Illustration: Lynn Scurfield from Broadview magazine
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was an earthquake so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were unfastened.
Acts 16: 25-26 NRSVue
There was a CBC article not long ago which described the benefits of music and specifically older music which stirs memories and brings comfort. It seems that this sort of article crops up periodically and I imagine most of us would agree.
It was actually about a special called Music to our Ears and had the subtitle Why music, especially old music, can tap into our deepest, most meaningful life memories.
We know that familiar music often awakens something in those living with dementia in ways that are almost miraculous. When I was at Bridge St Church here in Belleville I encouraged the Alzheimer's Society to apply for a Bridge St Foundation grant to purchase equipment for a program they were starting to do this and happily it was granted. Many of us have seen the documentary Alive Inside which tells the story of one of the first of these programs.
The CBC piece shares that during the first pandemic lockdown period in April 2020, Spotify reported a 54 per cent increase in listeners making "nostalgic-themed playlists," along with an increased share of listening to music from the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s. It quotes musician Jan Arden who observes; "Music is so important. It informs your childhood and your youth. It gives everybody an anthem. It's a balm for the soul. It's a babysitter and a counsellor and a friend."
The piece also describes how repetition helps cement memories, especially those from our youth, when we are still growing and developing our identity as individuals — including our taste in music. Apparently it's related to a phenomenon known as the "reminiscence bump," in which we tend to remember events from our lives most vividly during our adolescence and young adulthood, including music from that period.
I didn't read anything about faith communities and the music of memory, which may be a sign of the times. Yet for lots of Christians who are aging the familiar music may be an anthem, or hymns which touches deep places of the spirit. It is this music and the making of music, including congregational singing, which evokes memory and emotion and a sense of the presence of God.
There is the challenge, of course, that the oldie goldies grow moldy. I wouldn't care if I never heard Amazing Grace again, even though I have been moved by its lyrics and tune along the way. Does it have to be trotted out for every memorial, everywhere?
Many aging congregations claim they want younger people to join their worship live yet get testy when there is too much contemporary music -- for some that means any. I wish I had a tooney for every time I was told by someone that they preferred familiar songs and hymns or that we'd sung a "real hymn" during a service. That usually referred to the older hymn I'd chosen for the conclusion so they wouldn't be too grumpy about the more contemporary stuff earlier on.
Most of us do have soundtracks for our lives and the familiar songs are great. We can often identify them within a few bars. It's also wonderful to add to our playlist, including when we come together to worship God.
Don't you wonder what hymns Paul and Silas were singing to open their prison doors? Maybe we could use a few tremors to shake us up when it comes to our musical repertoire.
Here's a link to an article in Broadview magazine from three years ago written by former moderator and hymn writer Walter Farquharson. https://broadview.org/church-hymns/
2 comments:
I went to the article and this was an important passage to me:
"Many hymns written since 1970 celebrate diversity while addressing the call to global and neighbourhood justice and peace. They express concern for world hunger, people who are homeless and refugees. They offer new images and understandings of God, and express changing societal relationships and views of the natural world."
This is one of the strengths of the United Church of Canada. I think we need to lean into it. Though comforting to those who remember them, the old favourites often speak to a different time. One of my nostalgic favourites is "Onward Christian Soldiers" because it reminds me of the Salvation Army band that often played on a mid-town street corner in Toronto near my grandmother's house when I was a child in the 1950's. It takes me back and I revel in the nostalgia but it doesn't speak to what the church embraces now and it wouldn't be familiar to younger people.
I've got Jon Batiste and Shad on my Apple playlist because I enjoy both those artists and they're relevant and they stretch me a bit. You're right about drawing in younger people with more contemporary sounds and lyrics. KB
Yes Kathy, there was a fair amount of sketchy theology in some of the older hymns, hierarchical, patriarchal, and reflecting a colonizing world view. It will be interesting to see what the planned United Church supplement will bring our way.
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