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St. Jerome (347-420) was both a
holy man and a master of the classical
liberal arts and for that reason
equipped to teach the Bible to the
Church. He is responsible for the
translation of the Bible from Hebrew and
Greek into Latin, which we call the
Vulgate. |
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THE ORIGIN AND PURPOSE OF MUSIC
One of the greatest gifts given to man in
the creation of the world is music. There is
no human being that is not influenced by
music's mystical power. From the soft
whispers of a mother's song for her newborn
child to the monumental overtures that can
unite nations and armies, music flourishes
in all human cultures. We see this being the
case from the beginning of man's existence
until now.
But where did music come from? What is its
purpose? Why did God create music? Can it
help us? Can it hurt us?
These questions are important questions to
the philosopher - and they should be for
your family as well. The modern world does
not take the time to seek answers to these
questions. But the CLAA, beginning with its
Music History course and continuing with
music theory courses, will not leave these
questions unanswered. If music is such a
significant part of our lives, we ought to
be concerned with the reasons for its
existence and how to properly use music to
serve God.
Unfortunately, most families today are not
united when it comes to music. Mothers may
be listening to the Oldies, fathers are
listening to rock and roll, one child is
listening to hip-hop, another is listening
to the latest pop icon, another has
memorized all the High School Musical songs,
etc. It should not be so among CLAA
families. Music should be that which unites
your family - not divides it.
The best place to start to achieve this aim
would be your commitment to praying the
Liturgy of the Hours. This is a time when
the whole family can join together in
singing hymns and Psalms and experience the
spiritual benefits that can come with music.
Listen to what St. Basil (330-378 AD) says
about the Psalms:
"A Psalm is the tranquility of
souls, the arbitrator of peace,
restraining the disorder and turbulence
of thoughts...[it] drives away demons,
summons the help of angels, furnishes
arms against nightly terrors, and gives
respite from daily toil."
I am sure you did not think the Psalms could
do all this for us! St. Basil has this
insight into the spiritual benefit of the
Psalms because he knew the answers to those
questions above concerning the origins and
purpose of music. In the CLAA's Music
History course, your student will study, as
St. Basil did, those same origins and
purposes, and discover the development of
music through history as part of a great
movement glorifying God and sanctifying men.
Let us take a glimpse at some of the
knowledge that edified a classical
understanding of music.
THE MUSIC OF THE
UNIVERSE
Scripture tells us that all the elements of
creation are
"in harmony among themselves, like
the strings of the harp".
St. Clement of Alexandria (d. 216 AD)
reminds us that the Word of God through whom
the universe was created
"composed the entire creation into
melodious order, and tuned into concert
the discord of the elements, that the
whole universe might be in harmony with
it."
In these quotes we see our first glimpses
into the origin of music. The music created
by the Great Musician - God - is built right
into creation. It is the silent harmony of
the world.
Silent harmony? How can harmony be silent?
This question touches upon a great
difference in how modern man understands
music and how the Catholic mind ought to
understand music. The classical world
teaches us that music is understood and
studied through Reason and not necessarily
through the senses. That means that music
exists even before man creates audible
harmonies. Music is not simply listening to
sound. Rather, music is the study of ratios
(Mathematics) and harmonies. Human music
ought to mirror God's music. This means that
a proper understanding of audible music
begins first in Mathematics, and in Natural
Philosophy, and in Catechism - all of which
contribute to our knowledge of the created
world and the purpose of creation. For if in
the beginning, God brought order to the
chaos, we too ought to bring order to the
chaos of our own lives and the world around
us. We can achieve this through music.
MUSIC CAN MOVE AND HEAL THE SOUL
It is often forgotten that King David of
Israel was a great musician. After all, he
is the author of our Psalms and was a
learned harp player. Scripture teaches us
something about music when David aides the
first King of Israel, Saul, with his musical
abilities. Saul would often be afflicted by
evil spirits, but in 1 Samuel 16 we read
that whenever the evil spirit seized Saul,
"David would take the harp and play,
and Saul would be relieved and feel
better, for the evil spirit would leave
him."
