Dear John,
The Greek Orthodox and Russian Orthodox churches have much choral music, but
always unaccompanied by organs, pianos, string or woodwind ensembles,
guitar groups, etc. The choir sits in the gallery out of sight. the leader
taps a tuning fork or blows a pitch pipe; then all of a sudden the choir
"bursts into song" without any preliminaries.
In the Scottish Presbyterian church there is a section which opposes the
use of organs and other instruments in worship. Indeed, the only songs
they will sing in worship are the metrical Psalms.
I think the Greeks won't have organs, because the Greeks invented the
organ (hUDRAULOS, from hUDWR and AULOS). The "water" is used as a pressure
regulating device for the wind supply (mechanical bellows). A scale model
of one was found in the ruins of Carthage, so accurate that a working full
scale reproduction was built by none other than Sir John Stainer, MA MusDoc.,
composer of "The Crucifixion". Hero wrote about it in the 3rd century BC,
and Vitruvius around 15 BC. The Carthage clay model was dated about 120 AD.
It seems the Hydraulus was shunned by the Christians because of its military
connotations, and its use in dance halls and pagan temples.
However, the Roman church found it useful to accompany the modal hymn-tunes
of Gregorian Chant: so it soon became popular in the West in the Middle Ages.
Luther was very musical; so the many cathedrals and churches with organs in
situ remained untouched in the German Protestant Reformation.
The Puritans in England at the Commonwealth (1640-60) associated organs and
effigies of saints with Romanism. There was much vandalism and iconoclasm at
that time. Nearly every ecclesiastical statue was smashed; many organs, and
even some rings of church bells. In the Restoration string and woodwind
ensembles quickly filled the musical gap. Churches had small bands of
musicians in the west gallery to "rasie the tune" for the psalms and hymns.
The congregation turned west to sing the hymns; hence the expression "facing
the music". If the skill level was low, this could be an unpleasant
experience!
Larger churches started rebuilding organs in the 18th century; but the organ
building renaissance really took off in the 19th century. No church in
England is without one; though in the last decade, "charismatic" churches
influenced by Toronto or Pensacola have abandoned the organ in favour of
(ghastly!) guitar and drumkit groups (Ugh!!!!). If anything is tainted by
worldly associations, it's the "pop" group!
> Also how does the phrase "in the heart" figure into the Ephesians passage?
> Is this silent singing or charismatic ecstasy?
I should think a bit of both?
Ben
-- Revd Ben Crick, BA CF <ben.crick@argonet.co.uk> 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK) http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm