One of my congregation's former Associate Pastors disliked the soundtrack to "The Sound of Music," starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. For him the syrupy sweet music and the legalistic sentiments ("I must have done something good.") of the soundtrack to the movie was like the scratching of fingernails on a blackboard. I suppose, although I love the movie, I understand his dislike. At one time, we speculated that it would be a fun auction item to sell at our school's benefit to watch him strapped into a chair and forced to listen to and watch the movie. However, we decided that such aural torture would not be God pleasing. Needless to say, this shows the power of the sound of music for human beings. Music can have detrimental effects when it is used to support the doctrine of Satan, as it often does in pop music. It can be soothing and comforting when used to support the delivery of forgiveness in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Christians have universally wed texts to fine music. Martin Luther was himself a very accomplished musician. Quite a number of his compositions have come down to us. For example, think of hymns like "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God" or any of the six catechism hymns that he wrote. Following Luther, the Lutheran church has always been a singing church. Get enough Lutherans together and they will break into four-part harmony with very little encouragement. Ironically, Robert Bellarmine, a seventeenth century Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, wrote, "Lutheran hymns have killed many souls," expressing thereby the attractive nature of Lutheran hymnody and its power to deliver the message of God's mercy in Christ. Michael Praetorius and Heinrich Schütz were certainly fine Lutheran musicians in the seventeenth century and perhaps Bellarmine was thinking of them when he wrote this.

In the eighteenth century the best Lutheran composer was none other than Johann Sebastian Bach, who spent the majority of his life in Leipzig as the Cantor at St. Thomas Church. He wrote for the pipe organ, of which he himself was a great master, orchestral suites, church cantatas, and many other compositions. Much that he wrote is still loved and sung with gusto by Lutherans all over the world. For this we can thank Felix Mendelsohn (another Lutheran), who in the nineteenth century popularized Bach's music reintroducing it to the world, after it had been moldering in the music libraries of Europe for more than 75 years. Unfortunately, the jaded musical community of the twentieth century, while they appreciated Bach's music, presumed that Bach was merely a musical hired gun in Leipzig; composing for a paycheck. Thankfully, the discovery of Bach's personal Bible in the library of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, showed the Leipzig Cantor's deep piety and faithful Lutheran confession. He was no hired gun, much to the disappointment of the moderns, who were themselves just hired guns. Bach sought to extol Christ in his divine mercy in a way that was entirely faithful to our Lutheran confession. We are now aware that he actually rejected some librettos (texts) for cantatas in Leipzig, because they were not sufficiently orthodox for his use. He thought them unworthy of being set to music. Bach was all about singing the right things the right way and that, after all, is what the sound of music is for. It can make alive and liberate us from burdens and sorrows. Long live the sound of music!