God's music

I was priveleged to attend a concert today with friends and their children. Beethoven's 9th Symphony was performed by the Fresno Philharmonic. They may be a "little city" orchestra, but my opinion went up several notches as I thought they did quite a good job.

Prior to the Beethoven performance the orchestra played a world premier of another "modern" composer. Let's just say it was not my cup of tea. Several of the children and adults commented that it was hard to tell if the right notes were being played or if a wrong note was hit. It was discordant. As Hannah put it, while rubbing a crick in her neck, "It made me tense." This brought up a discussion on the way home about what God's actual purpose for music might be.

I happen to be one of those "math" people. I love it. Not because I can do amazing analytic calculations, but because it always makes sense. The answers always add up, so to speak. I think math reflects God's order and consistency. I tend to think music is very much like that. It was designed by a God that Makes sense. Certain notes were meant to go together, certain notes were just not. Some notes just don't add up correctly.

Don't get me wrong. Discordant sections in music can have their place...when telling a tragic story, when describing something uncomfortable, like a raging storm...or when describing something in a way that shows it isn't meant to exist that way, like sin. But a whole composition that sounds incongruous, inharmonious, or jangling just seems to me to fall very short of the purpose for which God might have intended for music--which, primarily is to give Him glory and praise and secondarily to encourage/entertain us.

"Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; ...Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift up their voice...let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. "
"Let them give glory unto the LORD, and declare his praise in the islands.”

On the other hand, I am not an artistic person. Maybe music truly is just an expression of one's emotions. I'd love to know opinions of those that are more artistically minded than myself.

Beethoven's 9th was wonderful. The orchestra performed more than adequately. The build up was wonderful. And of course, it all culminated in "Ode to Joy". Four choirs combined to fill the auditorium with glorious sound. Unfortunately, the original version does not have the wonderful words so many know from the church hymnbook...but it does include these words:

"Do you fall in worship, you millions? World, do you know your creator? Seek Him in the heavens; Above the stars must he dwell."

I believe, however, all of us were filling in the familiar words:

Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love;
Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee, opening to the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, fill us with the light of day!

If this link will work, you can hear a bit for yourself.