20150711

Sowash: "The Creative Love of God" for SATB chorus

Is it possible for a sacred choral anthem to be
both sincere and funny?  Could there be a little genre of music
legitimately termed ‘Humorous Sacred’?

Humor is welcome in a sermon.  Most welcome!  Why not in an anthem?

I’ve written about a half dozen humorous sacred anthems.  My church —
Mt. Auburn Presbyterian — has welcomed them enthusiastically.

The first was a piece I entitled “Why We Sing.”  The tune is not
particularly funny; the humor lies in the lyrics, which begin,
“Though I know my voice is only mediocre I will sing to the Lord.” 
It’s a sincere statement; most choristers know that their voices
are mediocre; they are choristers, not soloists.  A sung
admission of mediocrity is funny.  Mediocre their voices may
be!  They won’t a little thing like that stop them!  They
will sing praise!

As I developed this genre, which I seem to
have invented, I began to devise anthems in which the humor was to be
found in elements of the music, not just the lyrics.

The great master of musical humor, a comic genius and my favorite 
living composer, is Peter Schickele.   He’s written spoofs on
sacred music (ostensibly by his persona, PDQ Bach) but those pieces,
though skillfully written, are not suitable for use in a worship
service because they are parodies; they are not sincere.  To my
way of thinking, music offered in a worship service must be sincere,
even when humorous.

I’ve tried to contribute to this tiny genre a few works that are
 genuinely funny but also undeniably sincere, giving humorous expression
 to heartfelt tenets.

One such anthem is “The Creative Love of God.’  As you’ll see,
the melodramatic opening creates an anticipation of "an
unexpected meter, tempo, style and key.”  The piano and the
chorus deliver the goods. The music itself is funny; the lyrics are
sincere.  Well, mostly.

The piece is dedicated to one of
our church’s dearest couples:  Brian Anderson and Gordon
DeVinney.  They have brought the creative love of God into the
life of our congregation in diverse and richly meaningful ways.

To hear "The Creative Love of God" sung by the Otterbein Vocal
Ensemble at Otterbein College’s recent Festival of Humor in Music,
click here:
http://www.sowash.com/

To see a PDF of the score, click here:
http://www.sowash.com/