by Guy Shaked

The early Christians were organized in congregations vulnerable to persecution in a mainly non Christian world. As a result their music was less conspicuous and less for the masses and loud as Greek stadiums music and the Jerusalem Temple music. What they have developed as the Jewish post Temple destruction congregations developed was the music culture of the chant [1].This has roots in the NT where chant (song) is mentioned several times:

And when they had chanted an hymn, they went out into the Mt. of Olives [2];

And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and chanted praises unto God [3];

For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and chant unto thy name [4];

I will chant with the spirit, and I will chant with the understanding also [5];

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, chanting and making melody in your heart to the Lord [6];

…teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, chanting with grace in your hearts to the Lord [7];

In the midst of the church will I chant praise unto thee [8];

Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him chant psalms [9].

No instruments are mentioned also for practical reasons: you do not want to be conspicuous when going to service with an identifying musical instrument in hand or make loud noise. The tendency to not make a loud noise is manifested in the NT the reference to chants “in the heart” [10]. Also, we do not find in the NT references to instrumental music.

As their Jewish contemporaries they developed houses of gathering for the congregations that are less conspicuous then the open Greek temples. This rejection of Greek outdoor culture is the continuation of the Second Temple period Jewish rejection of Greek stadiums culture.

The early Christians’ was the culture of modest volume chant indoors as opposed to the loud Hellenistic instrumental music outdoors in the open air at the stadiums.

We can see the rejection of the loud outdoor instrumental Greek music in the writings of Saint Athanasius who restricted the singing of the psalms to a kind of recitation (chanting) for example.

Also unlike Temple music and Greek music which was epitomized by a soloist or soloists versus crowd, the early Christian Church and Jewish Synagogue music was that of the communal congregation. No longer Professional musician and following and listening crowd, but unprofessional congregational music with emphasis on togetherness in music making

However, early Christianity did not perceive the chant music culture as the highest form of religious music. It probably sought to restore in the end of times (or at least days of redemption when they won’t be persecuted) the music as described in the days of David and in the Temple. Because in Revelations : “and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints” [11] - it is stated that the harp was played in heaven – suggesting instrumental music is not inherently bad. Perhaps the scriptures chose this instrument as it was part of the Temple ensemble and so it’s playing symbolizes the return of the days of David or the second temple glory.

It might be argued that ancient Greek music influenced the Early Christian music in its divisions of modes. Yet a closer examination of the two systems might reveal evidence for the contrary.

Greek music had three genera (Diatonic, Chromatic and Enharmonic) [12] yet when early church music evolved it used only one of these - the Diatonic - rejecting the other two. Thus it seems that rather than adopting the Greek theoretical system - the Early church used only those elements of the Greek theory that fitted its independent oral practice. While seven modes were adopted and even given semi-Greek names [13], the pieces sung were at times deviating from a single mode (in the Greek heritage a song had one mode) and sometimes were ended on a different note than the mode's ending should be according to the Greek modes [14]. Furthermore the Greek central concept of organization of tetrachords was only formally referred to in the early Christian musical tradition. It could be determined therefore, that also in music theory - early Christian music did not follow its "Greek musical heritage".

To Conclude, early Christian music from which Western music developed was the music culture of chant of congregations (later developed to the Gregorian chant) which was the antithesis of Greek and Hellenistic mainstream stadiums outdoor music and Temple soloists versus crowd music. Therefore, the image given in many music history books of Western music as evolved from Greek music is false – Western music evolved from Christian music and was anti Greek music.

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[1] Jewish Temple music was also anti Greek pagan music, but it sought unlike early Christian music to compete with Greek music in loudness for example

[2] Matt 26:30; Mark 14:26

[3] Acts 16:25

[4] Romans 15:9

[5] 1Cor 4:15

[6] Eph 5:19

[7] Col 3:16

[8] Heb 2:12

[9] James 5:13

[10] Eph 5:19, Col 3:16

[11] Rev. 5:8

[12] Donald J. Grout & Claude V. Palisca, A History of Western Music, Dent: London, 1988, p.10 [13] Ibid., p. 76

[14] Ibid., p. 77; Claude V. Palisca (ed), Norton Anthology of Western Music, Vol. 1, 2nd ed., Norton: New York, 1988, p.12-13, ex. j,l

Hear Psalm 122 performed to the Author's Music

Reviews of Psalm 122:

REVIEWER	COMMENT
Barbara Mackay (Maranatha Institute)	Music wonderful and Lyrics are like a wonderful chant
Maestro Saul Zaks (Syddansk Uni.)	I found your music to be moving and true
Jonathan Lesser (The Domino Ensemble)	I've listened to the disc and it sounds good! I particularly like the oriental factor in the music

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