As noted in my author's introduction (see the sidebar to the right), I have an interest in classical music. In fact, I have had a love for classical music since at least my teen years. My appreciation of this form of music has been deepened over the years by my own musical studies (clarinet, piano, music theory and history) and by fairly extensive reading about the lives and works of composers in the classical tradition.
In past blogposts, I have written about such composers as Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), both great composers and devout, orthodox Christians. In light of the devout Christian faith, it is not surprising that such great figures in the history of music should have written masterpieces that reflect that faith (e.g., Bach's St. Matthew Passion and Mendelssohn's Elijah). What perhaps is surprising is the number of composers who were not orthodox Christians and yet wrote great works whose themes clearly connect with the Christian faith.
One example would be the English composer Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958). According to the Classical Music Encyclopedia, "although [Vaughan Williams was] an agnostic, he was deeply affected by English religious mysticism" (p. 373). One example of this would be "his long-meditated opera The Pilgrim's Progress [based on the book by 17th century Christian author John Bunyan] and the related Fifth Symphony." Vaughan Williams' first masterpiece was his Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, inspired by an early hymn tune. Vaughan Williams was even editor of the English Hymnal.
Another example of this phenomenon would be Johannes Brahms (1833-1897). According to biographer Jan Swafford, Brahms was "a humanist and an agnostic" (Johannes Brahms: A Biography, p. 317). When writing his German Requiem, despite basing his work (loosely) on a long-standing liturgical form associated with the Catholic Church, Brahms went so far as to avoid referring directly to Jesus. And yet, in the same work, which "aspires to comfort those who mourn" (Swafford, Johannes Brahms: A Biography, p. 318), Brahms employed as his text a series of quotations from the Christian Bible, including, ironically, the words of Jesus Himself. Apparently, even Brahms the agnostic had to concede the consoling power of the Christian Scriptures.
I will cite one final example (although there a number of others)--Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827), whose 250th anniversary is being celebrated this year. Although Beethoven was baptized a Catholic, "he never practiced this faith. He had a marked suspicion of priests and avoided going to church. His brash personality seemed, outwardly, to prevent Christian charity from being recognized" (Patrick Kavanaugh, Spiritual Lives of the Great Composers, p. 60). Moreover, according to Maynard Solomon, "Schindler [an early biographer of Beethoven] tells us that Beethoven copied out three ancient Egyptian inscriptions 'and kept them framed and mounted under glass, on his work table'" (Beethoven, p. 156). This suggests an interest on Beethoven's part in non-Christian beliefs. However, while Beethoven may not have been an orthodox Christian, he clearly was a theist of some sort--not an agnostic like Vaughan Williams or Brahms. Perhaps, in modern terms, we could say that Beethoven was "spiritual but not religious"! For instance, in his personal writings he frequently referred to God, and some of his works reflect some sort of personal belief. For example, in his String Quartet in A Minor, Op. 132, there is a movement entitled "Holy Song of Thanksgiving by a Convalescent to the Divinity, in the Lydian Mode" (Solomon, Beethoven, p. 322)--at the time he was writing the quartet, Beethoven had been recovering from a serious illness. Some of Beethoven's works are even clearly connected to the Christian faith, such as the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives, and perhaps most significantly, the Missa Solemnis ("Solemn Mass"). Even though the latter work was clearly written using a Catholic liturgical form, Beethoven did not see it as being exclusively for Catholics. According to Solomon, he even offered to provide a German-language translation of its Latin text for performance in Protestant communities (Solomon, Beethoven, p. 307). Nonetheless, as Solomon says:
This is not to diminish the religious significance of, or religious intention, behind, the Mass. "My chief aim," he wrote to Andreas Streicher [a friend], "was to awaken and permanently instill religious feelings not only into the singers but also into the listeners." And to Archduke Rudolph [a patron of Beethoven who later became a Catholic archbishop]: "There is nothing higher than to approach the Godhead more nearly than other mortals and by means of that contact to spread the rays of the Godhead through the human race." (Beethoven, p. 307)
In short, although none of these great composers was an orthodox Christian, all of them were inspired to write masterpieces that clearly reflect the Christian faith in some respect. Perhaps this is a demonstration of God's common grace--made evident in art.
Image of Beethoven from Wikimedia Commons