Caution: Handle With Care

Recently in church we sang the Matt Redman song “Blessed Be Your Name.”  At the moment of this posting, the song is currently ranked #3 on the ccli top 100 most popular songs sung in evangelical churches today (behind the vapid Chris Tomlin song “How Great is Our God” and Hillsong’s aimlessly meandering “Mighty to Save”).  I happen to like “Blessed Be Your Name,” from a corporate worship perspective, because it addresses some tough concepts that many songs today do not.  The song is loosely based on the end of Job Chapter 1, where the persecuted believer famously cries, “The LORD giveth and the LORD taketh away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”  The song handles this concept well, by alternating between positive and negative experiences in life, having them all point to, and culminate in, God being praised.  Here is the complete text:

Blessed be Your name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in
Lord still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord blessed be Your name

Good words; useful words; true words.

However…..

The last time we sang this song it was completed with applause and cheers from the congregation.  Ideally, I am not opposed to either happening in the context of worship (although I wonder whether it is a spill-over from today’s “church concert” atmosphere), but it seems strange to me after this song.  Personally, I can not conceive of “hootin’ and hollerin’” after contemplating the absolute sovereignty and majesty of God.  Rather, this song drives me to a contrite position of humility and repentance.  It’s easy to be thankful and praise God when the world is “all as it should be,” being grateful for all of the good things in one’s life; but what about the “darkness?”  What about the periods of despair, tragedy, sadness, loss; is it as easy to bless God during those times?  At least to the level of cheering about it as if at a football game?

A pastor friend of mine told me a story of a couple who lost a child.  At the funeral, they sang this song.  With tears running down their faces, they sang “You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be Your name.”  Wow.  Could I do that?  Could I lose one of my children and have the faith to boldly proclaim those words?

Let’s consider Job, of who’s life the song is based on.  One of the richest people of ancient times, he was “blameless and upright.” After losing his servants, his livestock, and his children (ie. everything), Job tears his clothes, shaves his head and falls to the ground uttering his famous words of “the LORD giveth and the Lord taketh away; blessed be the name of the LORD.”  No cheering, no clapping, no “woo-hoos” or shouts of “Yes!!!”

Should this be a cause for concern?  To me it is, because Job’s response to reality isn’t even close to the church’s response of the theoretical.  Most of us will never approach the loss the Job experienced in his life.  So where does the cheering come from?  Simple: the music.  The music is a very upbeat “fun” to sing with it’s simple repetitive chord progression (the same I-V-iv-IV progression as U2′s “With or Without You), syncopated rhythms and relentlessly persistent beat.  The song really “rocks.”  Unfortunately, it strikes me as a case of the music overpowering the text, which, arguably, could lead to a false sense of true worship.

Harsh?  Perhaps.  Judgmental?  I’m sure that I will be accused as such, but it is not my intention.  I am concerned.  I raise this as something to think about, to ponder with prayer and biblical reflection.  The song can be a good tool to reflect on the nature and character of God, but it must be done so properly.  Ultimately, this is my point: when in church, don’t just sing.  Sing and reflect; sing and think.  Mentally engaging with a song in no way diminishes the “worship experience,” if anything it will heighten it, and make one more sensitive to the God that is found in the Scriptures.  Our response to Him must be based on what the Scriptures reveal Him to be.

The Significance of “In Christ Alone”

Keith Getty and Stuart Townend have collaborated on several songs that are sung by congregations around the world, but none has had the impact or the significance of their song “In Christ Alone.”  This song is unique in that it is loved by people across the church music spectrum (traditional, contemporary, blended, whatever in-between).  I attribute the success of the song to a few different factors.

First of all, it features a simple yet lovely melody that is easy to sing and easy to remember.  This melody flows so naturally, and doesn’t have any goofy syncopations or awkward leaps.  The chord progression is predictable, but satisfying; there are no unexpected or jarring chords, and like the melody, the harmonic progression flows very smoothly and naturally.

But what makes this song extraordinary is the text.  Townend’s text is the Gospel, simply put.  It tells the story of Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, and the hope that this brings to us.  The simplicity of the Gospel is proclaimed clearly and boldly in this song.  Additionally, the text also addresses same major Christian doctrines, such as the substitutionary atonement.

If you are unfamiliar with this song, I strongly encourage you to check it out.  I don’t know if there is a more important song for the Christian church that has been written in the last 20-30 years.  Here is Stuart Townend’s beautiful text:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
‘til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand

This song is far more than a “rah-rah, I love Jesus and He loves me” song, which so many churches seem to want to sing today.  This song is loaded, absolutely jam packed, with the Gospel, with deep and important doctrine, and expresses this all in a very simple and completely accessible way.  Add Keith Getty’s gorgeous melody, and you’ve got one of the greatest Christian songs ever written.

