Recently, Chinese-Canadian composer An-Lun Huang gave a lecture on the history of Christian music, sharing the context of music history.
Viewing the history of Christian music from the perspective of the history of music
“Christian faith is the faith with music.” Mr. Huang said. It has been recorded in Scripture that many people sang and danced to praise God in King David’s time. Even the city of Jericho was captured in this way. “The priests’ trumpets sounded, and people shouted, the wall of Jericho collapsed.”
After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, “all kinds of holy music to praise the Lord Jesus have sprung up everywhere.”
Four outstanding composers of sacred music
An-Lun Huang also recommended four outstanding composers of sacred music: Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Gustav Mahler.
Bach, a German composer, served in St. Thomas Church in Leipzig for 27 years, which was very hard.
Mr. Huang briefly introduced Bach’s daily life in Leipzig, “For the 27 years, every morning, he had to compose an hour-long chorus of sacred music and write four choruses for his collection of German country hymns to prepare for the coming Sunday worship. Every afternoon, he rehearsed with the church’s choir and orchestra and continue to write. On Sunday worship, in addition to directing the choir for one hour, he also performed the organ for three hours for the congregation. Then, he had to write for next Sunday worship, and so on. This is incredible.”
Moreover, Huang said, “Bach also compiled a collection of 371 chants, all of which are four-part German country hymns collected and compiled by him. The collection was later acknowledged as the foundation of western music. In Bach’s life, he wrote thousands of works, mainly the sacred music and chorus of the church. In the upper left corner of all his works, ‘Glory to the Lord’ is read. Bach dedicated his whole life to God and set the best example for us.”
Handel was also a German composer, but most of his works were written in England. Beethoven was named “the insurmountable peak”. The lyrics of his Ninth Symphony were written by Schiller, a German poet. There is a central idea throughout — You should look for the creator of the heavens and the earth, which is the source of real joy. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is also called Chorus Symphony.
“However, I personally feel that Beethoven is not necessarily an insurmountable peak,” Huang added. “The Austrian composer Mahler is the conductor of the Austrian Opera House and also a composer. He wrote 10 symphonies. The Second Symphony, also known as the Resurrection Symphony, is his comprehension of the true meaning of life and death (written) after his mother died. At the end of the “Resurrection Symphony”, we can hear that under the call of the resurrection trumpet, God’s children will be resurrected and conquer death forever.”
The development of Chinese sacred music is an important task for Chinese Christians
When talking about the development of Chinese sacred music, Huang felt that “the development of Chinese sacred music is the same as that of the West”. From the perspective of ancient musical instruments, the music of the ancient Greek harp and the Chinese guqin is similar, and they both sounded one note after another.
“The Gregorian chant is also connected note by note. Hymns we sing now are very much similar to those at that time,” he added.
“The development of Chinese sacred music follows the same thread as that of the West, and that’s how the West started,” Huang said. “This is an important task for Chinese Christians, that is, to take over the torch of the gospel and let it burn and illuminate all the ends of the earth. At the same time, what is offered to God cannot be just good but the best. We have ten-thousand reasons to inherit the great and splendid sacred music of the West which has developed for thousands of years and add our own Chinese language to enrich the sacred music.
Speaking of this, Mr. Huang asked, “How about the worship song 'Here Is the Presence of God' combined with the western symphony? Will it have better results?”
In the end, he also encouraged Chinese Christians, “Singing new songs to the Lord is the mission of all Christians, and it is also the duty of Chinese Christians. We should study hard and inherit it well, so as to develop Chinese sacred music into a splendid and brilliant result.”
An-Lun Huang is a contemporary Chinese composer living in Canada, born in a Christian musical family. After receiving a master’s degree from Yale University with the “Best Award” in 1986, he declined the full scholarship of the university as a doctoral candidate. He lives in Canada and devotes himself to composing music. He had been re-elected to the Ontario Chinese Music Association in Canada three times until 1996. The sacred music of Christianity occupies a large percentage of Huang’s huge work library.
