The essence of something can be beautiful objectively.
Now....I'm going
to say something that may be off putting...
GOD.
IS.
BEAUTIFUL.
GOD.
IS.
BEAUTY.
He is the definition of beauty.
God's objective aesthetic nature is the
grounding of all aesthetic value. If there is an objective standard of
beauty, that means you can do better in your art. You can BE excellent in your art. This is the essence of excellence.
The beauty of art derives its
objective beauty to the degree that it points to the objective standard
of beauty; namely God.
The beauty of art derives its objective beauty
to the degree that it
resembles or takes on the characteristics of that which is the objective standard of beauty; namely God.
This, I believe, applies to people as well as art.
Beauty is not a suit, beauty is not makeup...it is the character of God. It is what He finds "precious" in us, as 1 Peter says.
This concept is the most important to understand when creating art as a
christian, and having art in a church (both visual and auditory).
"There is no blacker mark of decadence than the kind of idolatry which is expressed in the phrase 'art for art's sake'. It is the decadence of art when it is separated from the life, just as it was the decadence of religion when it was separated from life. So long as religion meant, as it did in its vigorous days, that the whole nature of man must have an outcome & sublime climax it was strong. Religion rotted away into musty theology and mad ethics precisely when people began to say 'piety for piety's sake'. And just as decidedly exactly as the old ascetic pitted religion against life, so decidedly does the new decadent pit art against life. Aestheticism seeks to stand alone, and it will fall as Puritanism fell."
GK Chesterton
Regardless of any auxiliary connotations, he points out that art (and for my emphasis: church music) divorced from a higher motivation actually becomes divorced from any value or life. If people are to be engaged and connect with it in any meaningful and lasting way, it must be connected with that motivation first. People can find meaning in meaningless things by finding experiences and situations in their life and correlating those to that particular art, but that is contingent on the art "consumer"(the one taking in and experiencing the art). I have always operated under the truth that once art is created, the meaning is no longer owned by the author. People attach meaning to art that never existed before. That is the nature of art. That is why I, as a Christian, can attach a positive and profound meaning to the art of an ardent atheist that is contrary to the artist's intention. But as authors (both in composition of the song or in the momentary translation) we can narrow that variance. As church music leaders and artists, we can buffet that openness by communicating. When we share a song on mp3 or live, we have the express opportunity to connect that, either with the original motivation of the song, or another greater truth/idea. Like the variation in angle of a pool cue can change the angle the cue ball will go, it still has the same pivot point (the song). For our purposes though, you really can't deviate and ANY direction because the words create some boundary to that. There isn't a ball in every direction for the cue ball to strike. Some deviation can be utilized to cohere with an over arching theme in a service. Even leaving that aside, many parishioners are more likely to be lost in a sea of noises and words, unable to see the thread through it without explanation, unless they are very artistic or avid art consumers. That is really where the communication comes in. Whether in liner notes, or during a worship service, communicating to the body "the thread" before going through a song/service, can really attach the higher meaning, and therefore life, to the song(s).
Most particularly I have been immersing myself in the Psalms every week. I read the same 3 everyday for the whole week, in order to absorb them and then look for gospel themes. When I sit down to make a set list for Sunday, I apply that gospel application to a section of one of the Psalms I've been reading all week by orienting the whole set to express that idea. To tell the "drama" arc (as Erik Routley would say) of that aspect of the gospel or characteristic of God that you see in that Psalm or section of Psalm is a great way to both: orient the service and give you a foundation to relate the theme. I like to read a section of the Psalm before starting (the service and after the message), explain the connection to what we will be singing and the gospel, and pray through that section applying it to our hearts/lives. After that, THEN sing. The people who will be worshiping our savior with us, sitting in the seats, will be on the same page and will be well on their way to applying the gospel to their hearts; singing like they mean it out of thanksgiving. There are many ways to communicate that larger meaning that begs our hearts to sing like Psalmist's emplor.
The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.
Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.
Psalm 107:42, 43
They sit and ponder the Lord. The more efficiently you get to that, the more time in song they will take ownership and take on the heart that is being sung. Sing and mean it, explain it and they will join you. All of this applies art of any type. Painting, photography, novelists, and sculptors, you must attach a clear meaning to what you are expressing in a way that connects to your heart and what the Lord is doing and has done in you. Glorify the Lord, be real and people will see it.
"People wonder why the novel [as art] is the most popular form of literature; people wonder why it is read more than books of science or books of metaphysics. The reason is very simple; it is merely that the novel is more true than they are. Life may sometimes legitimately appear as a book of science. Life may sometimes appear, and with a much greater legitimacy, as a book of metaphysics. But life is always a novel."
GK Chesterton
Here is a beautiful example. Please imagine if you will: seeing the Lord from a distance, in fear being drawn closer seeing your own sin clearer and clearer, feeling the righteousness of the Father and knowing its demand for your death being just, right and necessary. As you draw closer and closer the fear, dread painfully sucking the air from your lungs so you could not bring yourself to even speak. Right at the moment you thought you would surely be destroyed, He breathes one word....mercy. He has paid your penalty and washed you clean. Like Isaiah, He has cleansed you with lasting heat of the sacrifice from the alter, that is Christ. What would come from your lips? "All hail Your wonderful majesty, Jesus who died, the king above all kings!"