STAR TREK Music

This weekend the newest STAR TREK  movie opens.  Being a mild to moderate “trekkie,” I’m looking forward to seeing this newest incarnation of the franchise.  I’m also looking forward to hearing what the newest Trek composer brings to the familiar ST world, since there is a legacy of good music to live up to.

The most famous piece of Star Trek music is the main theme from STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, although it is just as well-known as the opening credits music for the t.v. series “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”  Composed by the late Jerry Goldsmith, this theme arguably the signature musical motif of the Star Trek franchise.  Goldsmith also scored the 5th (The Final Frontier), 8th (First Contact) 9th (Insurrection) and 10th (Nemesis) installments of the Star Trek films, with “First Contact” featuring yet another stunningly beautiful melody.

James Horner did the scores for the 2nd and 3rd Trek movies (“The Wrath of Khan” and “The Search for Spock”), and these scores really helped launch his career.  While not as strong as the Goldsmith scores, there are some memorable themes to come out these soundtracks.

Leonard Rosenman scored STAR TREK IV: THE VOYAGE HOME.  There is a lot of diversity to this score; almost every track features a new theme.  It is an extremely contrapuntal score, too (there is a track called “whale fugue!”).  This is also the most controversial of the trek scores; as it seems that people either love it or hate it.

STAR TREK: GENERATIONS (7th film) is easily the most forgettable of the trek scores.  This seventh installment, composed by the t.v. veteran Dennis McCarthy, just isn’t on the same level as the other soundtracks.  To be fair, however, it is possibly the worst trek movie.   Regardless, the score just seems to follow the picture; not really contributing anything to the overall story arc of the film.  No memorable themes either.  After this score, the producers went back to Jerry Goldsmith to score the subsequent films.

Michael Giachinno has scored the newest film, and I’m looking forward to hear what he has done.  Now if I can just find some time to go see it….

Imagine My Surprise…

Every once in awhile I will “google” my name just to see what turns up.  Last week I was very shocked to see that one of my posts from this blog was quoted in a couple of different articles and blogs!  To be honest, I thought that no one was ever reading (except for maybe Mom and Dad, because, you know, they HAVE to!).

Here’s where I first saw the quote: http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3984&Itemid=53

It’s nice to see that there are others just as concerned as I am about where church music (and the church in general) is right now.  So it’s time to step it up notch!  I’ve tried to be very general in my criticisms; not naming names or specific songs.  But I’m going to change that.  I’m going to start critiquing specific songs and songwriters on this blog, and putting it all out there about how I believe they are damaging and neutering the church.  My intention will not be to offend people, but it will happen, since I will undoubtedly go after some “sacred cows.”  But I do this for the sake of the church.

But before I start hacking away, let me recommend some names of GOOD songwriters for the church today:  Stuart Townend, Keith Getty, Bob Kauflin, Steve and Vicki Cook, Mark Altrogge, Stephen Altrogge.  Find them, and find good and thought provoking music that is well-written.  O yeah, there might be some Scripture in there, too.

Christmas Music

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”  This is a phrase that starts to get tossed around every December.  Holidays, vacations, snow, hot chocolate; so many things that make people love this ‘most wonderful time of the year.’  

For me, it’s Christmas music.  I LOVE Christmas music.  Sacred and non-sacred, I love it all!  Whether it’s Nat King Cole’s version of “The Christmas Song,” or Sir David Willcocks setting of “O Come, All Ye Faithful,” I look forward to the beginning of every winter so I can hear the holiday music.

Here are some of my other Christmas favorites:

John Rutter’s settings of “Silent Night” and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “Hodie”

Vince Guaraldi’s Jazz Trio in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

Alfred Reed’s setting of “Greensleeves”

Leroy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride”

Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker”

Simple 4-part a capella singing of Christmas carols

…..I could go on…..

From a Christian/church perspective, I am always happy when Christmas time rolls around because all the churches that have forsaken great music (and the arts in general) will also dust off the hymnal.  Even if it’s just once a year, it’s a good thing.

The great and memorable music is part of what makes this ‘the most wonderful time of the year.’  I encourage everyone to soak it up while we have it.  Let it help you remember good times with family and friends.  Let it remind you of the simpler times, when, as children, we waited the whole year for Christmas.  And, if you’re willing, let it tell you about the child born in Bethlehem.

