BY KLAUS DÖRING
RELIGIOUS music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual.
Religious songs have been described as a source of strength, as well as a means of easing pain, improving one’s mood, and assisting in the discovery of meaning in one’s suffering. While style and genre vary broadly across traditions, religious groups still share a variety of musical practices and techniques.
Music unites the congregation so that God is worshipped with one voice. A wide variety of music is used in Christian worship including hymns, psalms, choral music, gospel songs, contemporary music and instrumental music, played for meditation and reflection.
Yes, both belong together like a fish and an ocean, light and life, the voice and the ear. In the entire universe, we humans are probably the only beings capable of creating and hearing music. The ability to hear is one of the specific gifts that our Creator gave us.
Our fragile blue planet is surrounded by a thin layer of gases only a few kilometers high. Only this atmosphere is the reason why sound waves can spread through the air. Everything behind this atmosphere is ruled by the sheer endless vacuum of outer space, where galaxies and stars explode and implode in impenetrable silence.
According to the biblical narrative, the world began when God broke through this deadly quiet: “And God said: Let there be light!” (Genesis 1:1). God spoke – and light and life resulted from His audible voice.
Because life was created by the word, it depends on the word. That is why it is in the nature of every person to listen. Like a parabolic mirror, our souls are created to listen to the eternal space of the hereafter, to try and sense whether a word, a sound or a voice is trying to reach us from there, in order to fill us with meaning.
I love music. I can’t live without them. Hold on, this is not one of my earlier columns in this paper. But from time to time, I need to express myself if it comes to this topic. And, I know that Filipinos love big tunes with great words and beautiful melodies, especially when it comes to classical music.
I experienced this many times during the last 25 years while hosting several radio shows with classical music and inspirational thoughts.
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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdoringsclassicalmusic.blogspot.com./PN
