The Bible and Music

The first talking point in class today was over the topic of the beginning of the Romantic period in music. This era came after classical music and Beethoven marked the shift of conveying emotion in music. We discussed the truth about how music always is connected with emotion and people use this emotion to display their inner feelings. Following this conversation, we listened to “Dark I am Yet Lovely” by an Irish singer named Sinead O’Connor. O’Connor’s song has reference to biblical words and stories from the bible.

Romantic music has been popular since it has been created, one large part due to people’s basic need for love and the metaphors/allegories that are included. In “Song of Songs,” I found it that it is also known as “Song of Solomon.” This piece of music also displays love poetry. One key factor you have to consider when listening to romantic music is that it differs throughout cultures and the interpretations from the listeners. It definitely can change with the time frame of the composing music too. For example, in “Song of Songs” there is a line that says, “Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn, coming up from the washing.” Who would say this to their girlfriend now? Nobody. Although “Song of Songs” produced plenty of imagery, modern audiences may depict the words different. The last interesting part of this piece was how they have two speakers and it is evident when it changes. Many older texts and songs in Hebrews that embraced love had more than one speaker.