2/6/21

The Heart of the Matter

Practice and Theology
of Church Music
Dr. Mark Harbold
Professor of Music
Elmhurst University
Chicago, USA

Dr. Paul Westermeyer Credit where credit is due

•  I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Rev. Dr. •  This talk relies heavily on his 1988 book,
Paul Westermeyer, the HOD who hired me The Church Musician (Augsburg Press).
at Elmhurst & became a significant mentor. •  Most of what I am presenting here derives
•  After Elmhurst, Dr. Paul created a new from Dr. Paul’s ideas on church music.
Masters program in Church Music at •  Any unidentified quotes come directly from
Luther-Northwestern Seminary in St. Paul his book.
MN, in cooperation with my alma mater, St.
Olaf College.

So you’re a church musician? High aspirations!

•  Do you dread waking up early on Sunday
morning?
•  Do you feel you’re just going through the
motions, grinding out the music for another
Sunday service?
•  Why are you there in the first place?
•  You started with high hopes and aspirations
•  But you’ve settled into a routine
•  It’s the same people every week
–  The out-of-tune soprano, the alto with her snide
comments, the always too-loud tenor, the bass
who’s always a half-beat late
•  Why do you do it?

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Why keep at it?
•  Society doesn’t value what you do
–  Music is just an entertainment
–  Professional musicians look down their noses
•  Your church may not value what you do
–  Pastors who ask too much of you but don’t
appreciate what you’re going through
–  Church members all want the music they like!
Obstacles to training?
•  Availability? You have to find it
•  Fear? I’m not good enough? Not worthy?
–  All are worthy! Possibilities for growth are
crucial for you and your church!
•  Time & Money?
–  Scarce commodities
–  Sacrifice and dedication are necessary
Questions of faith?
•  Other musicians may also have a sense of
calling, of vocation
–  But they don’t have to believe in what they do
–  This makes church musicians unique
•  You are always dealing with a community
of faith
–  The song you lead is the song of their faith
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Money & Time?
•  Budget for new music, innovation? Ha!
•  Choir of volunteers making sacrifices to be
there, and you are also a volunteer!
–  Working another job to pay bills, raise a family
•  Church job squeezed in between other
things, when you’re already tired
•  Little time for study, practice, planning
Training options?
•  Workshops, lessons, classes (?)
•  In U.S., a college music major with courses
in church music
–  These are becoming harder to find in U.S.!
Faith qualifications?
•  Music leaders from the congregation only?
–  Many advantages, but qualified musicians are
not always there
•  You can serve another church if you:
–  Are secure in your faith, know what the church
believes, and can honor their faith experience
•  Matters of faith are precious treasures!
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Moving beyond the “grind”
•  What is your calling?
–  Paul Westermeyer uses the word cantor to
define the church musician’s role
–  The chief “singer,” leads the people in singing
–  Long tradition, from synagogue to early church
to Lutherans & Anglicans to Puritans & beyond
–  Bach was a cantor!
Cantor solves the dilemma
•  Points to practices of early church
–  Helps avoid differences that separate
denominations
•  Many historic precedent’s for cantor’s role
–  Part of a long, revered tradition
•  Places the people’s song front & center
Cantor’s Task?
•  Simple & complex; marvelously varied!
•  The simplest amateur expression
–  Small congregation singing hymns in unison
•  The most perfect professional performance
–  Large complex assembly with choir, band,
orchestra doing richly complex music
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Modern terms?
•  Modern terms obscure the role of cantor
–  Choir director, organist, soloist, Director of
Music – all suggest concert performance
–  Pastoral musician, Minister of Music – better at
highlighting pastoral role of church musician’s
job, but still doesn’t define the role
Who is a cantor?
•  Cantor is a person who leads the people in
song, whether as:
–  Organist leading hymns and liturgy
–  Song leader or choir director conducting the
congregation
–  Singer in the choir that leads the congregation
–  Guitar player leading the singing
Bring all your creativity
•  The most creative musicians will never
cease to be challenged
•  Can be done by men, women, & youth
•  For the part-time amateur or the full-time
J.S. Bach
•  One of the most rewarding things you will
ever do!
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Two broad needs
•  Knowing the story
–  Story of God who acts throughout human
history
–  How music helps tell the story
•  Making music with the people
–  Whether as singer, choir director, organist,
