introducing religious music

[elsie07]

How do you recommend introducing music of one religious tradition to a student of another (though related) tradition - in this case, Catholic/Protestant?  I have piano students who are Protestant (as am I) and in my music history/appreciation class I'm teaching this summer, I want to introduce them briefly to music that is more of the Catholic tradition.  I LOVE this music, and I think my students will enjoy it too, but I'm not sure how to introduce it to them.  My view is that it is a beautiful part of music history that should be enjoyed, appreciated, and studied; but I want to explain a bit of its background, including its text, and this is the part I'm unsure about.  Any suggestions?

By the way, the piece in question is Ave Maria by Josquin Desprez, as a representative piece from the Renaissance.

[Bob]

The church helped develop music.  Church = a place to perform and a place to write music for.  It's a significant piece of music history.

Just warn the people/parents taking the course that you'll touch on religious music.  But it's part of history.  It should be included.

[ted]

Perhaps Johnson's Carolina Shout would be a good piece for that purpose. It is certainly religious, being an evocation of a black service and, at the same time, likely to be very attractive to pupils whatever their persuaion.

[pianowelsh]

Music is music! and people worship to different kinds of music all over the world - even within one denomination..there is different music in China from Japan and Japan from India and India from the USA so explain that it is the way other people express their devotion to God. Granted explaining the text of an Ave Maria may present difficulties in a reformed school setting... but perhaps reading a passage of scripture which relates to mary being the madeservant of the lord would be a suitable link.. setting the context of the ave maria??/ it's your shout.

[slobone]

I don't think you need to make a very big deal about it. Whatever you do, don't apologize for playing a "Catholic" piece. This is part of our common musical heritage, and most of Josquin's pieces were written before the Reformation anyway (although I'm not sure about the Ave Maria).

If any student objects, ask her to talk to you after class. And bravo to you for choosing such a magnificent piece!

[ahinton]

I'll be both brief and circumspect on this one, especially since I do not teach but, for what it may be worth, I'd remind anyone concerned about this subject to bear in mind that that one does not have to be a devout Roman Catholic to appreciate Messiaen or a hardened atheist to get a lot from Delius.

Best,

Alistair

[general disarray]

I'd remind anyone concerned about this subject to bear in mind that that one does not have to be a devout Roman Catholic to appreciate Messiaen or a hardened atheist to get a lot from Delius.

Best,

Alistair

 . . . nor an anguished agnostic to fathom Feinberg.

[slobone]

Or a Parisian pouf to 'ppreciate Poulenc... 

[joyfulmusic]

Apparently none of the readers of this question have been part of a fundamentalist religious church.  I was raised in baptist one, and one minister's wife actually didn't approve of music from "The Messiah" because it was not composed by a born again Christian.  Certain Protestant churches actively oppose music that might have come from the devil.  Sigh.... sad but true.  Growing up in the 60's as I did, I had many a prayer meeting devoted to my heathen ways of listening to the Beatles.

[slobone]

In that case, I guess she shouldn't play them Schoenberg's Moses und Aron or A Survivor from Warsaw either... or anything by Ernst Bloch, or Wagner (a notorious pagan), or... In fact I'm hard-pressed to think of any major composer whose "born-aggin"-ness would pass muster.

If necessary, just don't translate the words. Nobody knows Latin these days. But actually, I believe the text of the Ave Maria comes from the New Testament anyway.