What is Spiritual Music?

That question has as many answers as there are types of music and spiritual beliefs. Yet that is the quandary we are embracing on this blog.

We’d like to know what music you feel is spiritual and why. Send us your recommendation of a work of spiritual music, and tell us why you choose it. Music Director Paul Gambill will then choose the program to the Music of the Spirit concert from the suggestions we receive.

Paul has already programmed one work for the concert—Anima Mundi, by Orchestra Nashville's former composer-in-residence J. Mark Scearce. You can listen to exceprts, read the text Mark chose for Anima Mundi and his program notes here.

Now it’s your turn to weigh in. Let’s see what Nashville thinks is spiritual music and Orchestra Nashville will bring those ideas together in a program that is sure to be a tour de force of Music Without Boundaries.

To start the discussion, we’ve brought together a panel that has offered some provocative ideas on this question. They’ll be weighing in throughout this process to respond to your comments. And we’ll keep a running list of works that are suggested and the program selections that Paul chooses for the concert on June 17th. Click on the panelists' name below to jump to their comment on What Is Spiritual Music?

You can add your comment by clicking "Comments" below and scrolling down to the Comment box. This is also where you'll be able to read others' comments. If your recommended work of spiritual music is chosen by Paul for the concert, we'll send you four complimentary tickets to the concert.

Beth Nielsen Chapman is a singer-songwriter. She recently completed a double CD called Prism in which she sings in nine different languages from all different paths of faith.

Sankaran Mahadevan is Professor of Civil Engineering at Vanderbilt University and an Indian vocalist in the Carnatic (South Indian) classical music tradition. He organizes Indian classical music concerts frequently at the Sri Ganesha Temple in Nashville. 

Jonathan Neufeld is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and a classical music critic for The Tennessean. He is currently working on two books in philosophy and music: Critical Performances, and Listeners, Critics, and Judges: Performance and Deliberation in the Musical Public Sphere.

Michael Alec Rose is Associate Professor of Composition at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music. His concerto for klezmer and chamber orchestra, titled Arguing With God, was commissioned and premiered by Orchestra Nashville in March, 2007.

J. Mark Scearce is a composer and Director of the Music Department at North Carolina State. He was composer-in-residence with Orchestra Nashville from 2002-05, and is the composer of Anima Mundi, the first work chosen for the Music of the Spirit concert.

Odessa Settles is a member of the Princely Players, which offers evocative programs on the enslavement and liberation of African-Americans and has performed their unique program of spirituals, work songs, hymns, and songs of freedom throughout the country.

Rabbi Rami Shapiro is Adjunct Professor of Religion at Middle Tennessee State University, and part of the interfaith faculty of Scarritt-Bennett Center. His most recent book is The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness (Skylight Paths).

Comments

[Dave Sartor]

I would like to take the liberty of recommending my REVERIES for String Orchestra. It depicts a soul's reflections on a rich life filled with both triumph and regret. The work concludes with the soul's last cry heavenward, followed by the incredible homecoming of being joined with God. It is certainly one of my most spiritual compositions, and a deeply personal work. I invite you to have a look and listen at http://davidsartor.com/REVERIES.html

[Malcolm Glass]

An aesthetic experience involving the intellect, emotions, viscera, and psyche is memorable, unforgettable. The most enduring art engages one's entire being -- mind, body, heart, and spirit; and to do that it must emanate from the artist's entire being.

In music Rap might said to be primarily physical. Thomas Kinkade's paintings appeal mainly to the emotions. (Trite fancy is always a good way to bypass the mind and body and go straight for the heartstrings.) Derrida is a good example of writing that has little to do with the physical or emotional; cerebral and abstract, it appeals mostly to the mind.

For me, Mahler (and others, though Mahler leaps to the top of the list) is a master of blending mind, body, heart, and spirit in deeply satisfying proportions. Mahler's music is visceral, illuminating, electrifying, In engaging one's entire being, this music moves to a higher vibrational level. (I mean energetic vibrations, not the vibration of the sound.) In engaging the whole being, Mahler transcends the dross of daily life and uplifts one's being, one's spirit, into positive realms of hope and joy. If Vaughn Williams or Mozart or someone else is at the top of your list, just substitute that name for Mahler in the preceding paragraph.

