter Iver Kaufman and Kristin M. S. Bezio, Edward Elgar Publishing, UK and Northampton MA, 2017, pp. 167-185.

En croisant les approches anthropologique et historique sur la musique, cet article examine certaines routes, acteurs et objets musicaux qui ont accompagné la circulation du rite initiatique gabonais bwiti dans des réseaux et espaces... more

En croisant les approches anthropologique et historique sur la musique, cet article examine certaines routes, acteurs et objets musicaux qui ont accompagné la circulation du rite initiatique gabonais bwiti dans des réseaux et espaces transnationaux. Il démontre que cette circulation transnationale des musiques rituelles s’appuie sur des mobilités anciennes de musiciens, et que si elle s’entrelace avec des démarches de patrimonialisation, elle se déroule principalement en dehors des initiatives de l’Etat-nation. Il s’intéresse à la manière dont l’activité musicale, centrale au déroulement du rituel dans les temples du Gabon, l’est aussi devenue depuis quelques années sous de nouveaux aspects en dehors des frontières du Gabon, dans les cérémonies de bwiti New-Age, ou auprès des Gabonais de l’étranger. Il décrit enfin comment les sonorités et les représentations du bwiti se diffusent via les performances de quelques artistes hip-hop, en lien avec leur affirmation de retour aux sources et de réafricanisation. Finalement, cet article réfléchit au rôle de la musique dans la mise à disposition de fragments d’une religion dont la transnationalisation en tant que telle reste entravée par diverses barrières.