Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Great Deal


One of the great travesties of our day is the loss of sacred musis in and around churches. It used to be that one of the great roles of music in society was to lift the heart of man up to God. We simply don't have that any more.

Of course, we do have a great deal of Christian music out there. I don't mean to disparage modern Christian music. I like a lot of Christian pop, rock, etc. Much of it is very good, and it certainly provides an alternative to the generally sin-filled offerings provided by mainstream music.

That being said, it isn't quite the same as what I refer to when I say "sacred music." It makes perfect sense to imagine a large group of people sining a modern praise song in honor of God, but it would just seem wrong to play the same thing during a visit to the Holy Sepulchre, or even during a wedding ceremony.

There is something that just tells us that the truly sacred moments in our lives call for music that transcends the norm - for something beyond, something sacred, something very special. It may not be easy to define this, exactly, but we know it when we hear it. This is the sort of music that used to be produced often. It's the kind of music that used to be performed during Mass and other sacred ceremonies.

I must admit, I'm no great expert on this sort of thing. In fact, I know virtually nothing about it. I have, however, wanted to get into it somewhat, and to incorporate it a bit into my life. Unfortunately, I really had no idea where to start. Fortunately, EMI Classics has very recently (within the past 2 months) released a fantastic compilation of some of the best of this sort of music over the past 1000 years. This is a 6 CD set with 100 sacred works, from Gregorian chant to some of the rare sacred music that is being produced today. And even better, it's only $20.

If you're interested, take a look!

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