Last Sunday, to highlight the story of the temptation of Christ, I played Henry Cowell’s “The Banshee” for an offertory:
Knowing this was pushing the boundaries of what my congregation was used to, I included a performance note in the bulletin with history and background of the piece as well as an explanation of why it was significant for that Sunday.
The response I got from worshipper’s was surprisingly enthusiastic and appreciative, with many expressing wonder that they’d “never heard a piano played that way” before.
I say this to open up the door for discussion on just where we draw the lines for what music we include in worship. This piece was written in the 1920’s—does that make it traditional, or contemporary? Where is there room for the avant garde in worship, for the abstract musical art forms? Do we make music too utilitarian or too cosmetic in worship, focusing only on whether it fits the theme for the day or whether it fits some predetermined aesthetic mold (i.e., traditional organ and hymnody or contemporary Christian rock/pop)? It seems to me that music can transcend our neat little boxes to communicate the Word of God in far more profound ways if we would get out of the way.
Reactions? Would this piece work in your setting? How might you as worship leaders or planners push the envelope and step outside the box in your worship services?
2 comments:
Can you share what you put in the bulletin about the piece?
Sure! Here it is: What’s “The Banshee”? Written by Henry Cowell (1897-1965), this piece is played on the strings inside the piano and evokes the wailing and howling of the banshee. In Celtic mythology, the banshee is a spirit or ghoul whose cries and shrieks are forewarnings of death and misfortune. This piece seemed an appropriate way to evoke today’s gospel lesson, the temptation of Christ by Satan in the wilderness. By marking the beginning of our Lenten journey, this text functions as a foreshadowing of our remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death on Good Friday.
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