Church Music

Distinguishing secular and religious music.

By Harold B. Hannum

There are several kinds of secular music, just as there are several kinds of secular literature. The cheap popular type, we are all agreed, should be shunned as unworthy of a Christian's attention; but there is a wealth of secular music which is well written and which is worthy of our attention, just as there is much that is helpful in secular literature. Of course we must be temperate in all things, and not become so absorbed in good music as to neglect the spir­itual life and the salvation of souls. Our objective in this world must never be sacrificed to anything secular; but that fact does not close all the beauties of art, literature, music, etc., to the Christian's enjoyment.

By secular music I mean music which has a secular association in our minds, for I am of the opinion that music in itself is neither religious nor secular to us except as we interpret it through our environment, or educa­tion, or tradition, or its association with religious or secular words. In my study of music history, I find that so-called "religious" music of many ancient nations, including the He­brews, has very little of the spirit of modern "religious" music. According to our standards today, such music would be called "secular," yet it was "religious" to those peoples. The "sa­cred" music of the Orient does not always sound sacred to us. The He­brews used cymbals and trumpets and drums in their religious services,—instruments which are clearly associated with military music in our day. The Romans used the organ in their festivals, and the early Christians for­bade its use because of secular or rather pagan associations; but until recently the organ has always sug­gested religious music to us.

Mr. Edmund S. Lorenz, an authority on church music, says that the appeal of music is a nervous appeal; that is, musical sound appeals to us through the nervous system, and because of this it is essentially nonmoral. He says, "It has no moral, religious, or even cultural value of its own. It sim­ply intensifies what it finds associated with it in environment, associated ex­ercises, or in text. In so far as it is out of harmony with these, it produces nervous and mental distress."

I firmly believe that many of the great masters have given us composi­tions which are truly uplifting and ennobling. On the other hand, many of the masters have written music which the world accepts, but which the Christian must avoid because of its degrading influence. This Is also true of the world's literature outside the realm of the rejected cheap novels and the like. We cannot accept all the world's great music any more than we can accept all its great literature or its so-called science.

Religious or sacred music, then, is music with which we associate reli­gious thoughts. I find many gems in classical music that are religious to me, but most of the classical composi­tions have a secular association in my mind. All such music I avoid in choosing organ numbers for church use. I make it a practice to choose music for the church service which will not suggest the opera, the theater, the secular concert, or anything secu­lar. Music must be judged by its in­fluence and by its suggestiveness.

On the other hand, you can see how possible it would be to have two com­positions, both similarly written, but one unfit for church use because of its worldly association, and the other en­tirely free from any worldly sugges­tion. Could we trace the history of many of our hymn tunes, we should be surprised to learn that some were orig­nally secular love songs; but since they have entirely lost this association in our generation, and since they con­form to what we now consider reli­gious music, there is no objection to their use. If music is helpful and spiritual in its effect, it can be safely used.

Recently I found two helpful books on the subject of music in the church, which I can recommend to our min­isters. They are "Church Music" and "Music in Work and Worship," both by E. S. Lorenz, published by Revell. The first book, "Church Music," is es­pecially good, although both are excel­lent.

Berrien, Springs, Mich.


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By Harold B. Hannum

December 1932

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