The Bible and Music

I listened to the video of “Tribute to Caesar” by Arvo part. This video is about seven minutes long and I listened to its entirety about three times. The background information regarding this song is it was composed in 1997, which marked the 35oth anniversary of Karistad, Sweden diocese. One of the reviews I saw about this piece and that I agreed with was the prayerful musical devotion that it embraces. The song is rather slow in beat and reminded me a lot of prayer music. It had a mixture of male and female voices, but the mixture was composed in a way that made it more peaceful in my experience listening. The music was engaging and it was easy for me to close my eyes and visualize it. I enjoyed listening to this piece by Arvo Part and the soothing effect it had on me. The setting of the text goes back to the Gospel and St. Matthew. “Tribute to Caesar” does not have any real instruments that stand out, but the mixed choir is the focus of the music. Before listening to this, I would have never guessed that I would enjoy this song without any instruments and just choral voices.