Kurt Woetzel

Every church music director who has the responsibility of helping believers to praise the Lord's name in song and bring glory to Him through the wonderful medium of the choral sound should set aside a week and take part in the Robert Shaw Choral Workshop held each year at Carnegie Hall in January. It is a marvelous time of intense learning and skill sharpening. Robert Shaw, a legendary giant of choral music for over half a century, rehearses over one hundred auditioned singers from all over the country, while about that same number of auditors observe. For a whole week, over forty hours of rehearsal, our hearts, minds, and souls feasted sumptuously while Mendelssohn's Elijah was being prepared for a Sunday afternoon sold-out concert at Carnegie Hall. When our letters of acceptance came, about six months prior to the January week, I resolved to make an attempt to speak with Mr. Shaw and ask him the question which I have posed to several well-known secular music personalities. The answer to this watershed question divides much of the Christian community and greatly influences the character of the music which may be heard in a particular church. To be absolutely clear, the question must be stated several ways. Is music neutral? Is sound capable of moral influence? Does music alone, with or without text, carry and communicate moral value? Is music amoral? The opportunity came during a Thursday afternoon rehearsal break. Typically there were three or four people waiting to speak with Mr. Shaw. Today there was just one person casually chatting with him at this intermission. I felt somewhat guilty posing such a "heavy" question to a man who no doubt relished a few moments of relaxation from the intense work out of his rehearsals. His shirt was drenched with perspiration.

I introduced myself and asked if he would mind if I asked him a question which had nothing to do with the preparation of Elijah. He smiled and said, "Not at all." But first he wanted to know where I was from, where I taught, or which group I conducted. (Everyone at the workshops must be actively engaged in teaching or working with a choral group.) After some additional small talk I asked the question: "Mr. Shaw, do you consider music to be moral or amoral...does music itself have and communicate moral value?" The answer came immediately and without hesitation. It was obvious that he had spent time contemplating this issue. The clarity of his answer showed that he was not only aware of the debate in Christian circles but had perhaps even lectured on the topic. What follows are some key phrases out of a seven-to-eight minute conversation. I wrote them immediately upon returning to my seat as the rehearsal continued. He began with a categorical statement, "I believe all the arts are moral. I can't see how any of the arts can be neutral." "What impact do you believe rock music has had on society?" I asked. From our conversation he knew that my work was in sacred music and thus understood what motivated my question. "I am aware of the controversy in Christian music.... The church of Bach's day understood the music in their congregations. I don't know if the church today understands the music brought into the church. The people don't understand the music." He then gave a brief description of rock music and offered a rather graphic analogy of what the music portrays. Somewhat startled by his candid remarks I commented, "So you think the music is very sensual." He reacted quickly with, "It's perverse." In a day when the majority of the dialogue, sermons, Christian magazine articles, and books addressing this foundational music controversy, forcefully and boldly proclaim "music is neutral," it is noteworthy to hear that perhaps the greatest secular choral conductor of the twentieth century takes a view which is totally opposite to Christian main-stream thinking. An important question begs to be asked of this rather vocal majority, "Who is being the salt here?" Could it be that this is an example of Luke 16:8, "...for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light?" Is it possible that the deceiver has caused the children of light to become so infatuated with the world's sounds of entertainment that personal taste and preference, an avalanche of emotions, and sheer every-day familiarity with sensuality in the secular entertainment industry have resulted in a seared conscience and a lack of discernment? Should not the sensuality and perverseness be more obvious and offensive to the Christian than to those without the witness of the Holy Spirit? At the end of a brass master class, given by four members of The Empire Brass, I recently had the opportunity to pose the morality question to lead trumpeter Rolf Smedvig. Unlike Mr. Shaw, Mr. Smedvig had never thought about nor had he been asked such a question and, therefore, had no ready answer. He did, however, relay an interesting experience which was perhaps even more revealing than a calculated response. It seems that Mr. Smedvig had not been to church with his wife for several years. On a recent Sunday, just before our conversation, he decided to accompany her to the Catholic church where she typically attended. Upon entering the sanctuary he noticed that there "was a rock band at the altar.... I couldn't believe what I was seeing." He went on to explain to me that this was a typical rock combo with "drums, guitars, and amps." Then he revealed his answer to my question as he said, "When they began to play, I felt like throwing up. I know what that music stands for." Wynton Marsalis, well-known jazz and classical trumpeter and winner of a '97 Nobel prize, in an interview with David Frost on PBS TV ("Marsalis on Music" April 25, 1997) was asked, "What are the things they [parents] can do to ignite the children's interest in music?" He, too, gave a reply which should cause the discerning Christian to take note.

"Play music around the house that has a development section...You have to try to be engaged with it to understand how it goes from point A to point B to point C as opposed to something that has one little rhyme and repeats over and over again. That type of music will cause your mind to atrophy...Also, I try to tell them, stay away from the backbeat." Let's look at the setting. A very respected, influential, knowledgeable, and qualified person from the secular choral music field unreservedly states that this sound is "perverse." Much of the so-called Christian community responds, "We don't see it that way." Two of the finest trumpeters today express their concern and make it clear that this music should be avoided as it pictures something totally contrary to that which is sacred. All this while the dean of the conservatory of music at Wheaton College proclaims, "There is nothing un- or anti-Christian about any kind of music." (Best, Music Through the Eyes of Faith, p.52) And Steve Miller writes, "Using what is neutral in a society as a vehicle for the gospel is not only acceptable; it is sound missionary strategy." (Miller, The Contemporary Christian Music Debate, p.49) The world voices caution. It is shocked and nauseated by the new music coming from the church. The church responds, "We want to use this sound to teach you about a Holy God...and we desire to win you to Him." These revelations must cause believers to ask some serious questions about the use of contemporary Christian music. Job (14:4) gives a good start to our answer: "Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? not one." A medium so powerful as music, packed with such great emotional, spiritual, moral, and physical influence over God's highest creation, needs to pass under the magnifying glass of scripture rather than being dismissed through the neutral pretense of taste and preference.

Biography of Kurt Woetzel

Kurt Woetzel is the minister of music at Trinity Baptist Church of Concord, New Hampshire. He is the co-author (along with Dr. Frank Garlock) of the book, Music in the Balance. He has been an instructor at the Majesty Music MusiCollege seminars for several years, and is a frequent contributing author to InChoir. He and his wife Suzanne, who is also active in their church and school music program, live in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.