1. Middle Eastern and European Religious Traditions

2. -Three of the world’s most prominent religious traditions developed in the Middle East.
-All are monotheistic, meaning the followers only believe in one god.
-The oldest of these is Judaism, then Christianity, then Islam.

3. -Judaism developed about 4,000 years ago.
-The centerpiece of Jewish law is the Torah, which are the first 5 books of the Old Testament.
-These books include the 10 Commandments
-In 70 A.D., the Romans destroyed the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
-Jews were driven from their homeland and forced to take up residence in exile.
-Each year, during a 10 day period of penitence, believers reflect on hardships their ancestors endured.
-The period begins with Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) and ends on Yom Kippur (solemn Day of Atonement).
-On these holy days, Jews go to synagogue and listen as the shofar (shoh-far), or ram’s horn, is sounded.
-On Yom Kippur, they additionally abstain from food or drink.
Shofar

4. -The haunting tones beckon the faithful to atone for their sins
“Kol Nidrei”
-In synagogues on the eve of Yom Kippur, Jewish followers chant the prayer “Kol Nidrei” (kohl-nee-dray) in Hebrew.
-The haunting tones beckon the faithful to atone for their sins
-German composer Max Bruch ( ) also adapted a version of “Kol Nidrei” for solo cello and orchestra.
-the cello is much like the male baritone voice and when played well has a singing like quality.
“Kol Nidrei”, arr. By Max Bruch
Max Bruch

5. Christianity
-The world largest religion
-Christians make up one-fifth of the world’s population.
-Based on the writings of the New Testament of the Holy Bible.
-Most Christians worship the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit)
-They believe that Jesus Christ, as the son of God, rose from the dead two days after his Crucifixion.
-Christians aspire to a sublime life after death with the heavenly father.
-Christianity is generally divided into 3 principal segments:
-Catholic
-Orthodox
-Protestant

6. The Church and Western Music
-For almost 1,500 years, the Catholic Church in Rome was the center of Christianity.
-As one of the great civilizing forces of the Western world, the Church educated its followers through magnificent pageants and passion plays.
-The latter told the Christmas and Easter stories.
-There were splendid celebrations on feast days - all featured glorious music.
-The early history of Western music and art is closely tied in with the church.

7. The principle form of the Catholic religious service is the mass.
-Through the ages, composers have written music for the sung portions of the mass.
-The tradition continues into our own time.
-The mass typically divides into 5 sections: Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei.
-One of the functions of religious music is to interpret the text of the mass and express its ultimate meaning.
-Music induces us to linger over the words and ponder them.
“Kyrie” from Bach’s Mass in B Minor

8. Hymn
-In 1517, a German religious scholar named Martin Luther published a paper questioning the church’s authority.
-Luther, himself a Catholic priest, took issue with the right of clergy to extract monies for favors they bestowed.
-An uproar followed that finally led to a split in the Church.
-In 1529, the Protestant movement was born.
-Protestantism extolled the authority of the Bible and each person’s direct relationship with God.
-Since that time, Protestantism has grown into many different forms and has deeply affected Western thought and civilization.

9. -He composed simple, yet powerful, hymns in the people’s own language.
-Luther’s idea that people should have a direct relationship with God can be seen in his music.
-He translated the Bible from Latin (the official church language) into German so that more people can read it themselves.
-He composed simple, yet powerful, hymns in the people’s own language.
-“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, translated from the original German, is one such work.
“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”

10. The Origins of Gospel Music
-After the Civil War in the United States, the “spiritual” became the predominant style of African American sacred music.
-The spiritual developed during the era of enslavement.
It combines Christian hymn traditions with West African vocal traditions.
Between 1871 and 1879, The Fisk Jubilee Singers toured this country and Europe.
-Spirituals were sung without instrumental accompaniment. Singers were not permitted to improvise or interject their own personal emotions.
Fisk Jubilee Singers (modern)

11. Chorale
-Later composers used the chorale, or hymn tune, as the basis for various kinds of musical works.
-Felix Mendelssohn used the chorale “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” as the first theme in the fourth movement of his Symphony No. 5 in D Major (“Reformation”).
-Mendelssohn composed the work in celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession.
-This was the document that set forth the principals of Protestantism in 1530.
-In this orchestral work, Mendelssohn used the chorale theme in a dramatic rather than religious way.
Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 5 in D Major, mvt. 4

12. J.S. Bach
-Bach used chorales as the basis for new works.
-He improvised on these melodies on organ, adding harmonies and other embellishments. These improvisations, which were later written down became known as choral preludes.
-Choral preludes – compositions that served as
introductions to the singing by the congregation.