Music therefore, has the ability to affect
our very souls. We are not speaking simply
of a stirring of emotions here, either. We
are speaking of driving away demons and
other spiritual feats! With this kind of
power - does it not make us question the
kinds of music that we allow to enter our
souls? Should we not be much more aware of
this power in music and do what we can to
heal our souls with good music?
Look at what the Spanish composer,
Christopher Morales (1500 - 1553) has to say
on the subject:
"I despise all superficial,
frivolous music, and never occupied
myself with it. The object of music is
to strengthen and ennoble the soul. If
it does else, save honor God, and
illustrate the thoughts and feelings of
great men, it entirely misses its
aim..."
Morales was composing at a time when Sacred
Music was arriving at new and beautiful
heights within history. His words here are
strong and we must consider his admonition
carefully. If Morales despised "all
superficial, frivolous music", what can we
do to turn our hearts to the same disregard
for music that cannot build us up?
It is important to remember that the music
of today's popular culture is cultivated and
promoted by a money-driven industry. There
is a lot of fame and glamour. There is a lot
of lights and noise. Popular musicians rise
through the charts, and are forgotten in a
generation, or decade, or sometimes a year
or month. American Idol glamorizes music and
creates a sensation. A sensation - through
the senses. Remember what we said about
trying to understand music merely through
the senses? It falls short of its original
aim. American Idol does not move the soul.
It may stir emotion - it may tickle the ear
and flash for the eye - but in the end are
we any better off in our souls from having
listened to the popular music of the day?
Especially when that music was created with
the goal of increasing profits and
glorifying "idols"? What are we doing with
God's gift of music to purify our hearts and
rid them of worldly distractions, preparing
ourselves for heaven?
These questions ought to drive us to
discover the true origin and purpose of
music and to listen to what the history of
music offers us. Common knowledge of music
history doesn't usually go back further
than, perhaps, the roaring 20s and swing
music. And then there was something before
that...O, yes, classical music. What before
that? Why is it that with a 3500 year
heritage full of music, all we can recall is
the last 200 years at most? The CLAA's
History of Music course seeks to fill in the
very large gap here and give students the
foundation upon which music grew
historically, rather than sending young
musicians into the world of profit-driven
music making with a limited knowledge of all
that music has been, is and needs to be. In
fact, we believe that the next great
Catholic musicians to "honor God" and to
"strengthen and ennoble the souls" of men
will be CLAA students.
THE LITURGY OF THE HOURS
CLAA families have the unique opportunity to
recover a spirit of family unity through
music with the gift of the LOTH. Most of us
do not know the hymns printed in the LOTH,
nor do we know how to chant the Psalms.
Well, the CLAA is working to remedy this.
In the meantime though, your family can
begin praying the Psalms with St. Basil's
description and King David's purposes in
mind. If you don't know the hymn suggested
in the LOTH, choose one or two hymns that
you already know, and begin singing them
daily with your family.
Here are a few hymns to get you started:
Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty
Holy God We Praise Thy Name
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
Sing With All The Sons of Glory
All Creatures of Our God and King
Now Thank We All Our God
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ABOUT MR. JARED
HASELBARTH
 Jared
Haselbarth is the Assistant Dean of the Religious
Studies Division of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbrook
PA. He and his wife, Laura, have two young sons. He is happy
to be contributing to the CLAA and looks forward to teaching
his children the classical liberal arts.
 Jared
recorded his first music CD in 2003. It’s called “Every
Color Blue”. You can order one by emailing
jaredhaze@gmail.com with your name and address and he
will send it to you by mail. Cost is $10 plus $3 shipping.
Click here for a
sample:
In the Shade
"I love Jared's music and
everyone I've ever shared it with has loved it. It's
contemporary, but not corny like so much contemporary music
is. The sounds are clean, the vocals great and it's
always good to listen to. Plus, it's Jared...come
on...he writes for the CLAA." -Mr. Michael
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