Labels

I always seem to end up at this point: where do I belong as a composer?  My wife is sick and tired of me asking her this question, pointing out the fact that I’ve been here before.  Regardless, I find myself here often.  I think part of it is because composers today tend to fall into certain groups and categories, usually because of the kind of music they write or write for.  John Williams is a ‘film’ composer; Mark Camphouse is a ‘band’ composer; John Rutter is a ‘church’ composer; etc.  Whether composers try to put themselves in such categories, or if they are willingly or unwillingly placed there by the performers and listeners of their music, is what I’m trying to figure out.  

 

Personally, I don’t want to get locked into one ‘kind’ or ‘type’ of composer.  I want to be able to fluidly move in and through different types of music.  Is this possible?  Why don’t more composers seem to do it?  Maybe they do, or try to, but they continue to be placed into certain categories by others.  Perhaps it’s youth and naivite that have me thinking that I can transcend any labels in my composing.

 

Maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about….

Church Music and Biblical Literacy

Many theologians/bible scholars will tell you that Biblical literacy among Christians is at an historic low point.  Ironically, there has never been a time when Christians were so into so-called ‘worship.’  How can these two events, biblical illiteracy and a great passion for worship, be happening at the same time?  Simple answer: THEY CAN’T.  In fact, they DON’T.  Think about this logically: if biblical literacy is so low at this point in western history, then the God of the Bible is not the god that is being worshipped, but rather a shallow and incomplete version of Him.  Or coming from the other perspective, if worship today is really so profound and life altering, then the knowledge of that which is being worshipped would have to be at an incredibly high and accurate level.  These two ideas, high biblical illiteracy and a worship renewal/revival movement, can not be happening at the same time.

 

So which one is occurring now?  I’ll let you think about it…..

The Joy of the Midwest Clinic

The week before Christmas is one of the most exciting times of the year for me: The Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic. This annual event completely re-energizes my musical goals and aspirations. This year was particularly exciting: for the first time ever there was a piece of mine that was available for perusal! SINFONIETTA, published by TRN, was on the shelf at the publishers booth. Hopefully, this will be the first of many for years and years to come.

A Super Score

I was listening to John Williams’ score to SUPERMAN this evening, something I haven’t done in quite awhile. Wow, what a wonderfully exciting score! The music is so rich and diverse, capturing the humor, majesty, beauty and wonder of this classic film. The themes are so wonderful and memorable; so much so that John Ottman decided to use them in his score of SUPERMAN RETURNS.

Williams’ wrote this score a year after STAR WARS, and it is so completely different yet just as great. SUPERMAN is much more lyrical throughout, including in the incidental music. In general, the score has a very “American” sound; tapping into the aural world of Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber. The score has a much ‘warmer’ feel to it than does STAR WARS, which was much more militaristic. Williams is often accused of ‘sounding the same,’ (an argument usually from the bitter and jealous musicians), but an intelligent listen to SUPERMAN will show how different it is than what the American Film Institute called the greatest score of all time.

Because of it’s greatness it was awarded the Academy Award for Best Score in 1978…o wait, no it wasn’t. The Oscar went to Giorgio Moroder for his score to MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. Anyone ever remember this score?

Maybe this is part of the problem…

In my quest to find new and good church music, I made my regular visit to the CCLI website.  This weeks theme for our worship service is “Walking in Maturity.”  A few hymns immediately came to mind: BE THOU MY VISION, MAY THE MIND OF CHRIST MY SAVIOR, I WANT TO BE LIKE JESUS, NEARER MY GOD TO THEE.  Unfortunately I could not think of any contemporary songs that address this idea of spiritual maturity.  So, I went to the CCLI site to try to find some.  I set up the search, clicked ‘search,’ and this happened….NOTHING!!!  Nothing, there were NO songs that came up!  So, I tried an ‘advanced search,’ and the same thing!  I tried ‘maturity,’ and I tried ‘spiritual maturity.’  Nothing.  ‘No songs were found with your search criteria.’  I found this to be profoundly discouraging and depressing. 

 So then I thought I would try a similar search with different wording.  Perhaps I just need to change my wording!  So, I tried ‘be like Christ;’ nothing.  ‘Imitate Christ;’ nothing.  ‘Live like Christ;’ nothing.  Finally I tried something very simple: ‘growth.’  FINALLY, several pages were available, but only a few songs actually had the music available for viewing and download.  The texts that I found were more about ‘give me more of your power’ then ‘help me love my God and my neighbor.’  As frustrated and disappointed I was, I can’t say I was surprised.

I have maintained for a long time that church music today is extremely shallow and having almost no teaching value.  If there are no songs coming out that talk about becoming more like the God we supposedly worship, how can we possibly be on the right track?  Kyrie Eleison….