pianist, instrumentalist
What is the story?
–  Creation & human rebellion against God’s love
–  Deliverance from bondage in Egypt
–  Covenant
–  Prophets who spoke God’s searing word of love
and judgment
–  Just and wise yet rebellious kings
What is the story? (3)
•  A broken, hungry, warring yet celebrative
world in need of the love the Creator so
graciously offers
•  A human history enveloped in and
surrounded by the love of God in Christ
–  Despite all appearances to the contrary
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Cantors must know the story
•  Beliefs separate denominations, but behind
beliefs is a story
•  What is the fundamental story, the central
story behind the beliefs?
What is the story? (2)
•  The Word made flesh
–  God among us as teacher, servant, crucified and
risen Lord
•  The Church as Christ’s body
–  Redeemed, filled with Christ’s spirit, striving to
be what Christ was, but failing … and forgiven
Awesome story!
•  Preachers, theologians, & everyday
Christians still ask what every detail means
•  Each generation, each denomination
emphasizes a different part of the story
•  Easy to get lost in the details
•  Cantors cannot lose sight of the plot!
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Perspective
•  Need not know every theological detail
•  Avoid latest fads & narrow perspectives
•  Need to know the story’s broad outlines and
main themes
•  Songs must be placed in their context within
the story
The key
“The key to every canticle, hymn, anthem,
passion, motet, cantata, and spiritual is finding
its place in the story.”
Importance of trust
•  Minister to the needs of the people
•  Psalms can play a critical role!
–  Something for every human experience
–  My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
(Psalm 22:1)
–  You have turned my wailing into dancing, you
have … and clothed me with joy! (Psalm
30:12-13)
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Context
•  Psalms make sense if you know the history
of the Israelites
•  Bach’s Cantata 140 (Wake, Awake)
–  Written for end of church year
–  Anticipates Advent AND Second Coming
•  O Mary, don’t you weep, don’t you mourn
–  Refers to victory over Egyptians AND Christ’s
victory over Death
Other stories
•  What music does your congregation listen
to outside of church?
•  What is the ethnic makeup of your church?
•  What are the individual stories of the people
in your church? Struggles, joys?
•  What is the story of the congregation?
–  Founding, history, etc.
It’s all important
•  Must know both the big story of God’s
mighty acts and the other stories of your
congregation
•  Without the big story, it’s hopeless!
•  Without the other stories, you work in a
vacuum and cannot minister effectively
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Making music with the people
•  Need native ability, technical training, and
practice ... in that order!
•  No need to be a genius!
–  You need only the skills the situation demands
–  People’s song is the central focus
•  If that includes songs beyond the cantor’s
skill set, cantor must develop their skills!
Life-long projects
•  Knowing the story & developing skills
–  “The story is so rich in meaning that it can
never be fully understood, and its implications
are new every morning.”
–  “The skills can never be fully developed, for
with each skill you learn, a whole new set is
suggested and needs to be worked out.”
How to start?
•  Since cantor’s learning is life long:
–  Why not start now? All you need is enough
understanding of the story and enough skill to
serve a given congregation
–  Learn by doing, but find a teacher or mentor
–  Take lessons, courses, workshops
–  Attend mentor’s worship services
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Continuous skill development
•  Anything less than excellence is disruptive
•  Both amateurs & professionals must
practice to develop skills!
•  Every cantor can do an excellent job ... if
skills are matched to the situation
•  Job is same for skilled musician & amateur
–  Serve the people & practice to accomplish that
Sound frustrating?
•  Actually it is the delight of the position!
–  “There is always something new to learn, something
new to do, a new hymn, a new anthem, a new
harmonization, a new skill, a new insight, a new tone
color or tempo, something stimulating that suggests
another way to understand and express the song. Life-
long learning is built into the cantor’s responsibility—
learning as varied as the designs of a kaleidoscope.”
Anticipate problems
•  Church traditions, practices, & schedules
are not yours to change unilaterally
•  You’re working with volunteers & amateurs
–  Be kind and affirming wherever appropriate
•  Economic issues are unavoidable
–  Do your job! “All you really need are [good]
people, your creativity, and the Spirit of God.”
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Perfectionism? God demands our best!

•  Stop thinking like an individual artist
–  Artistic ideals are important, but the goal is not
perfection.
–  The people’s song is for participating, not for
listening only.
–  “Even God did not hold his perfect divinity
from us, but compromised to take on our
imperfect humanity.”
–  Choral standards same as for best choirs!
–  Organist & instrumentalists must prepare every
hymn carefully!
–  Must choose worthy & durable music
•  God is present when Christ’s body gathers!
–  Tension between God’s perfection & imperfect
humanity

What is the people’s song? Song of praise

•  Song of praise •  At the works of your hands I sing for joy.
•  Song of prayer (Psalm 92)
•  Song of proclamation •  O sing to the Lord a new song. (Psalm 98)
•  Story •  Come into His presence with singing.
•  A Gift of God (Psalm 100)
•  Let everything that has breath praise the
Lord. (Psalm 150)

Martin Luther & Song of praise
“God has made our hearts and spirits happy
through His dear Son, whom He has delivered
up that we might be redeemed from sin, death,
and the devil. He who believes this sincerely
and earnestly cannot help but be happy; he
must cheerfully sing.”
Karl Barth & Song of praise
“The praise of God which constitutes the
community seeks ... to be expressed, to well up
and be sung [together]. It is not a choral
society. Its singing is not a concert. But from
inner, material necessity it sings ... What we
can and must say quite confidently is that the
community which does not sing is not the
community.”

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Song of prayer
•  Solesmes school calls Gregorian chant a
“way of reaching up to God”
•  John Calvin discusses church song in the
section on prayer in his Institutes
•  Many Protestant hymns are prayers
–  Breathe on me, breath of God; Take my life and
let it be; I need thee ev’ry hour; Come, holy
spirit, come
Luther & Song of proclamation
“St. Paul ... in his Epistle to the Colossians ...
insists that Christians appear before God with
psalms and spiritual songs which emanate
from the heart, in order that through these the
Word of God and Christian doctrine may be
preached, taught, and put into practice.”
Deliverance from Egypt
Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this
song to the Lord, saying,“I will sing to the
Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the
horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and my song, and he
has become my salvation; this is my God, and
I will praise him, my father's God, and I will
exalt him. (Exodus 15:1-2)
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Song of proclamation
•  “But be filled with the Spirit, addressing one
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs” (Ephesians 5:18b-19a)
•  “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly,
teaching and admonishing one another in all
wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to
God.” (Colossians 3:16)
Story
•  When the people of God recount recount the
history of God’s mighty acts, they sing!
–  Even the morning stars “sang together” at
Creation!
–  “Who laid its cornerstone, when the morning
stars sang together and all the sons of God
shouted for joy?” (Job 38:6b-7)
God has done marvelous things
•  Reason for the psalmists’ songs of praise?
–  Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has
done marvelous things! (Psalms 98:1)
•  David's Song of Thanks
–  Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing
to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his
wondrous works! (1st Chronicles 16:8-9)
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Magnificat
“My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit
rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked
on the humble estate of his servant. For
behold, from now on all generations will call
me blessed; for he who is mighty has done
great things for me, and holy is his
name.” (Luke 1:46-49)
Why the Story? Why sing it?
–  “For the Christian the event of Jesus stands at
the center of the story and is its key. It radically
alters and fulfills all personal laments,
thanksgivings, struggles, and visions, and …
gives meaning to past and present.”
–  “A group who sings together becomes one and
remembers its story, and therefore who it is, in
a particularly potent way.”
Luther on God’s gift
•  “Luther was forever amazed that music, this
‘unique gift of God’s creation,’ comes from
‘the sphere of miraculous audible things,’
just like the word of God.”
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Zechariah’s prophecy
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited
and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of
salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as
he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of
old, that we should be saved from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy
promised to our fathers and to remember his holy
covenant, the oath that he swore to our father
Abraham. (Luke 1:68-72)
A gift of God
•  Church’s song, like music, is a gift of God
•  A joy and delight with which God graces
creation
–  “We do not deserve it. It is simply freely given,
there for the hearing, a joyous overflow of
creation’s goodness.”
Calvin on God’s gift
•  Calvin asserts “music’s power to uplift,
transform, refresh, and recreate the heart
and soul” when he calls music a “gift of
God deputed” for “recreating man and
giving him pleasure.”
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Gelineau on God’s gift

•  “Music is ‘God’s daughter,’ given to
humanity to signify the love of Christ.”
•  Eastern Orthodox Church
–  Music can “reflect the harmony of heaven” and
“can provide us with a foretaste of the splendor
of the Age to come.” The End

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