The Bible and Music

Last night I got to see the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and orchestra perform Stravinsky Symphony of Psalms & Williams  Dona Nobis Pacem. I thoroughly enjoyed the concert, as it was my first exposure to both of these works. The Stravinsky was especially cool to me because I knew he has a reputation for having “weird” music (because he doesn’t follow typical chord structure and frequents dissonance in his harmonies) and seeing musicians play live I could see who was really into it or completely hated it. Another thing I noticed is that the Symphony of Psalms has a non standard orchestral instrumentation, most notably no upper strings or clarinet.

The second piece featured two singer soloists who were absolutely moving. The piece had an overwhelming feel of worship and getting to see it up close and personal was amazing. I really appreciated the musicians and could see them really enjoying themselves throughout the performance.

Listening to the conductor and the former Jordan Art’s Director added a whole new layer to the experience of the performance. I was somewhat familiar with some of the music theory discussion on certain chords and general sheet music terms because I have taken band for a majority of my life. Also, learning more about the conductor’s inspiration and the history of the piece was interesting because I’ve become familiar with some of those famous names in music from travelling abroad and going to other concerts.

I thought the Hungarian speaker was very interesting. Since I was raised in a Christian house and community I was never really exposed to Judaism or any smaller aspects of it, like their singing at their services. I thought his story of coming to America was also captivating. I really related to it because my whole family immigrated to the United States roughly when he did, slightly before. Seeing the differences between the traditional Christian hymns and their music was striking. I wouldn’t have guessed their religious music to sound like that. Overall, it was a very neat experience to delve into another religion’s music.

Every Sunday, I attend Catholic Mass either on or off campus. This time at Mass is always very important to me and a great way to close one week and start a next. During Mass, there are readings and the normal traditions. Also, there is always music. The music occurs during various times in the Mass.

I notice more and more how much the music adds to the Mass. The music highlights important times and adds more emotion when it’s needed. When I attend off campus Mass, the organ and choir really make the Mass much more “real”. Trying to picture Church without music, doesn’t seem right. The congregation should be more grateful for the gift of music. I am realizing the importance more and more each time I attend Mass.

Wednesday in class we had a guest speaker. It was very interesting to hear his life story and how being a cantor has affected his life. I enjoyed his take and perception of music. He has such great dedication for his job. It is more a lifestyle and passion than just a job for him. It gave me a new look on how I view music from other religions. I enjoyed hearing all about the women cantors and how they are able to hold positions now. Their voices were so beautiful. It was very different from my religion where women cannot really hold positions of power. I enjoyed learning more about this position in Judaism since I really only know about the history and not actual positions that can be held. Overall, I would love to hear more about the music of Judaism and would love to have more guest speakers give their interpretation of their religion’s music.

I personally enjoyed the cantor lecture most because of the comparisons and contrasts between Jewish tradition and my own Catholic experience. One of the biggest differences I noticed was that Jewish services are still sung in Hebrew whereas most Catholic masses have all but forgotten Latin. Catholic churches mainly reserve Latin for he most formal holy days, and sometimes not even then. There are really only a handful of Catholic churches in North America that still say full Latin masses. Even though Catholics don’t sing in the traditional language of their religion they still rely on music not only to move the service along but to also celebrate their tradition much like Giora Sharon said in his lecture.

Yesterday we had a guest speaker, a cantor from a Jewish temple. It was very interesting to hear the more religious side of music from someone who has devoted his life to it. I found it compelling that women cantors are a relatively new addition to the religious scene. I thought the music sung by a woman cantor was somehow more moving. When paired with deep, religious music female cantors have a more impactful singing voice, I think. But I thought that the most beautiful songs were the ones sung by an entire choir.

Mr. Sharon came in to the class yesterday and spoke a lot about his life as a cantor. You could tell just from listening to him that it was something he was extremely passionate about. He said something that really stuck with me when introducing himself. He said “If you don’t wake up in the morning feeling like you can’t live without singing, then find something else to do.” To me, that reiterated some decisions I have made with trying to choose a career after college. I want to be able to do something I am passionate about; I want to wake up each morning happy about going to work instead of dreading it. In a sense Mr. Sharon is like a living example of what this class entails. He dedicated his entire life to the Bible and music and although there were some things (like women) he was not too fond of at first, he grew to love their work. It was also interesting to see the contrast between the male and female cantors. His presentation was beautiful, I can’t wait to hear from others that live life with such passion about music as well as The Bible.

A hungarian cantor came in and spoke to the class today about his life, Cantor Giora Sharon. He is Jewish, and explained how he is the fourth generation cantor in his family. He talked to us about how being a cantor is more than just singing or knowing the readings, it’s a passionate thing. He knew he was going to be a cantor from the age of 4 and has been one for 47 years. He even went so far as to saw that the profession chose him, which I found to be really cool. This guy is so in tune with his faith and passionate about it that he has spent basically his entire life dedicated to praising and sharing the word of God with other people in synagogues all over the world. Mr. Sharon is what I believe to be a living example  and personification of what this class, The Bible and Music, is.

In class today, we had Cantor Giora Sharon as our guest speaker. Mr. Sharon was born in Hungary and was a professional cantor for 47 years. His love and passion for being a cantor was passed through 4 generations of his family and he knew he wanted to carry it on at age 4. I thought it was incredible that Cantor Giora knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life at just 4 years old, which shows the time and commitment he has put into being a Jewish Cantor. In addition to being a cantor, Giora has lived another career of being an opera singer. One of the quotes that I found inspirational was when Cantor Sharon was talking about how his work was his whole lifestyle and he said, “If you wake up and realize this isn’t the only thing you want to do or you couldn’t die for singing…then don’t do it.” He was reflecting on the importance of revealing his emotion when he is singing to gain the audience attention. Gaining the audience attention can be feeling their sadness at a funeral for the loss of a loved on or keeping it interesting throughout a 4 hour long Jewish service.

When Cantor Giora began to talk about the history of how his profession originated, I remember him talking about how he did not want women to become cantors when he first started. After a few short years of working with women, he changed his mind. The five pieces of music that we listened to in class were very powerful and each one expressed a different emotion. Personally, I enjoyed the unknown artist one that had no background choir. Giora said the author was most likely Polish or Jewish, and the music sounded incredible. It was a slower pace, yet the pitch and voice of this cantor revealed how much emotion he put into his work. Cantor Giora Sharon showed his passion and love for his career when he was speaking, which confirms my thoughts on his dedication over his lifetime as having the lifestyle of a Jewish Cantor.