Programs
Religion & the Arts
Listening to Music; Hearing the Soul
Date: April 1, 2009
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Place: Temple Oheb Shalom, 7310 Park Heights Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21208
Cost: $20
Register Online
Many sacred and secular texts are familiar to us because we know them from famous musical settings. From The Star Spangled Banner to the Hallelujah Chorus, from God Save the Queen to Kyrie eleison, our understanding of these words is informed by our emotional and intellectual response to the music that accompanies them. We respond to music differently than we respond to language, and we respond to language much differently when it is sung than when it is spoken. When matters of faith and theology are thrown into the mix, does the potent brew that results deepen our appreciation of both music and text or strengthen our insularity and intolerance?
Tom Hall will examine some familiar icons of sacred choral music, including Handel's Messiah, the Brahms Requiem, and Bach's B Minor Mass to explore great music's potential to lead us to an enlightened understanding of different faith traditions.
Tom Hall is the Music Director of the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, the Culture Editor for "Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast" on WYPR Radio, the host of Choral Arts Classics on WYPR, and the Director of Choral Activities at Goucher College.
