Adrianna - Outside Reading - Sacred Music

The “Sacred” in Sacred Music by Joan L. Roccasalvo

Music; something that can be felt with every ounce of our being. Something that brings so much peace; something that can express emotions from the depths of a yearning soul and can be as sacred as prayer.

Roccasalvo discusses the sacredness of music which spiked my interest because music (listening to it, dancing to it, worshipping to it or singing it) is one of my favorite things. Roccasalvo looks closely at music from a spiritual perspective and proclaims that music helps us in our sacred journey; it is a huge part of reaching the holy.

The way in which music is written, the lyrics (or lack thereof), the instruments, the beat the melody all play a role in reaching the holy. Roccasalvo points out a number of other factors that play into the sacredness behind sacred music. Firstly, she discusses the familiar. Sacred music appeals to every one of our senses – those things that are most familiar to us. This reminds me a lot of when I hear my favorite worship songs and I can literally feel the presence of the Holy Spirit surge through my body – I’m therefore encountering the holy. Basically, Roccasalvo is saying that hearing the music is one thing but allowing it to appeal to the human senses can only foster contact with the sublime. Openness to the experience is also critical.

Secondly, Roccasalvo takes us from the familiar to the unfamiliar and discusses melody, harmony, and rhythm. The sacred music Roccasalvo is dissecting is music fit for intimate time with the holy. That type of music is mostly without lyrics, filled with peace and tranquility and is incredibly free. The first thing I could think about was the album Without Words by Bethel Music. The entire album is praise and worship to God without words just instruments; freeing; relaxing; fostering openness to the holy.

Lastly, Roccasalvo says that sacred music pushes us to take a leap of faith to the sacred.  After it appeals to our sense and we move to the unfamiliar Roccasalvo professes that “the mind and heart will interpret the mood of the music as sacred if a positive predisposition is brought to the musical encounter. Purified, the music mediates the presence of the holy and prompts the mind and heart to make that leap to the sacred”. At this point I believe that we well on our way to no longer being in the liminal. We are reaching the holy. We are about to fully encounter what we set out to from turning on the music.

Music can be powerful and I believe Roccasalvo said it best: “sacred music satisfies our human longing for the sacred”.