At this point the folks at Orchestra Nashville may be worried that I'm going to suggest programming the "Symphony of a Thousand" which would devour the budget of the next six to ten years.

But I am going to nominate for the Music of the Spirit program some harp music. I know, I know, that seems like the ultimate cliché. Music of the spirit? Oh, yeah, angels ... and harps. But maybe there's a reason harps are associated with angels. Does music for harp seem often ethereal, uplifting? Does the sound of a harp inspire peace of mind? Many would say so.
But the main reason I'm suggesting the harp is that there are some gorgeous harp concerti out there which would showcase Orchestra Nashville beautifully; and they meet my criteria for enduring art: they speak eloquently to the body, mind, heart, and spirit.

I'm not talking about the old standards, like Handel, though there are dozens of familiar pieces for harp and orchestra that would be eminently suitable. My nominations are contemporary works by composers rarely or never heard in Nashville (or most other places). And how many harp soloists have performed with Orchestra Nashville or any other musical group in Nashville? As far as I know, none. Let's break some new ground here!

When I first heard these pieces, I thought immediately of Orchestra Nashville. They fit the orchestra's programming proclivities and philosophy: "Here is new music never heard in Nashville!" My choices, it seems to me, have Orchestra Nashville written all over them.

I've listed them in order, my first choice at the top of the list:

Marjan Mozetich - The Passions of Angels, Concerto for Two Harps
CD#: B00005Y7MN
(The Mozetich also has a nice part for Chris Norton or David Steinquest, by the way.)

William Alwyn - Lyra Angelica (Harp Concerto)
B000000APK
B000A17GGK

Einhojuhani Rautavaara - Harp Concerto
B00005Q7H0

And I'll throw in an honorable mention choice for this concert that meets my "criteria" and also fits Orchestra Nashville 's interest in showcasing Americana:
Paul Creston - "Gregorian Chant for String Orchestra" (sorry, no harps)
B00000J821

This is a piece rarely heard (and now available only as a reissue from ArkivMusic). It was written originally for string quartet and later scored for string orchestra (sound familiar?) And it does echo Barber a bit and Vaughn Williams a bit more, especially in the solo writing; but all in all it is a solid piece in its own right. And it is marked by that fluid rise and fall of chant-- uplifting waves of melody -- and (unchantlike) haunting harmonies.

[Melinda Thompson]

I listened to Mr. Sartor's Reveries using the link above, and I vote for it as well. It is really powerful - plus, he is a local composer! It would be good to feature one of our own talents.

[Kerry Dexter]

One of the aspects of music which speaks to and from the spirit, for me, is music which asks really good questions. With that in mind I’d especially recommend the work of two artists, Cathie Ryan and Carrie Newcomer. I’m going to name specific songs, but really all their work is worth exploring with that perspective.

From Ryan, the title track of her latest release, The Farthest Wave, is a journey from grief and despair to the possibilities of healing and hope, framed in a deep connection to the music and the landscapes of Ireland and America, presented with grace and restraint.

From Carrie Newcomer, there’s an upbeat gospel tinged piece called Where You Been which might be really fun for the orchestra to do from a melodic standpoint and which, in a really quick generalization, speaks of finding the spirit where you may least expect to. Map of Shadows and The Clean Edge of Change are two slower songs, about, well, change, hope and such which you might consider too. All of these are are on Newcomer’s album called The Geography of Light.

www.cathieryan.com
www.carrienewcomer.com

[Clair]

I think that most people would consider "pop" music to be less spiritual and more about the lyrics because it is so formulaic. With classical music there are themes present, but they can come and go wherever they want, without worrying about fitting in a 2 min time slot. Actually, I think classical music has an advantage because the freedom allowed in the creation of it allows it to be incredibly moving musically and yet have very powerful lyrics. Making it seem much more spiritual and emotional than typical pop music. I would like to see Vivaldi's Concerto in E major, Op.8/1 RV269 "La primavera": Allegro from Vivaldi: The Four Seasons

[Jeff]

Music by a band called Unfulfilled Desires. www.unfulfilleddesires.org
(with audio and video clips) Their music seems to 'explode'out of some place deeper than ordinary, mundane consciousness, and it takes me on a journey, lifting me way out of my usual way of thinking - into a place that feels very expanded, alive,
inclusive, and creative.

