An Anglican Document On Music In Worship: In Tune With Heaven

The following paragraphs are selected from the 1992 report of the Anglican Archbishops' Commission on Church Music, the third such report issued in the twentieth century. These paragraphs, here identified by the paragraph numbers used in the full report, outline theological considerations for the use of music in worship and reflect a convergence of worship styles within the Anglican communion. God, Music, and Creation 56. Most people would be hard pressed to produce a satisfying definition of music, yet they know instinctively what is meant by the word. In spite of differences in our ability to recognize, appreciate, and make it, there is music of some kind within every one of us. It is an experience common to all people and all nations. It is identified variously in the rhythms and tunes of human invention, the songs of birds, the sounds of waters and winds, or even the supposed harmonies of the spheres in space. Religious belief is not necessary to accept that music is part of the…