The World's Music as 'One'

[David Hahn]

Cut and paste the link below. You can also listen to the music by clicking the 'Listen Now' link.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90657533&ft=1&f=1039

As I listened to this I couldn't help but to wonder what this could look like from an ecclesiological perspective. It reminded me of the 'differentiated unity' stuff in our description, what we're about at the abbey and what i hear going on in the emergent world...a sharing of the gifts to express something altogether different than exists in isolation from each other. The beauty of music as an exemplary metaphor for the gift of being 'one', WOW!

what do you hear? what do you think?

[Lars Hammar]

It's such a contrast from the strict categorization of music along demographic-stylistic lines. Could you hear the ClearChannel exec's asking, "What station would play this kind of music? Who's the target audience? What is the primary demographic for this? What age, race, gender, economic class do they fit into?"

It's a neat vision of art that it comes from the differences within a community, rather than being the defining difference between communities. And what a great way to think of worship and art in a post-modern church, post-categorization based on musical styles and their appeals to different demographics.

[Existentialist]

"One" is the goal. Music transcends political and economic differences by cutting delicately and triumphantly across the lines on the page.
I should learn to play an instrument.

[Tamie]

I just listened to the NPR thing, and then downloaded a couple of Sharifi's song. I think that this comparison, between what he's trying to do in music, and what we're trying to do at the abbey--it's right on. A sharing a gifts, a creation of something together, that is greater than what we could do separately.

[Karen Appleby]

Absolutely on key with "dirrerentiated unity"! Make me think that I would like to see this in all the arts... and often. If we started in the arts, perhaps it would overflow into politics, economics, education, and all our structures. Thanks for the link.