Religion and music

Yesterday in choir rehearsal, we were singing the Brahms requiem, movement V. I've been singing this all term and liked it, but not really deeply connected with the text. But yesterday our director, Mr. Bjella, had us take a moment to think about the Virginia tech tragedy, and the music hit home in a way that amplified both it and the event.

You now are sorrowful;

grieve not: I will again behold you,

and then your heart shall be joyful,

and your joy shall no one take from you.

Look upon me:

I suffered for a little time;

toil and labor were mine;

and I have found, at last, comfort.

I will give you comfort,

as one whom his own mother comforts.

I started crying for the students who were killed, as it hadn't occured to me to cry before. The music became so meaningful, the idea of heaven so comforting. It made me feel closer to everyone around me, closer to the victims, none of whom I knew. It was a moment of understanding for me. This is what religion can provide. Community, comfort, faith that the tragedies of the world aren't quite so bad as they seem, and that you will see your loved ones again. But what I found most interesting was that, even to one outside the music's assumed religious group, it provides that same comfort. With or without the religious beliefs, music has the power to unite people and to intensify emotion. This must be why it plays such a huge role in religious ritual, from tibetan monks to amazing grace. Music can be its own religion.