13. -Many of Bach’s cantatas are also inspired by chorales.
-Cantata – an accompanied vocal work in a number of movements with a sacred or a secular text.
-Bach integrated the sacred cantata into the Protestant church service.
-Bach’s skills as a composer allowed him to create the magnificent works that expressed his unflagging faith.
-Normally these cantatas end with a simple harmonized chorale sung by the congregation.
-In this sense, cantatas were participatory.
-Sometimes the chorale served as the basis for other movements of the cantata.
-The use of recognizable hymn tunes made theses works readily familiar and gave them a kind of popular appeal.
-Cantatas were the Protestant equivalent to mass.
They became increasingly elaborate, with movements for soloists interspersed with choruses, all accompanied by a small orchestra.
-The chorale or hymn, however, remained the essential ingredient.

14. More on Gospel Music…
-Around 1895 in Lexington, Mississippi, a group of clergy left the Black Baptist church over differences in the church leaders.
-By 1906 this splinter group had evolved into the Fundamentalist Church of God, centered in Memphis, Tennessee.
-Members of this group sang spirited songs accompanied by tambourines, drums, and piano.
-The liveliness of these songs differentiated them from the spirituals sung in the past.
-Although these songs were called by any particular name at the time, today we know them as gospel music.
-The word gospel comes from the root meaning “good tale”.
-This reflects the intent of the music.
-to tell the “good news” of the New Testament.

15. -Later, members established churches in other major cities across the United States.
-They spread these musical traditions and influenced the development of African American gospel music.
The gospel song borrowed three basic song types from the spiritual:
-call and response chant
-slow, syncopated, long-phrased melody
-fast syncopated motif-based melody

16. -These religious songs often refer to future happiness.
-The jubilee and white revival hymns (or white gospel songs) also influenced the development of gospel music.
-In contrast to spirituals, which tended to be somber, jubilees were primarily joyful and lively.
-These religious songs often refer to future happiness.
-The spirit of the jubilee became the spirit of gospel music.
-White revival hymns also provided inspiration.
-These hymns featured lively rhythms as well as antiphonal, or call-and- response, style.
-The singing style was part-singing the answers.
-Gospel music borrowed these characteristics, along with the term gospel, from this genre.
Hold On with Bobby McFerrin and the Harvard Kumba Singers

17. Islam
-Islam, the newest of the great religions, is second only to Christianity in the number of followers.
-The term Islam means “submission to God”.
-Followers of Islam are called Muslims.
-The Islamic faith was founded about 610A.D. by the prophet Muhammad in the city of Mecca, located in present day Saudi Arabia.
-Muslims’ daily prayers are performed facing Mecca.
-It is expected that every Muslim will make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during his or her lifetime.

18. Spread of Islam
-After Muhammed’s death in 632, his followers carried this new religion westward as far as Spain and eastward as far as China.
-Today Islam is the dominant religion of North Africa, the Middle East, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
-Muslims believe in only one God, Allah.
-Allah - the Arabic word for God.
-Muslims believe in the unity of God in contrast to the Christian doctrine of the Trinity and the belief in Jesus as the son of God.
-Besides these differences, Muslims assert that they believe in the same God of the Jewish and Christian religions.
-The Qur’an (Koran), the sacred text written in Arabic, is believed to be God’s revelations to Muhammed.

19. The Music of Islam
-According to some interpretations of the Qur’an, music is haraam, or forbidden.
-The question of whether music may be heard, let alone made, remains a subject of intense debate throughout the Arab world.
-Two nations that permit, and even celebrate music are India and Pakistan.
-There a traditional musical form known as qawwali (khah-waa-lee) is featured in devotional services.
-Qawwali – rhythmic, fast-paced music is used by groups of Muslims called Sufis (soo-fees).

20. -Qawwali originated in India in the 14th century and is performed in Sufi shrines.
-Through drumming, hand clapping, and repetitive religious lyrics, the dancers are induced into a religious trance.
-The rhythms help create the sense of religious ecstasy the dancers seek.
-Through this means, Sufis believe that they may better experience the blessings of Allah.
-During a performance, everyone may clap – the singers in the chorus, the dancers, and the members of the audience.
Article/Video on Qawwali:

21. -Qawwali comes in many styles and may be considered traditional or popular.
-This depends on such characteristics as the instruments played, the context, the text, and the musical style.
-The melodic instrument most commonly associated with traditional qawwali is the harmonium.
-Was introduced to South Asia by English missionaries in the 19th century
-now used in a variety of folk, popular, and classical music contexts throughout the region.
Indian harmonium demonstration: