Some of you may have had the opportunity in November 2009 to attend the Good Shepherd Institute’s conference on “Bach in Today’s Parish: Still the Evangelist.” While I wasn’t able to attend, I patiently await the publication of their annual journal of papers presented at the conference (and hoping that they might post MP3s of the presentations). In the meantime, the folks at GSI have posted two of the conference papers on their website (NOTE 11/11: It appears these papers are no longer posted). They are interesting readings for musicians and non-musicians alike.
“What Would Bach Do Today?” by Paul Grime
Dr. Grime (Dean of the Chapel at Concordia Theological Seminary) has a clever alternate title for his paper: WWJD: What Would Johann Do? It is a provocative question to consider and Dr. Grime explores the possibilities for today’s church musicians. If I had to summarize it one sentence, it would be: Don’t operate with your blinders on. Bach worked within and had an understanding of both the church and culture and sacred and secular. While we now experience different circumstances from Bach, Grime doesn’t impose artificial limitations on the musician, but encourages exploration and freedom.
But it will only be through trial and error that we will be able to press on to that next fresh expression of the grace of God, using His incredible gift of music to awaken faith in our generation and the next. Bach would expect nothing less!
“The Global Importance of Bach Today” by Uwe Siemon-Netto
Given Uwe Siemon-Netto’s background as a reporter, it is not surprising that his paper reads like a feature article – an engaging article. He shows how Bach’s music transcends cultures and social classes and “speaks” to all sorts of people. Even Bach’s instrumental music, he contends, can bring people to Christianity. But he also laments the apathy of the theological/musical heirs of Bach toward this musical tradition (specifically in reference to the sale of a certain radio station owned by a certain church body in a certain mid-western city). Another enlightening reading opportunity.