What is the sound we make as musicians?

September 20th, 2018

What is the sound we make as musicians? Is it just noise? Or is it something which grows from silence and stillness? So that through the sound we are making, stillness shines through?

Do we make our music transparent enough so that God can speak through it?

And do we play large textures in the same way? Or are we just interested in how loud the organ can really play? Do we play large textures with the prayerful sense of the awe of God? That somehow with our human senses, we can feel a little of his majesty and omnipotence?

During the past we week we had a funeral at St Mary’s – one of our cantors sang the ‘Pie Jesu’ from Faure’s Requiem and then as the recessional our vocal ensemble sang the ‘In Paradisum’ (also from Faure’s ‘Requiem’). During this particular Mass I was thinking how this music is so still and yet, not static. It’s almost as if it’s only a few notches away from silence – Faure somehow draws us further into a sense of stillness with a non-intrusive, transparent accompaniment from which a beautiful melody emanates. He then slowly opens up other harmonic regions as though we are journeying through an almost harmonic metamorphosis before the piece finds its way home to the tonic key underpinned by the warm tones of the tenor and bass voices.

It’s interesting to note that the General Instruction of the Roman Missal mentions silence in a number of places and in reference to it mentions the concepts of meditation, recollection and reverence. It even advocates silence before the Eucharistic celebration ‘so that all may dispose themselves to carry out the sacred celebration in a devout and fitting manner’. (Art 45).

St John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter ‘Spiritus et Sponsa’ (2003) mentions the need to ‘foster…the experience of silence’. He goes on to say that ‘the Liturgy, with its different moments and symbols, cannot ignore silence’.

It’s almost as if this music is given to us as a gift through these great composers so that even in the painful times of our lives, we can experience God’s closeness and his consolation.

We especially remember and pray for our fellow musician Jane Beaverstock who recently passed away suddenly. May the Good Shepherd welcome her into His loving arms and grant her eternal rest.