Difference between revisions of "Religion in the music system"

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"Religion in the music system" means the appearance of religion and spirituality generally with an aesthetic-communicative system generally understood (emically) to be "music" rather than "religion".  As we know from former readings, a clear-cut differentiation between "religious system" (including rituals, contexts, beliefs, ethical and cosmological doctrines, institutions, and social structures) and "musical system"  (including practices of composition and performance, contexts, theories, aesthetics, pedagogies, institutions, media, and social structures) is not always possible, and in particular an emic distinction may not exist, especially in small-scale and preindustrial societies.  In other cases, a verbal and practical separation between "musical system" and "religious system" is more definite, and one can diffferentiate therefore between:
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[[On the concept of 'religion in the music system']]
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* music in the religious system
 
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* religion in the music system
 
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We can discuss the conditions for such a differentiation, which are undoubtedly linked to several co-occuring factors:
 
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* the division of labor which occurs in a complex society with a monetary economy
 
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* rise of complex large-scale societies comprising differentiated quasi-autonomous social structures and institutions (e.g. church, school, voluntary associations, political organizations, government, corporations, etc.)
 
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* capitalism, in which the relentless search for profit leads to adaptive differentiations, including the development of "entertainment" as as commodity.
 
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More generally, the two systems interact; the impact of religion on the music system is broader than the mere appearance of the former within the latter, including:
 
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* The appearance of spirituality in the music system (e.g. spirituality in jazz)
 
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* The appearance of whole genres of religious music in the music system (e.g. gospel)
 
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* The influence of religious sound upon music, through training or exposure (e.g. influence of styles of Qur'anic recitation upon many forms of 'secular' vocalization throughout the Islamic world)
 
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* The influence of religious strictures upon music generally (e.g. the crackdown on popular music in Iran, together with support for refined Persian art music)
 
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Can you think of other examples?
 
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The appearance of spirituality in the music system can possibly be read as a form of resistance against the capitalist subsumption (exploitation?) of "art" (music) as commodity by underscoring the supposed antithesis - the eternal value of "perennial truths" expressed in art. This resistance occurs perhaps also in the emphasis upon "roots" or "traditional" music, transcending materialist aims. Religion and spirituality in music may represent the extreme:  the authenticity of true feeling, grounded in the experience and value of the cosmic, the transcendent, the permanent, the utterly immaterial, irrupting within the material music system (of productive forces and relations) as a means of material gain.
 
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Whether this apparent act of resistance is (or can be) effective is a question for discussion...
 
  
 
= Assigned readings: Spirituality in Jazz =
 
= Assigned readings: Spirituality in Jazz =

Revision as of 10:43, 7 March 2006

On the concept of 'religion in the music system'

Assigned readings: Spirituality in Jazz

Note: the following readings are generally quite short, and much easier than those of late...don't be put off by their number. If possible, try to locate recordings as well. We will listen and watch the spiritual music of these jazz masters extensively in class. Enjoy!

Duke Ellington

Read the following short biography of Duke Ellington.

Read this NPR story about the Sacred Concert, and listen to the audio.

Browse his official web site, as you wish.

John Coltrane

Skim the following: John Coltrane: A Biographical Sketch

Read this short article about John Coltrane's music of theophany and negation

Browse two sites for the Church of Saint John Coltrane African Orthodox Church [1] [2] (the second is superseded by the first, but contains some additional information about the founding of the church)

Optionally, read this article about Coltrane's most famous composition, A Love Supreme, by noted jazz scholar and Coltrane biographer Lewis Porter.

Mary Lou Williams

Browse as much as possible in Mary Lou Williams' website, including all of the section entitled Religious Conversion

Read the following interview with Mary Lou Williams

Sun Ra

Please read the following:

Sun Ra: From Ephrata (F-Ra-Ta) to Arkestra by David W. Stowe

Jazzmen: Diz and Sun Ra by Amiri Baraka

Listenings, viewings

I will be showing footage of all four jazz artists in class; please make an effort to come on time.

Discussion about this topic

Your thoughts, ideas...?

Your selected readings

Please find examples of "religion in the music system", on jstor or anywhere on the web. Don't limit yourself to scholarly articles - web sites, blogs, etc. are all fine.

Examples:

  • Christian rock
  • Islamic rap

etc.


This was an easy one for me. Here's the link to House of Doc's website - a Winnipeg group that plays music somewhere between bluegrass, gospel, folk, and old time. I can't say for sure that they're out to stand up for their own sort of theology, but I do know that they still lead the worship services in their home church from time to time. As for the website, the bios are the best part. There are sound clips too with their discography, but if that isn't enough, I have sacred blue and would be willing to lend it out. (if absolutely necessary)--Lpauls 21:51, 5 March 2006 (MST)

Sonicflood website. This is one of my favourite Christian rock bands. Under "music," there are some MP3 samples. They also have a blog. Read on and enjoy:)--Stella 22:48, 5 March 2006 (MST)

"Finding Religion" in Popular Music This is someone's SHORT (sorry), broad, and good abstract for a paper on religion in contemporary music. The author suggests that popular performers are in some sense taking over the role of prophets and religious leadership in a way that is adapted to our secularized society of mass consummtion. So a paradox emerges of secularized sacred music, over which it is easy to find controversy.--Gloria 13:23, 6 March 2006 (MST)

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