What is church music?
Q: What is church music?
A: Church music is music that is intended to be part of Christian worship in churches, chapels, cathedrals or anywhere Christians meet to worship. It is sacred (religious) music.
Q: Is all religious music considered church music?
A: No, some religious music may be inspired by religion but it may not be church music. For example, some songs are about religion but they may not be church music.
Q: Are Verdi's Requiem and Britten's War Requiem examples of church music?
A: Although Verdi's Requiem uses the words of the Requiem mass, it was composed for performance in a concert hall and would not usually be thought of as "church music". Similarly, Britten's War Requiem was written for performance in a cathedral but it was not meant to be part of a service of worship so it would also not usually be considered "churchmusic".
Q: How has churchmusic varied over time?
A: Churchmusic has varied enormously during the history of Christianity as different churches kept changing their ideas about what part music should have in religious worship.
Q: What is most common form of churchmusic?
A: Most churchmusic is based on singing and often uses the words from liturgy (the words used in services).
Q: What instrument is most commonly used for playing churchmusic?
A: The organ is the most important musical instrument used for playing churchmusic, although from time to time many other instruments have been used as well.
Q: Did composers writing for the Church use traditional or modern styles?
A: During many periods in history composers writing for the Church used traditional rather than modern styles. This was particularly true in early 17th century when composers such as Claudio Monteverdi often wrote using two different styles; one old style for Church Music (which they called “stilo antico”) and one new style for secular (non-religious) Music (which they called “stilo moderno”).
