What is Organ Music?
Trinity
Have you ever asked yourself why does the church have an organ? What makes “organ music” unique. What was organ music written for? Before we can answer any of these questions, we have to consider music itself. Lawrence Phelps, the tonal designer of Trinity’s Casavant, eloquently wrote about music saying:
“Music is complex- we hear sound vibrations with our ears, but it's much more than mere sound. Sound is from the outside in, music, from the inside out. It transforms our mood, our view of the world. Music is universal; it is not bound by spoken language. We respond to it from infancy, we strive to fill our lives with it. To live without music is to live impoverished. So tightly knit to our spiritual core, music can run the gamut of our emotional spectrum, from joy to anguish and everything in between. Music can not only move us but can cause our voices to sing and our feet to dance. It is not limited to the domain of man- other creatures such as birds join in chorus. Perhaps the most powerful and pervasive force on earth, neither is it limited to earth, for heaven itself is filled with music. Music, then, is the best way that creation has to express outwardly its inner spiritual being. Music, the most sublime of the arts, draws its word meaning from muse, to reflect and meditate about something in depth. That's why thoughtful, attentive listening is a skill worth developing.”
Why does church have an organ? What is organ music? Check back next week as we answer the questions posed above.
-Ray Quick