"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth," sings the Psalmist (98:4, or 100:1). But what sort of noise is that? An old man who was a formative influence in my spiritual life once told me that he looked forward to heaven, because there "he could play all four parts of a Mozart string quartet at the same time."
But what about the people forced to listen to him? Some could be bored out of their minds by a Mozart string quartet, just as some of the dead might turn in their graves if subjected to an endless dose of hip-hop or heavy metal. Anyone who has heard the singing at an open-air service in rural Zambia might wonder how it would fit in at the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols at King's College, Cambridge, or at a meeting of some of the dourer Free Presbyterians in the outer Hebrides.
Meat for some, poison for others. Unlike Jack Sprat (who could eat no fat, and whose wife could eat no lean, so that between themselves they licked the platter clean), we cannot really just abstain, in the knowledge that we will also get our share. Two people can share a pork chop, but they cannot share a hymn in the same way!
For people differ in their tastes. "Death of death, and hell's destruction" means nothing to some, "El-Shaddai, El-Shaddai, Erkamka na Adonai" means nothing to others. For some, the tune of "Come Holy Ghost, our souls inspire" is beautiful, while others prefer "Faithful one, so unchanging". Some find "he made their glowing colours, he made their tiny wings" trite, some find chants from Taizé vain and repetitious, others feel that songs like "I get so excited, Lord" are false and unsuitable for use in church.
Here at St Ursula's we have tried to avoid music with too limited an appeal, and to find hymns and songs whose content is accessible and whose tunes are melodious. That is not to say we "dumb down" our choices - there is scope for teaching new turnes, and new words: we would be poorer if we did not sing Christmas carols because lines like "Lo, he abhors not the Virgin's womb" or "Risen with healing in his wings" are too obscure.
There is no one set way to sing God's praises. The few snippets we find quoted in the New Testament (Rev 15:3-4 and 1 Tim 3:16, for instance, or Mary's Magnificat) are very different in style. The Old Testament psalms are even more diverse, ranging from the joy of Ps. 150, through the sorrow of Ps 130, the reflectiveness of Ps 23, the pomp of Ps 24 to the scholarliness of Ps 119.
Perhaps you have a favourite hymn. Perhaps you have a pet hate. Let us know - tell Peter, or anyone in the music team, or a Council member, or write a letter to the Editor. Some are nourished in one way, others in a different way. The important thing is that all should be filled with the joy of worshipping God, and should not go away empty.
HD