Fieldwork Project Final_Ali
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210
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Arts Humanities
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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Military Church Choir
Natnael Ali
The University of Maryland Global Campus
MUSC 210: Music as Cultural Expression
Professor Olubunmi M. Oguntolu
20230804
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Musical ethnography (or ethnomusicology, presently known) covers a wide range of topics. It is concerned with "things" (such as organology, which studies musical instruments), "texts" (such as folkloristics or history), rituals, and social "institutions" (such as ethnography and sociology). It also includes behavior, communication, and thinking (such as psychology), speech activity (such as psycholinguistics), and performance (such as aesthetics or theatre and ballet studies). However, in my opinion, the most particular and system-forming characteristic of
the ethnomusicological object proper is articulation as an all-determining manner of existence of the music of the oral tradition (McKerrell, 2022). As a result, it gains ontological status in folklore. Now, ethnomusicology focuses on articulated objects (McKerrell, 2022). I picked a military church choir for my field research due to its uniqueness and deep meaning.
Research Questions
1.
How is a church choir formed, and are there any rules for performing church singing?
Church laws and edicts of church officials have a direct impact on the creation and growth of church singing. Only within the confines of the church can the proper ecclesiastical attitude towards liturgical singing be conceived. Examples of such devotion to singing may be seen throughout church history. Ecclesiastical, educational institutions: academies, seminaries, colleges, schools of regents, and Orthodox gymnasiums with varying degrees of preparation for students and students involved in church singing; these choirs are often homogenous and rarely mixed. Regents' schools study the traditions of church singing in more depth, and its graduates are specialists in this regard.
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2.
What types of church singing are there? After such a lengthy evolution, three kinds of singing may be found in church singing today. Cathedral singing, parish singing, and monastery singing are examples of these. Cathedral singing developed in huge cathedrals in major cities, where bishops' services are given on a regular basis and where there is always a significant crowd. The solemnity, concert, and brilliance of the sound of a big choral mass characterize this singing. Parish singing can be heard in small churches in provincial towns and villages where there is a simple, quiet atmosphere, where there are few parishioners who are always there, and everyone knows each other, and where the service is always conducted by one priest - both on weekdays and on holidays. Monastic singing can be heard at monasteries by definition; this singing has a much older foundation. Although one-voice nanny chant is rarely heard here, monastic singing has a common direction with it.
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3.
Will the church choir and its traditions be relevant in the future?
Church singing traditions are becoming an increasingly important area of choral art in modern choral culture. This is because these traditions are widely available and easily accessible.
The growing number of churches is fueling the formation of new church choirs, and many professional choral conductors with a good basis in secular choral performance are shifting their focus to regency and choral singing. The church choir, I believe, will always be important because it is how people turn to God.
Live Listening Observations
Spiritual music should be serious, lofty, balanced (a balance of spiritual, intellectual, and emotional components), multicultural, and not suggest worldly connections. Such music should
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be of great quality and should be carefully chosen by the pastor and regent of the church. Recommendations for expressive methods (performance composition and texture) include the acceptability of musical instruments, the supremacy of singing (solo and choral), the requirement
of congregational singing as frequently as feasible, and choral polyphony.
Music has an emotional component, as does human musical perception. Therefore, spiritual music is also emotional; however, it has its emotional structure, which is defined by two
fundamental characteristics: sublimity, or detachment from the mundane, and joy, or emotional warmth. If they are perceived as opposites, the obvious conclusion is that only one of them is acceptable
(
Choir
, n.d.). Consequently, a dry, formalistic worship session with a focus on the responsibility to learn the truth results in the loss of an atmosphere favorable to the orderly study and memorizing of God's Word
(
Choir church
. n.d.) As a result, the emotional range of liturgical music must be sought in the careful balance of its emotional and intellectual components, as well
as in its synthesis and unification
(
History of the choir
, 2018). When this is accomplished, music begins to fulfill its role in worship. It becomes the most effective means of communicating with God, expressing gratitude to Him, and studying His Word and truth.
