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What Is Spiritual Music?

by Nov 16, 2020Blog0 comments

What Is Spiritual Music?
When it comes to spiritual music, it covers broad definitions and examples. The ancient religious texts include hymns and songs that praise the author’s thoughts of divinity. When people listen to spiritual music, it can take them out of their normal state and brings them into a deep experience of love and relatedness.

There are times that spiritual music expresses hope to turn difficult situations into something better and more unconstrained. Music, particularly spiritual music, can be considered a powerful way of expressing your religious devotion. At the same time, it can provide a soothing remedy to the human spirit, especially for those who are currently going through a personal struggle.

Definitions of Spiritual Music

One of the ancient definitions of spiritual music is taken from the Bible, specifically in Ephesians 5:19, “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord…” To further elaborate on the meaning of “spiritual music”, we will refer to the definition of the soul.

The soul refers to the intellectual or emotional intensity or energy, particularly as expressed in artistic performance or a work of art. Soul music illustrates this definition. According to Nick Pell, the soul pertains to the music that speaks to the soul, which is a certain part of our consciousness that makes us human beings. In this article, we will define “spiritual music” as the music with an emotional and intellectual intensity that prompts listeners to feel something more.

History of Spiritual Music

Most of the psalms that are found in the Bible includes some untranslatable notes for singers and performers. The Song of Solomon examines the integration of material and spiritual that took place in the relationship between two lovers. Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, and Shinto practitioners have composed spiritual music to reveal their deepest desires and deep gratitude for their multiple conceptions of deity.

African American slaves sing spiritual songs as a way to harmonize their movements with one another as well as to keep their focus on something higher instead of physical bondage.

Functions of Spiritual Music

Functions of Spiritual Music
On the part of the African American slaves, singing spiritual music is a way of expressing the pains that they suffered in life and to show that they are yearning for something more. Some examples of spiritual songs are “Wade in the Water” and “Swing Low Sweet Chariot,” which conveys the hope and the ways of breaking free of slavery through the underground railroad.

Spiritual music signifies infinite gratitude and intense happiness that originates from spiritual and religious experiences such as getting controlled by a Vodou lwa, becoming one with Christ, or seeing through visions in Zen meditation.

Examples of Spiritual Music

G.I. Gurdjieff, a spiritual teacher, regarded himself as a teacher of sacred dances. He loves composing piano music that will be used in complementing the movements of the dancers he trained. In “Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson”, he implied that the music that he composed was created with extremely specific patterns that associate with patterns in the physiology of listeners. The author of the “American Book of the Dead,” E.J. Gold, utilized several instruments and musical genres just to reveal his teachings about the afterlife and beyond.

One of the greatest examples of expressing spirituality through music is Native American drumming. The drummers harmonize with one another and reveal the origin stories of their tribe as well as their intimate relationships with the Great Spirit. Krishna followers conduct kirtans, which refers to spiritual songs in which the performer will sing it as a call and the audience replies. Contemporary Christian musicians declare their love and devotion to Jesus in almost every musical genre.

Considerations for Spiritual Music

Classifying music whether it is spiritual or non-spiritual would not accomplish anything in terms of personal spiritual experiences. You have to explore your collection of music so you can begin configuring your idea of what actually comprises spiritual music. Try to think about what kind of music can move you. Focus on how the music affects your inner state. Try to figure out your feelings about music. If you feel profound compassion, inspiration, happiness, or yearning towards the music, then it has spiritual content for you.

Why Spiritual Music Is Important?

Why Spiritual Music Is Important?
In the article that James MacMillan wrote about sacred songs, he states that “all through the years, musicians are proven to be midwives of faith, carrying their gifts to the historic challenge of encouraging the faithful to worship.” Specifically, he focused on the fact that most often it is through the medium of music that people can feel that something inside them has awakened.

Throughout the time, some of the fundamental purposes of the church have been to inspire congregations to worship, to contemplate their inner selves as well as the association they have with God. According to the former dean of King’s College at Cambridge, Reverend Dr. Jeremy Morris, he has something akin to this idea.

The King’s College is most famous for its famous choir and the most acclaimed Festival of Nine Lessons & Carols service which is held yearly during Christmas Eve. In referencing this service, which is admired by a lot of people, he proclaimed that its primary purpose was based around worshipping God. Nevertheless, beyond that, the goal of the music was to help people stay away from the craziness and commercialism of the season so that they can concentrate on the ultimate things. Consequently, pondering upon these ultimate matters seemed to be encouraged and furthered by these spiritual songs.

What Is Your Idea of Spiritual Life?

There are a lot of people who believe that faith is confined and that it is a brainwashing agent for individuals who subscribe to it. MacMillan’s own idea of the spiritual life in today’s culture states that there is sufficient anecdotal proof which points to extensive distress felt by religious people in the world.

These individuals are being confronted by prejudice and ignorance since being religious is criticized as being narrow-minded, bigoted, and reactionary, based on the new secular, liberal orthodoxy. A complacent ignorance, a heavy oversimplification and caricature that represents an analytical comprehension of religion, would be the basic intellectual currency.

Although this perspective will be considered as an “intellectual currency” in the present day, faith is actually a personal matter for people who embrace it. Furthermore, even if it is defined in a lot of ways, numerous spiritual people would likely recognize music as an essential catalyst for propagating religion, attracting reflection, and used as a vehicle for bringing them into a place of beauty, mystery, and grace.

For instance, let’s take a look at King’s and the Christmas Eve service. This sacred service brings together people from different parts of the world by tuning in to their radio transmission. During this 90-minute broadcast, people who are in their kitchens and living rooms throughout the earth have managed to listen to the clear voices of men and boys singing famous carols which consists of words that reflect Christ’s birth.

Spiritual Music Is Inspiring

Spiritual Music Is Inspiring

For several years now, this choir has been directed by David Willcocks. His son, Jonathan Willcocks, has recognized the role of this father in this place as the custodian of an excellent tradition. The current manager of this choir, Stephen Cleobury, has given him the task of conducting the choir as well as selecting the songs for this momentous event.

Willcocks makes sure that the choir sings pieces that integrate well with the particular readings for the service. Additionally, those pieces will inspire listeners to actually concentrate on the messages of the texts and focus on their religion.

Whether the choirs are singing in small churches across America or popular services such as at King’s on Christmas Eve, the tradition of choir singing is beautiful and essential. Stepping into a quiet church is a unique experience that cannot be duplicated. You slide yourself into a pew and remove all distractions.

Afterward, you shut your eyes, but your ears remain open. Additionally, you are trying to concentrate on something, which is extensive listening. What will happen afterward is something that cannot be explained.

Perhaps MacMillan’s explanation for music is the best. Music provides us a glimpse of something beyond the perspective of materialism or our contemporary values. So, what is music after all? Actually, it is something that cannot be seen, cannot be touched nor cannot be consumed. However, its obvious presence can make you feel it not only in a physical manner but in means that can reach down into the abyss of the soul.

Do you know what music is? Does this refer to the notes that we can see on the webpage? If this is the case then how can we associate those bizarre, black, static symbols combined with the intense, sometimes convulsive emotions aggravated when the subsequent sounds come to our brains, minds, bodies, and inner selves?

Angelus Music dedicates their time to those who enjoy listening to sacred music. For more information about our products, feel free to contact us at https://www.angelusmusic.com/contact-us/.

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