Open up the Doors: Music in the Modern Church

Mark Evans [+–]

Macquarie University

Mark Evans is Head of the Department of Contemporary Music Studies at Macquarie University and is co-editor of Perfect Beat – The Pacific Journal of Research into Contemporary Music and Popular Culture. He has published articles on a range of topics, including: the use of sound in the ‘Matrix’ films; copyright; CD-Rom; Christian music; rock journalism; and country music in Australia. He is also a pianist and has recorded and performed in various contemporary styles.He is the author of Open up the Doors: Music in the Modern Church (2006) and editor of the Encyclopedia of Film Music and Sound (Equinox, forthcoming).

Within the Judaeo-Christian tradition -with few exceptions- music has always been central to the performance of sacred rites. The musical setting of liturgy has its roots in the earliest customs of the church and the practice has continued to evolve up to the present day. As the contemporary church in many Western societies grapples with the divisive issues of gay clergy or female ordination, just as divisive a schism appears to be in progress in the world of church music. On the traditional side are those that keep the ancient choral traditions alive. They face the new, intense informality of the evangelical wing who embrace a plainer more approachable music but who are not themselves without controversy, owing to the struggle between the secular forces from which their new forms of church music derive and the messages they wish to propagate and who are also, it often seems, drawn to fundamentalist and reactionary politics.

This book surveys the music used in churches around the world today in the context of the history of western congregational song and concludes that music, like other cultural elements of contemporary Christianity, has been widely secularized. This secularization is a global phenomenon fed by the explosive growth of the contemporary church music industry (worth more than $900 million in annual sales) which has seen the large secular music companies acquiring independent labels, in many cases, to the distress of the faithful. By analyzing the tensions and controversies that are fuelling this crisis and leading to the breakdown of traditions that have been the backbone Christian tradition for centuries, the book questions whether the theoretical and practical problems aroused by this crisis can ever be surmounted.

Series: Studies in Popular Music

Prelims

Acknowledgements ix – xiv

Introduction

Introduction [+–] 1 – 7

Intro

Contextualising Contemporary Congregational Music [+–] 8 – 23

The historical development of popular music studies has been thoroughly documented elsewhere, and need not be restated here.1 What is relevant is to note the various points at which contemporary Christian music trends intersect with those of popular music generally, and more specifically, how they enhance and contribute to debates within the eld of popular music studies.

‘Nothing New Under the Sun’: Learning from History [+–] 24 – 44

Having considered the place of contemporary congregational music within the practice of popular music and popular music studies, it is important also to recognize the pivotal role Christian music has played throughout history.

Ending the Corporate Worship Wars [+–] 45 – 65

While congregational song exists within the corporate worship environment, this is not a book about worship. Many publications on this topic have been published in recent years and the stream looks certain to continue. Confusion between the two derives from different understandings of the nature of congregational music and worship in general.

Resistance or Accommodation: The ‘World’ of Quality [+–] 66 – 86

One of the great plagues on modern church music has been its designation as a music that merely apes the culture around it and thus subsumes the sanctity of the gospel through dilution with the evils of the world. This is not to deny that modern congregational song bears witness to the inuences and stylistic sensibilities of popular music.

The Rise and Rise of Pentecostal Music: History, Hillsong and Star Texts [+–] 87 – 109

The growth in contemporary forms of congregational song can be directly linked to the proliferation and increased inuence of Pentecostal churches worldwide. Pentecostal churches are by far the dominant producers of contemporary congregational music, and often have the larger congregation sizes and matrixes of ideologically aligned networks to support ourishing production centres.

Theomusicological Frameworks for Congregational Song Analysis [+–] 110 – 135

In his largely pessimistic summary of the state of congregational music, Faulkner states that a portion of the current ‘crisis’ in church music is attributable to there being ‘little, if any, theological investigation of the history or purpose of church music’ (1996: 204) and that ‘[t]here is a lack of any widely held objective criteria that establish propriety or quality in church music’ (ibid.). Dawn (1995) and especially Corbitt (1998) have developed tropes whereby theological affectivity and musical quality can be explored.

Corporate Worship Gets Personal [+–] 136 – 157

While one aim of theomusicology is to objectively observe the nuances of various religious music, there comes a point where a degree of subjective analysis is almost unavoidable, particularly when the researcher is involved in the scene. ‘Corporate worship gets personal’ denitely hints at the types of congregational song to be scrutinised below, but it also acknowledges a more subjective, personal tone that necessarily runs through the chapter.

Conclusion: ‘When the Music Fades’ [+–] 158 – 169

In the introduction to Open Up the Doors I noted that the book was concerned with placing contemporary congregational song rmly within the realm of vernacular music studies, and popular music studies more generally. The goal was to expose the modern music of the Church to academic enquiry and observe its evolution, in style and message, and the practical contexts in which it is being produced.

Appendix

Appendix: Song Classication and Analysis [+–] 170 – 182

Song classification and analysis

Notes

Notes 183 – 194

Bibliography

Bibliography [+–] 195 – 202

Bibliography

Index

Index to Bible References [+–] 203 – 204

Index

Subject Index

Subject Index 205 – 209

Reviews

In this important book, Evans has raised the level of conversation about worship music far above the too typical Us vs. Them.
Paul Jacobson, Reviews in Religion and Theology, Volume 15, Issue 4, 2008

Theologically literate evangelical musicians who want to think through why we sing what we sing in church are going to find this a useful publication to consult. And as the number of books in the ‘useful’ category are vanishingly small, it is worth knowing about this one!
Gordon Cheng, The Sola Panel

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Books and Journals in Humanities, Social Science and Performing Arts

Open up the Doors

Music in the Modern Church

Mark Evans [+–]

Macquarie University

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