Worship Class: Week 5 - Special Music & Choral Singing Introduction
So much of music and the forms it takes in worship can be borne out of preferences and our own experiences.
Music employed in worship must be biblically rooted and intentional.
Music is one of the most glorious ways that we worship in one voice.
Music is not a separate element of liturgy; rather, it is a mode or manner of performing the different elements of liturgy (praise/thanks, confession of sin, supplication/intercession, etc.)
Deuteronomy 32 records the “Song of Moses” and Deuteronomy 33 records the “Blessing”
Miriam (Exodus 15) and Deborah (Judges 5) issue prophetic imperatives to sing to the LORD for triumphing gloriously.
Hannah’s song of praise (1 Sam. 2:1-10) is the first example of an Israelite song delivered at the sanctuary.
Other uses of “special music”
Myriads of uses outside of traditional corporate worship
All of this is in addition to the regular singing and playing of music in the sanctuary (Psalm 150) and all witness to the power of music that honors the LORD on many occasions through a variety of what were considered religious activities (including ordinary life as a response of worship to the LORD).
David’s influence
David employed music in worship with his plans to move the ark of the covenant to where the temple was to be built (1 Chron. 15:11-16).
David organized the guilds of singers and musicians for temple worship in addition to writing many psalms used in worship including those for special occasions (e.g. Psalm 70).
David appointed Levites as ministers “to remind, and to acknowledge and the praise the LORD God of Israel” (1 Chron. 16:4). The singers and musicians were assigned the ministry of presenting or accompanying the various expressions of the faith of the people.
Gatekeepers had a musical part in the liturgy, for some of the Psalms are liturgies for the entrance to the sanctuary (Ps. 24:3-6; 118:19-27).
Because Asaph was the chief choir director, many compositions were deposited with him for use in the sanctuary
NOTE: Official singers would offer praise (Psalm 68:25), and so would the congregation (Ezra 3:11) and individuals (Ex. 15:20-21; Ps. 51:14).
The Psalms
The Psalms call worshippers to sing to the LORD and for them to respond to being lead into worship.
A litany is a series of petitions or praises in worship, recited or sung by those leading the services and responded to in recurring formulas by the people.
1 Corinthians 14:26-27 suggests that individuals spontaneously offered songs to the assembly during the course of worship.
The liturgical role of the congregation (or smaller groups of it) serves to reflect the governing images of biblical worship. Rev. 14 – the 144,000 singing praises (a new song) before the throne.
Church History
The earliest singers in the church were lectors who proclaimed the Scripture by singing it
Cantors believed their vocation was for the glory of God and the edification of the church, not a manipulative technique or entertaining element
Solo singing by musically gifted members of the gathered church is the most clearly attested official musical role during the first three centuries of the Church
The earliest reports from the NT and from the 2nd and 3rd centuries suggest that singing was most common at meals, whether the Eucharist or a love feast.
The 4th and 5th centuries saw the emergence of lector chant with congregational response in unison to express the unity of the church.
Group singing (mostly monks but also groups of laypersons) gained more prominence in the 5th-6th centuries. Reports show a wide variety of solo and choral practices from responsive psalms to antiphonal singing (including non-biblical refrains) to hymn singing by the congregation, choirs, and soloists.
Responsive singing was employed during the Supper in the early church but started to fade out of common worship in the 8th century with the onset of more choral singing during the Eucharist.
Only during the high and late Middle Ages did any instrumental musicians gain a significant liturgical role (Polyphony also became more prominent)
More rhythmic music started to become incorporated in the 13th and 14th centuries along with the increasing use of the organ and other instruments
Liturgical Examples
The Offering: special music?
In the offering, we respond to God by offering our whole lives to God with renewed faith, love, gratitude, and commitment. We do this not only by offering our money to God but also our praise in song sung by the choir or by the congregation as a whole (responsive singing for the offering is historically and biblically rooted).
Communion singing: special music?
It is an extremely ancient and widespread practice from the early and medieval church periods. Singing in communion was normal until the Reformation.
This makes sense within the sacrificial system, in that song accompanied not only the ascension offering but the peace offering (i.e., the sacrificial meal) as well (2 Chron 29-30).
Meals with God are always joyful corporate/social celebrations of peace and friendship with God.
A note on style
Becoming mono-stylistic in musical sources (e.g., only classic hymns; only praise-and-worship music; only gospel) or forms of accompaniment (e.g., piano only; guitar only) will constrain the range of a church’s emotional and liturgical palette.