- Translated by Charlie Li
最近，旅加当代中国作曲家黄安伦老师在一次分享中，从世界音乐史的脉络入手，诉说了基督教的音乐史。
从世界音乐史看基督教音乐史
“基督的信仰就是音乐的信仰。”黄安伦老师分享道。经上早有记载，大卫王时代就有很多人载歌载舞地颂赞上帝。就连耶利哥城也是这样被攻下的，“祭司号角的乐声响起，一声呼喊，耶利哥城墙就倒塌了。” (==当summary）
而在主耶稣复活以后，“各种歌颂主耶稣的圣乐如同雨后春笋一般迸发出来，可以说是遍地都是。”
4位杰出的圣乐作曲家
黄安伦老师还推荐了4位杰出的圣乐作曲家，他们分别是最伟大的德国圣乐大师巴赫、亨德尔、贝多芬和巴勒。
巴赫，德国作曲家。他在莱比锡圣托马斯教堂服事27年。他这27年的服事是非常辛勤的。
黄安伦老师简单地介绍了这位作曲家的日常：“这27年，他每天上午都要写出一个小时时长的圣乐大合唱，同时还要抽出时间为他所搜集的德国乡村圣诗编写4部合唱，为正在来临的主日崇拜做准备；每天下午他要和教会的诗班、乐器合作排练，同时还要继续写作。到了主日崇拜那天，他除了亲自指挥诗班一个小时的合唱，还要给意犹未尽的会众表演管风琴演奏达3小时之久。紧接着，又要为下个礼拜进行写作，周而复始。这是不得了的事。”
不仅如此，黄安伦老师介绍道：“他还编写出了一本371首的圣咏集，这里全部是他收集并编写的德国乡村4声部圣咏，后来被誉为是整个西方音乐的根基。他的一生写下来上千首作品，主要都是教会的圣乐、合唱。他的所有作品的左上角都会写上 ‘荣耀主’。巴赫用他的一生的事奉完完全全献给神，给我们做了最好的榜样。”
亨德尔，也是一位德国作曲家，不过他的大部分作品都是在英国写出来的。而贝多芬被评为“不可逾越的顶峰”。他的《第九交响曲》的歌词是德国诗人席勒所写，通篇就一个中心思想——“你要寻找那创造天地万物的主，那是真正欢乐的源泉。贝多芬的第九交响乐也被称为是合唱交响乐。”
“不过，我个人觉得贝多芬未必是不可逾越的顶峰。”黄安伦老师补充道：“奥地利作曲家马勒，是奥地利歌剧院的指挥，同时也是作曲家，他写了10部交响乐。《第二交响乐》也被称为是复活交响乐，这是他在母亲死后感悟生与死的真谛（写出来的）。在这首《复活交响乐》的章尾，我们可以听到——上帝的儿女在复活的号筒的感召下都会复活，永远战胜死亡。”
中国圣乐的发展是中国基督徒的重任
在谈到中国圣乐的发展时，黄安伦老师觉得“中国圣乐发展的脉络和西方是一样的”。先从古代的乐器来看，古代希腊的竖琴和中国的古琴的音乐是类似的，弹奏起来所发出的都是一个音。
“而格里高利圣咏也是一个音、一个音连接在一起的，咱们现在的圣乐和当时是有很多相似的地方”。
“中国圣乐的发展和西方走的是同一个脉络，西方也是这样开始的。”黄安伦老师说：“这是中国基督徒肩负的重任，就是要接过福音的火炬，让它燃烧照亮地的四极，同时献给上帝的就不能是好的，只能是最好的。我们有一万个理由来承接几千年西方伟大而又灿烂的圣乐的成果，再加上我们中国自己的语言来丰富整个圣乐的成果。”
谈到这里，黄安伦老师发问道：“《这里有神的同在》这首诗歌结合西方的交响乐会怎么样，会不会有更好的果效呢？”
最后，他也鼓励中国的基督徒们：“向耶和华唱新歌是所有基督徒的重担，也是中国基督徒的重担，我们要好好地学习、继承，把中国圣乐发展成灿烂和辉煌的结果。”
中国当代作曲家黄安伦的简介
黄安伦，旅加当代中国作曲家。出生于一个基督教的音乐家庭。在1986年以“最优秀奖”获耶鲁大学硕士学位后，他即婉拒该校所颁之全奖学金的博士候选人资格，旅居加拿大，全力投入作曲生涯。他曾三度连任加拿大安大略省华人音乐协会主席直到1996年。基督教的圣乐在黄安伦庞大的作品库中占了很大份量。
讲座| 当代中国作曲家黄安伦：整部世界音乐史就是基-督教的音乐史
Recently, Chinese-Canadian composer An-Lun Huang gave a lecture on the history of Christian music, sharing the context of music history.
