Ancient connections exist between music and ritual. Church patronage supported many great composers to produce their masterworks, and there is a broad repertoire of beautiful pieces written for the concert hall, inspired by the deep spirituality of composers such as Messiaen and Mahler, Tavener and MacMillan. Music has been employed within major religious traditions for centuries, and now appears to be an essential tool (albeit as background sound) in the broader spiritual experiences of meditation and hypnosis. While we may harbour reservations about the relegation of music to a supporting rather than central role, this development indicates a wide recognition that music exercises a profound impact on mood and senses, and is thus effective to promote relaxation and, by contrast, to energise. Media reports make regular mention of the beneficial effects of music on mental health, memory, social life, posture, breathing, self-esteem, confidence … the list goes on. In January 2005, The Independent published 100 Ways to Feel Better. Singing came in at number 7 under the category Be Calmer:

‘Communal singing is good for mind and body, say researchers at the University of Newcastle. As well as burning off 150 calories an hour, it improves breathing and muscle tone, alleviates depression, stammering, stress, low self-esteem, asthma and chronic pain.’ [Independent Review, 4 January 2005: ‘100 Ways to Feel Better: Be Calmer’]

The idea is not a novel one. Ancient philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle explored the relationships between music, health and healing, observing how the rhythms and melodies we hear affect a change in our soul, and relating various musical modes to different states of mind and mood. This is rooted in the concept of mind-body unity, in which what affects the body is understood similarly to affect the soul, and vice versa. The logical conclusion therefore is that the power of music (which exercises such a profound influence on the physical) affects the spiritual.

Music enables composers, performers and listeners to express intense emotions, and it gives artistic representation to the profound truths of life, while also offering sustenance to endure suffering. These desires for comfort in distress, for truth, and for an outward expression of what is most significant about life and death, are similarly sought in any spiritual quest. Susan Digby, founder and director of the Voices Foundation, a charity which supports the widespread teaching of singing, claims, ‘We know that music has a profound impact on people’s lives … It goes straight to the soul.' [Daily Telegraph, 10 September 1999: ‘Singing is good for you’.]

As a community musician, responsible for liturgical music in two Catholic churches and primary schools, I am constantly struck by this power in music. Within Christianity, while each of us experiences a different, individual journey of faith, hymns reveal a wider spiritual horizon, enabling us to ‘try out’ the articulation of various images of God, and express a relationship with the divine as it has been recorded by poets and composers in a myriad historical, geographical and spiritual situations. Nowhere is that more clear than in carol singing. In the recent BBC series, The Retreat, when the devout Muslim, Aisha, referred to Christian hymn-singing, it was an extract of the Christmas carol Hark the Herald Angels that she called to mind and sang as an example. At Christmas, many people who are otherwise not religious experience sacred music, piped into shops and cafés, or – more rarely nowadays – sung door to door or on street corners. The traditional songs of the Christmas season appeal to many people of all faiths, little faith, or no faith at all. As former nun Lavinia Byrne observed in the Financial Times:

‘When we sing carols … we are remembering – and the remembering is important. It recognises the intensity of our spiritual longings and does not commit us to more religious faith than we can manage, yet it invites us to reflect on ultimate values and to think about what we do worship.’ [Financial Times Weekend, 23-26 December 2000.]

On a deep level, music brings us into harmony with each other. Most countries choose not to unify around national pledges; yet each has its own national anthem, a song which arguably expresses some commonality, a unifying feature of the nation to be celebrated. National sporting teams are often supported by fans in song, and from my own observations, it appears that the England football team’s supporters are relatively talented in this creative endeavour! Music facilitates the fans’ simultaneous proclamation of support, as the rhythm and pulse draw the group’s words together and the sung voice projects them clearly.

The unifying strength of music has offered hope in the face of apparently insurmountable difficulties. There are many examples of composers who risked censorship, exile and even imprisonment for the themes they tackled and the manner in which these were expressed. Consider Verdi’s involvement in Italian politics, themes of revolution and political freedom in Beethoven’s Fidelio, and Mozart’s treatment of the controversial Beaumarchais play on which Figaro is based. Wagner was associated with the revolutionary movements of 1848, and Shostakovich and Prokofiev, among others, conducted a musical rebellion against Soviet tyranny. The deeply spiritual power of music has been harnessed to oppose widespread injustice. James Mawdsley, when held prisoner in Myanmar (also known as Burma) in the late 1990s, is rumoured to have resisted pressure from prison guards to participate in the songs of the ruling regime by singing the religious song Lord of the dance. Spirituals emerged from victims of oppression as an expression of unity and strength, and songs added momentum and hope to protests against the apartheid regime in South Africa.

The power of music to break down barriers and draw people together on common ground has proved invaluable in ecumenical and interfaith dialogue. It is more usual to hear instrumental music than vocal in interdenominational worship, since this may be interpreted differently by a wide variety of people, believers or unbelievers, although there are some sacred texts which allow for a range of interpretations, such as Immortal, invisible which expresses truths about the deity accessible to various religious groups. Fred Kaan is one example of many modern hymn writers who have explored the interfaith dimension of hymns. Kaan writes from his perspective as a United Reformed Church minister, yet he produces works such as One Mighty Flowering Tree (1994), scored for chorus, brass and percussion, which was written ‘to express the holistic philosophy that all humanity should be joined in a deep kinship transcending race and religion’. [Gillian R Warson, ‘Healing the Nations: Fred Kaan, the Man and his Hymns’, London, Stainer & Bell, 2006, p.101.) He has written hymns for a spiritual, yet not religious wedding ceremony, and reworked his earlier Christian hymns, including Hands shaped like a cradle, to appeal to a broader spectrum of religious and non-religious spiritual thought.

The power of music can be inclusive, but does not have to be exercised in a coercive manner. Indeed, music is most effective when it is freely shared and experienced. When we understand the capacity of music to affect our mood and promote a certain response, we can choose freely to participate in that or to turn from its power. The Gospels record Jesus using music, which can be accepted or rejected, as a metaphor for his own teaching, in Matthew 11:17:

‘We played the flute for you and you did not dance; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn.’

By contrast, the Welsh band Goldie Lookin Chain expanded on the same theme in their own distinctively ironic idiom in Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do!

My perspective on this theme is limited by my own specific religious affiliation. However, I have been inspired by formal discussions and casual conversations across the denominations and religious divides, and beyond these into the broader, more nebulous arena of spirituality in general. On 8 November 2007, the ISM’s North London Centre will investigate the subject in greater breadth and depth during a day conference entitled: An eye to the heavens, an ear to the ground: Exploring the Spiritual Dimension of Music. We are privileged to welcome Dr Rachel Harris from the School of African and Oriental Studies music department, who will use examples from Islam to develop the central theme. As a cantor in the Roman Catholic church, I will share some of my conversations with Jewish cantor, Jacky Chernett. Later, Margaret Birley, Keeper of Musical Instruments at the Horniman Museum, will present instruments used in ritual around the world. And there will be time to experience the unique Tent, an interfaith space in the grounds of the conference venue, St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. All are welcome.

Frances Novillo BA is a member of the ISM’s North London Centre. This article incorporates ideas shared by other members of the North London Centre committee.

‘An eye to the heavens, an ear to the ground: Exploring the Spiritual Dimension of Music’ will take place from 10.30am to 2.30pm on Thursday 8 November 2007 at St Ethelburga’s Centre, Bishopsgate, London EC2N 4AG.

The North London Centre committee writes: ‘Please book your place well in advance, as this is an ambitious event for the Centre, and we anticipate considerable interest. Due to the high costs of this event, it is essential we know in advance how many wish to attend.’

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