In the preface to his Psalmes, Sonnets & Songs, published in 1588, the highly-lauded English composer William Byrd set forth these eight reasons “to perswade every one to learne to sing:”
· It is a knowledge easely taught and quickly learned, where there is a good Master and an apt Scoller.
· The exercise of singing is delightfull to Nature and good to preserve the health of Man.
· It doth strengthen all parts of the brest, and doth open the pipes.
· It is a singular good remedie for stammering in the speech.
· It is the best meanes to procure a perfect pronunciation, and to make a good Orator.
· It is the onely way to know where Nature hath bestowed the benefit of a good voyce; which guift is so rare as there is not one among a thousand that hath it; and in many that excellent guift is lost because they want Art to express Nature.
· There is not any Musicke of Instruments whatsoever comparable to that which is made of the voyces of men, where the voyces are good and the same well sorted and ordered.
· The better the voyce is, the meter it is to honour and serve God therewith; and the voyce of man is chiefely to be employed to that ende.
Since singing is so good a thing,
I wish all men would learne to sing.
It is hard to better express the importance of vocal music – particularly with regard to liturgical music. The role of leading singing in the sanctuary requires a serious anointing from the Holy Spirit. In days gone by, like many young musicians, I dreamed of becoming a famous conductor, presiding over a big orchestra. It soon became clear that the conventional route to becoming an orchestral condutor is not conducive to being a Sabbath-keeper so I relinquished that dream, later becoming a choral director. To my surprise, I discovered that there really is no higher calling in music than in directing voices to the highest standard possible. This is even more applicable vis-a-vis sacred choral music of all genres.
Sadly, my experience has been that many of those who do not belive in God but who love music often sing sacred music – be it RSCM-style or gospel music – to a much higher standard than many Christians. And in addition, many choral directors who do not confess that God is Lord of their own lives (even if they do believe that He exists) take their work so much more seriously than many who profess genuine faith as practising Christians that it literally beggars belief.
What does this say about our spiritual discernment regarding music?