blog.sinden.org

If one considers Anglican theologian Richard Hooker a kind of archetypal choral conductor, the following begins to emerge.

Scripture

The choral text is paramount and to be highly respected. It is to be studied and meditated upon. It is only by repeated study over time that one becomes conversant with the text itself and can approach the true intent of the creator.

Tradition

We ask the questions: how has this work been performed and received through time? What customs are associated with performances of this work? Especially relevant are those traditions that seem to be at odds with the scripture itself. In those instances: why? Is the scripture too "difficult" or is our faith in the creator's intent too weak?

Reason

Having gratefully received the gift of the choral text and a received heritage of performance we explore issues of timeliness. Our reason, by definition, is firmly grounded in our own reality no matter how we strive to inform that reality with the past, or to bend that reality toward a perceived future. What adaptations or alterations do we find necessary after a pilgrimage toward the creator's intent and donning the mantle of our chronological imperative?

Labels: church music, Hooker