Viewing the history of Christian music from the perspective of the history of music
“Christian faith is the faith with music.” Mr. Huang said. It has been recorded in Scripture that many people sang and danced to praise God in King David’s time. Even the city of Jericho was captured in this way. “The priests’ trumpets sounded, and people shouted, the wall of Jericho collapsed.”
After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, “all kinds of holy music to praise the Lord Jesus have sprung up everywhere.”
Four outstanding composers of sacred music
An-Lun Huang also recommended four outstanding composers of sacred music: Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Gustav Mahler.
Bach, a German composer, served in St. Thomas Church in Leipzig for 27 years, which was very hard.
Mr. Huang briefly introduced Bach’s daily life in Leipzig, “For the 27 years, every morning, he had to compose an hour-long chorus of sacred music and write four choruses for his collection of German country hymns to prepare for the coming Sunday worship. Every afternoon, he rehearsed with the church’s choir and orchestra and continue to write. On Sunday worship, in addition to directing the choir for one hour, he also performed the organ for three hours for the congregation. Then, he had to write for next Sunday worship, and so on. This is incredible.”
Moreover, Huang said, “Bach also compiled a collection of 371 chants, all of which are four-part German country hymns collected and compiled by him. The collection was later acknowledged as the foundation of western music. In Bach’s life, he wrote thousands of works, mainly the sacred music and chorus of the church. In the upper left corner of all his works, ‘Glory to the Lord’ is read. Bach dedicated his whole life to God and set the best example for us.”
Handel was also a German composer, but most of his works were written in England. Beethoven was named “the insurmountable peak”. The lyrics of his Ninth Symphony were written by Schiller, a German poet. There is a central idea throughout — You should look for the creator of the heavens and the earth, which is the source of real joy. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is also called Chorus Symphony.
“However, I personally feel that Beethoven is not necessarily an insurmountable peak,” Huang added. “The Austrian composer Mahler is the conductor of the Austrian Opera House and also a composer. He wrote 10 symphonies. The Second Symphony, also known as the Resurrection Symphony, is his comprehension of the true meaning of life and death (written) after his mother died. At the end of the “Resurrection Symphony”, we can hear that under the call of the resurrection trumpet, God’s children will be resurrected and conquer death forever.”
The development of Chinese sacred music is an important task for Chinese Christians
When talking about the development of Chinese sacred music, Huang felt that “the development of Chinese sacred music is the same as that of the West”. From the perspective of ancient musical instruments, the music of the ancient Greek harp and the Chinese guqin is similar, and they both sounded one note after another.
“The Gregorian chant is also connected note by note. Hymns we sing now are very much similar to those at that time,” he added.
“The development of Chinese sacred music follows the same thread as that of the West, and that’s how the West started,” Huang said. “This is an important task for Chinese Christians, that is, to take over the torch of the gospel and let it burn and illuminate all the ends of the earth. At the same time, what is offered to God cannot be just good but the best. We have ten-thousand reasons to inherit the great and splendid sacred music of the West which has developed for thousands of years and add our own Chinese language to enrich the sacred music.
Speaking of this, Mr. Huang asked, “How about the worship song 'Here Is the Presence of God' combined with the western symphony? Will it have better results?”
In the end, he also encouraged Chinese Christians, “Singing new songs to the Lord is the mission of all Christians, and it is also the duty of Chinese Christians. We should study hard and inherit it well, so as to develop Chinese sacred music into a splendid and brilliant result.”
An-Lun Huang is a contemporary Chinese composer living in Canada, born in a Christian musical family. After receiving a master’s degree from Yale University with the “Best Award” in 1986, he declined the full scholarship of the university as a doctoral candidate. He lives in Canada and devotes himself to composing music. He had been re-elected to the Ontario Chinese Music Association in Canada three times until 1996. The sacred music of Christianity occupies a large percentage of Huang’s huge work library.
- Translated by Charlie Li
Lecture: Contemporary Chinese Composer Huang Anlun Says the World Music History Is the Music History of Christianity