Choral singing has a dual God-human nature as a form of devotion. The God-related aspect is that spiritual choral singing works to transmit the Word of God to Christians, teaching biblical facts and concepts. The human side is that choral singing transmits believers' ideas, aspirations, desires, and sentiments toward God
(
Backhouse et al., 2022). It is indirect in this sense since the choristers, as members of the faithful, assume the authority of conveying the sentiments of the entire community of believers. In this, the choristers are partly burdened with the job of standing before God, representing the people, as the high priest previously did
(
Schaff, 2022). Since choristers are
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chosen based on spirituality and particular singing ability, choral singing has an intensively focused, generalized nature that expresses the longing of humanity toward God in an intensified form; the opposing impact also characterizes this character. The sound of the choir heightens the sense of reverence, detachment from one's own ego, and togetherness with others in the primary thing - turning to God. It returns to the assembly, causing a unique communal feeling of oneness and attention in the high places that occurs only under such circumstances.
Choral singing (as opposed to solo, group, and instrumental singing) is the most developed form of musical ministry of the Word from an external standpoint, as it necessitates large performance resources. Furthermore, from an internal standpoint, only it can express the social level of a person's spiritual experience, focusing it on the most crucial moments of faith shared by all those who follow. It allows us to sense a special unity with one another and in God, as well as a special power from above to execute the actions of faith.
Church singing is a beautiful and sophisticated art; its essential elements are the regent's awful discipline, clear articulation, the capacity to comprehend musical texts, and intense attention to the partner and one's own vocal parts. I was given permission to observe military church choir in my base and the opportunity to talk with its director, Michael, to do my field research. "Where do you find inspiration? " "Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?" "What is your creative process like?" I was curious. Prayer and singing are two of the most common ways to communicate religious beliefs. Singing is the combination of words and vocal melody. The mind's work is expressed in simple phrases, formulae, and dry language. Sentiments are not satiated by just words; simple words are insufficient; sentiments want exquisite words – poetry, and the Orthodox liturgical books eloquently demonstrate this. They are astonishingly magnificent poetry masterpieces that reveal
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religious truths and are put to vowels and chants. Every Orthodox divine service is nearly completely comprised of prayer singing. The Interview
Ali: Please explain your creative process. Michael's response: It’s a matter of feel for me, and I must go through and figure out what that is,
I want my music to convey messages or stories about God.
Ali: Where do you find inspiration? Michael's response: I find inspiration reading the bible, listing to heartwarming stories, hearing stories where God helped individuals get out of a tuff spot.
Ali: Is there a hidden meaning in any of your music?
Michael's response: There are no hidden meanings I try my best to make the meaning of the music as clear and direct as possible.
Conclusion
Thus, through my research, I have learned much about the church choir. These details helped me to form a more complete picture of this type of singing. Church art is a sphere of high moral ideals for ordinary people. This world of special beauty and discipline was a must in many
people's lives. Its accessibility to everyone who came to church gave this culture certain democratism. This type of music helps people express themselves and their feelings and connect with God. This topic needs further research, as the church choir may face problems nowadays due to a lack of people.
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References
Backhouse, F., Dalziell, A. H., Magrath, R. D., & Welbergen, J. A. (2022). Higher-order sequences of vocal mimicry performed by male Albert's lyrebirds are socially transmitted
and enhance acoustic contrast. Proceedings of the Royal Society B
, 289
(1970), 20212498.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.2498
Choir.
(n.d.). Choir
. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/choir-
music#:~:text=Choirs%20have%20taken%20part%20in,50%20or%2060%20trained
%20voices
. Schaff, P. (2022). History of the Christian Church: Vol. 2
. BoD–Books on Demand.
History of the choir
. (2018, February 19). St Patrick’s COI Cathedral, Armagh. https://www.stpatricks-cathedral.org/music/history-of-the-choir/
McKerrell, S. (2022, January). Towards practice research in ethnomusicology. Ethnomusicology Forum, 31
(1), 10-27. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2021.1964374
Choir church
. (n.d.). Choir Church. Retrieved July 13, 2023, from https://www.choirchurch.com/
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