SECULAR SPIRITUALS?

It was over twenty-six years ago that the William Baker (then called "Gwinnett")Festival Singers was born in the basement of a Norcross church. For the first thirteen years the group was a growing and successful Atlanta-based choral ensemble. Now it represents the first chapter in a national arts organization that sponsors ten groups based in three states.

The signature repertoire of the Festival Singers choirs has been sacred a cappella classics and spirituals along with works for chorus and chamber orchestra. I like to say that “sacred” and “a cappella” are our signatures, not our prisons. From time to time, as in the coming season, we will also sing a number of the secular works that are equally worthy of inclusion in the repertoire of the ensembles.

Every conductor has his or her own personal style and an approach to the interpretation of musical ideas that arise from their personal value systems, training, experiences, and perspective on life. There is really no such thing as right and wrong in these matters. In fact, the diversity of leadership styles and personalities is one of the great gifts we enjoy in the rich choral community of Atlanta.

One of those perspectives for me is the open consideration of the spiritual dimension that is an inherent and, to my mind and heart, inseparable element of these great sacred works of art. Yes, you can study the craftsmanship of Handel’s MESSIAH, or you can experience the thrill of air flowing across your vocal chords to make sound, but I do not believe that you can truly approach any level of understanding of the music in its full glory without the consideration of the import of its text.

Please let me be clear. This is not to say that you must ascribe to the specific doctrines expressed in a piece of music in order to experience it fully or to perform it faithfully. Rather, I believe it is important to consider the relationship of the composer and the author to the words and the music they have created... for what purpose, to reveal what questions and struggles, and to gnaw at what potential answers. The questions of time and eternity are always there for us humans, whether we choose to consciously consider them or not. Most certainly we can go through our musical lives singing only of birds and bees and flowers and trees, but doing so does not satisfy the thirsting in the soul that generation after generation has wrestled with throughout history.

Great music, as opposed to entertainment music, can be scary. Great music does not roll passively by us. It is a change agent that will not stand to leave us where we were when we encountered it. You don’t hear spirituals playing on the sound system at the grocery store. You don’t hear choruses from THE CREATION or ELIJAH in the elevator of your office building. You don’t hear the MISSA SOLEMNIS played as background music at the city pool.

Because great music can be scary, and because many educators and conductors appropriately desire to avoid any danger of actual or perceived proselytizing, I think we often hide from the consideration of the text, how the music serves the text, what the composer was trying to reveal through his or her setting of the text, and what is needed from a performance stand-point to make the composer’s work come alive through both the music and the text in their uncompromising relationship to each other.

I believe this is a relationship that cannot be broken, though many in recent years may try. I couldn’t help but chuckle some years ago when one of our Festival Singers’ ushers told a story about an encounter with a woman of a certain age at the CD table following a concert. “I just loved the concert...but especially the joy with which you sang the spirituals,” she said, “but I noticed that all of the spirituals your choir sang today are religious in nature. Could I please buy a CD of spirituals that aren’t religious?”

We also see the same issue in many public school choral situations. When there is a prohibition of music with sacred texts, nearly all of the great works of Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Handel, and many others are not allowed. How then, can we provide comprehensive music education while excluding much of the repertoire of the masters? It would be like trying to teach American history after proclaiming George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and World War II to be politically incorrect and disallowed from the curriculum!

It is not necessary to be Lutheran to sing the ST. MATTHEW PASSION on a level that speaks to the soul and the spirit as well as the ears. Singing the AVE MARIA of Franz Biebl or William Byrd does not make a performer a member of the Catholic Church, nor does singing the Ernest Bloch SACRED SERVICE make a performer Jewish. For that matter, singing Carl Orff’s CARMINA BURANA does not make the performer a promiscuous drunkard. (I can’t help but wonder, then, why CARMINA BURANA is acceptable among the politically correct, but MESSIAH is not.)

All of this said, I must agree that it is equally inappropriate to use the performances of a civic organization, a public school, or the concert stage to attempt in any way to force belief. And, I understand that the use of any sacred text in any situation other than a service of worship must be done in a way that does not attempt to force belief or work to marginalize those who hold other views. I think it is also the responsibility of music leaders and educators to expose their singers and audiences to the widest possible diversity of inquiry and philosophy without compromising the standard of musical or poetic excellence at any level.

This admittedly rambling discourse was inspired by a couple of conversations I enjoyed with members of our Summer Singers over the last few weeks. After some very kind words about how our reflections on the background and import of the sacred texts have enhanced their exploration of this immortal music, one of our members said, “Are you sure this is okay? I hope you are not going to get ‘in trouble’ with the board, or some arts agency somewhere!”

No danger there. One of the beauties of an independent organization like the Choral Foundation is that we are beholden to no one as we pursue the cause of excellence and diversity through music of timeless beauty and worth. We can ask any questions we wish to ask... of history, of philosophy, of literature, of poetry, and yes...of religion too. We will never impose answers to those questions for anyone, but we will allow every ingredient to enjoy unfettered access to our gumbo of exploration in the free exchange of great ideas.

To my mind, my heart, and my soul, that is what the arts ...especially the choral arts...are for!

Soli Deo Gloria,
Bill