[Cash]

Spiritual music communicates the needs of the soul and the emotions through which they are expressed. Personally, the artist who best conveys those emotions is Stevie Wonder— I find myself constantly consumed by the realities he presents in his music. Even today he continues to spread a message of peace, love, and communication among all people to better the world. What distinguishes him from other soulful musicians to me (of which there are thousands from all genres and times) is his ability to entwine lyrics, instruments, and melodies to tell his story. And I believe it is that story, of love and peace, that needs to be told more in my life and others now than ever before.

[Cindy]

Second the vote for Sarter's REVERIES - absolutely fantastic! This guy is a local? Where has he been hiding?

[Carl Tompkins]

I also vote for the David Sartor REVERIES.

[A Key]

I don't know the names only the category as Harmonic Overtones, in which extended chanting and vibrations are allowed to penetrate the listener. They are relaxing and thought-provoking, as well as healing. An additional one I would add, though perhaps not music in the normal sense, is simply what you hear when sitting in a forest in summer time - far away from human sounds and traffic, incorporating a vast array of instruments, from the birds, the bugs, the wind in the trees, and other sounds you may not normally detect. Get the Ipod earphones out of the ears and truly listen.

[Jason Shelton]

In January 2006 I was in Detroit giving a church choir workshop, and while I was there I was thrilled to have an opportunity to spend an afternoon at the Motown museum. It’s a simple place, with some fun memorabilia and a tour through Barry Gordy’s upstairs apartment. But the tour eventually takes you to Motown Studio A, the place where all of those great songs were written and recorded, and I have to say it was one of the holiest places I’ve even been. The great cathedrals of Europe, the battlefields of Gettysburg, the operating room where my child was born, and Motown Studio A – holy places. It was a room literally filled with music; music oozing from the walls, from the corkboard sound panels and leftover microphone cables, and from the piano – the piano – that had been used to change the sound of American popular music forever.

I was feeling a little misty just standing there in the middle of that holy room. After I pulled myself together, I went with the group into a small room just off the main studio where we watched a short documentary about Motown. It was powerful, watching the film, looking through the window just behind the screen at the room where it all came to life. But the key moment for me came when Smokey Robinson was talking about Marvin Gaye. He said that he came into the studio one day and found Marvin sitting at the piano – the one we could all see in the other room. He was writing a new song, pulling together all of his emotions about the war and the turmoil in society, but he had a sense that what he was doing was coming from a place beyond himself. He looked up from the piano with that faraway look in his eye and he said, “Smoke, God is writing this record.” The song? "What's Goin' On?"

[Jason Shelton]

Recommendation #2:

One of the most beautiful, poignant and profound pieces of music I know of is Barber's "Adagio for Strings." It's a piece that has it many ways burrowed itself into our national consciousness. It is remembered by many as the piece played on the radio when it was announced the Pres. Kennedy had been assassinated, and others with remember its prominence in the harrowing Vietnam film "Platoon." But for me, what makes this piece an especially "spiritual" one is the following:

While many are quite familiar with Barber's masterpiece as a piece for strings, not so many know that he also re-scored the piece for chorus using the "Agnus Dei" text from the Latin mass. I had programmed the piece for my church choir to sing as a benediction on Easter Sunday, 2005, as a prayer for peace (the last line of the text being "dona nobis pacem" - grant us peace). We worked on it for months - the experience of preparing the piece was profound and deeply spiritual in and of itself.

But then my daughter was born on Palm Sunday that year, just a week before we were supposed to sing the Barber piece. And there were complications. My wife had severe pre-eclampsia that had gone undiagnosed, and I nearly lost both her and our daughter that weekend. When I went to the final rehearsal of the "Agnus Dei," they were both still in intensive care at the hospital.

It's an amazing piece, and I'd recommend it simply on the strength of the writing and the emotional/spritual power that it conveys. But it will forver be etched in my mind as a plea for peace on that Easter morning when a father's profound love for his child and hope for her future could only be adequately expressed through music. It's as close to the song of the angels as I expect I'll ever get in this lifetime.