Perhaps no other time in the liturgical year demonstrates the truly sacred dimensions of music in worship as in the sequence of services from Holy Week through Easter Sunday. The meditative spirit of Lent reaches its conclusion in the drama, even pathos, of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday in remembrance of Jesus' last tragic days of his world-changing ministry. And then Easter Sunday— a burst of joy (boisterous and quiet expressions alike!) celebrating the assured victory of life over death. Green blade rising.

Music for every occasion. A spiritual tool to bring us closer to the divine. Truly a remarkable gift to the world this "ordered sound."

I offer these inspired words from the closing paragraph of the wonderful book "A Song to Sing, A Life to Live" by Don and Emily Saliers:

Listen, and sing...
Begin with the music you already cherish
but live with openness to the possibility
that in the coming years
music you have not yet heard
will lead you more deeply
into the mystery at the heart of all that is...
May music be a wellspring
from which you will drink courage and joy.

Mark
Mark Heiskanen, Dir. of Music/Organist

I can recall many an organ lesson where my instructor would say, in an effort to help resolve the phrasing of a particular passage, "Well, how would you sing it?" It always worked. The original instrument, the human voice, provides the most natural interpretation of musical expression which other instruments can only attempt to emulate. A sensitive musician can do so very effectively though. Listen to an expressive cellist like Yo-Yo Ma, a solo by a brilliant guitarist such as Pat Metheny or Brian May, or the phrasing of a virtuoso pianist such as Angelin Chang. What do all these players have in common? They impose a sense of breath onto their respective instruments. This is especially vital for us organists who play an instrument that, as long as we have electrical power, never needs to breathe! Igor Stravinsky famously called the organ, "the monster that never breathes." Perhaps he had some bad experiences or was just very biased. Either way, the listener will be naturally inclined to expect an organic (no pun intended) approach to music-making. It is all about the human voice, an instrument we're all intimately familiar with.

It is no secret that Christianity has had a long association with singing in worship. The psalms are song texts after all and often encourage singing. Examples include Psalm 95:1 "Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation" and Psalm 101:1 "I will sing of your love and justice; to you, LORD, I will sing praise."

There are many more examples in scriptures of course. Ephesians 5.19 states "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord." And Hebrews 2.12 offers “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” 

The relevance of the human voice in worship and in our experience with the divine was further reinforced at a few workshops I attended this summer. In June, I participated in a nearly week-long session with the Church Music Institute in Fort Worth, Texas  The time there included lectures on the history of hymnody, daily morning and evening prayer services, church music seminars, and a hymn festival. Recently I returned from a choral conducting workshop in San Diego with the Proarte Voices. The nuanced emphasis on embodying the breath and vocal mechanism in gesture was profound. Coupled with the appreciation of the history of vocal culture in the church at large, I am feeling quite good about the upcoming program year, beginning this Jubilee Sunday.

The good news is we all have the opportunity to participate vocally in worship via congregational songs and hymns. We are blessed at Plymouth to also have other musical outlets for those who wish. We just completed another season of Summer Choir, a "pickup choir" singing necessarily simple anthems to enrich summer worship. The Chancel Choir begins on August 21 providing accessible quality anthems for the program year normally at the 11:00 a.m. "choral" service. The Chamber Choir is an auditioned ensemble of 12-16 singers who offer high quality choral works ranging from the Renaissance to contemporary eras. The Plymouth Ringers resume rehearsals on September 4. While an instrumental group, we strive to not just ring but make our Schulmerich Bells sing!

Vox humana: It is an organ reed stop meant to imitate the human voice and found on French classic organs as early as the 17th century. It is Latin for "human voice," you have no doubt surmised by now. The desire to speak to God and make music with our voices, even while playing an instrument, is such an innate and interesting impulse. Why resist?