The Bible and Music

John Rutter, unlike the other composers that we have looked at this semester, is an agnostic. Although he is an agnostic, his works are based on sacred texts and other religious topics. Rutter was never a religious person, but still made really moving religious music. This poses the question: do you need to have a personal faith in order to write religious music? To this question, I would answer “no”. There are several artists, now, that sing or write songs that do not directly apply to their own situations. The artists that do this may not be moved by their music, but those that can relate to the music are. If the music does not apply to them, that does not mean that the music does not apply to someone else. Even though John Rutter was not religious, his music was still capable of moving his religious listeners. For this reason, I believe that a composer does not have to have a personal faith in order to successfully write religious music.