Scripture Songs Are Needed in Church and at Home
One of the most cherished parts of religious worship has always been the singing of Scripture. In fact, most of the first Christians sang only scriptural texts put to music, particularly the Psalms. In the words of John Calvin, “Singing [the Psalms] we may be sure that our words come from God, just as if he were to sing (through) us for his own exaltation.”
Since the time of Calvin, some churches have continued the practice of singing Scripture, with help from a variety of metrical Psalters. While some modern churches have almost given up the practice, often bypassing the updated Psalm sections in newer hymnals, other churches continue to sing scriptural texts almost exclusively,
The Role of the Church Pianist
The role of the church pianist varies from church to church.
Before I share some thoughts with you I’ll explain our church so you can understand where I’m coming from.
Canon in D by Pachelbel – The Song Everybody Knows
The Canon in D by Johann Pachelbel is a composition well known throughout the world. It’s a piece of music that is played in commercials, feature films, and shopping mall music systems. Its melody and harmony are such that, when heard, spur an “I know this song” reaction in listeners.
Pachelbel wrote this music around 1680. Its exact name is ‘Canon and Gigue in D Major for three Violins and Basso Continuo’. It’s now called, in regular parlance, the Canon in D (or D Major).
This canon was the only one that Pachelbel wrote. He wrote it as a piece of chamber music. Chamber music is a form of classical music originally intended for performance in a palace chamber. This type of music is for a small group of instrumentalists. One performer plays each separate part of the music.
The Celtic Church And Worship
If we look at two early accounts of the Church at worship we can begin to get a feel for the foundations of our own denominational style.
Pliny was governor of the Roman province of Bithynia, and in the year 112 AD wrote to the Emperor asking for advice on what to do about troublesome Christians.
It was the practice of these Christians ‘…to sing antiphonally a song to Christ as a god, and to bind themselves on oath… to commit no theft, murder, adultery, not to break their word, not to deny possession of something entrusted to them… to disperse and then reassemble to share a common meal together…’