Musicians Commissioned, Separated, and Taught

Musicians Commissioned, Separated, and Taught

          Those who suppose that the concept that there is that which is right and wrong, and that which is legitimate and appropriate in music is only a late twentieth century desperate effort to fight new approaches to music and music performance are sadly misinformed.  As early as the lifetime of Plato (c.420BC—c.348BC), philosophers were considering the concept of what was right and wrong concerning music and judgments made on this basis.  I am aware that there is much about Platonic thought (and Aristotelean thought) that a Christian does not agree with philosophically and biblically, but I see no reason that a Christian musician should not give serious consideration to the fact that from ancient times until somewhere in the twentieth century, philosophers believed that there was such a thing as right and wrong concerning music and music performance.

          As I have mentioned many times in this blog, the Bible is not silent concerning musical performance in the process of training our young people.  The twenty fifth chapter of I chronicles begins by explaining that,  “Moreover David and the captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph, and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals…”  This verse makes it very clear that these Levite sons were separated to perform on instruments of music.  They were commissioned, separated, and taught how to perform the music of the Temple.

Thought for the Day

 Christian musicians should study sacred music and musicing by the Levite musicians in Ancient Israel.   It is an inspired window into the concept of musicing unto God.