‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs
This article aims to explore the complex issue of the emotive effect of Christian songs. It is based mainly on a literature survey, using sources both from Christian hymnology and musicology. It also uses illustrative examples from three informal surveys in congregations on the reasons particular so...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fa73d7973b18453cadae530456ee05cc 2024-09-09T20:11:42+00:00 ‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs J. Gertrud Tönsing 2020-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.5618 https://doaj.org/article/fa73d7973b18453cadae530456ee05cc AF EN afr eng AOSIS https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5618 https://doaj.org/toc/0259-9422 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-8050 0259-9422 2072-8050 doi:10.4102/hts.v76i3.5618 https://doaj.org/article/fa73d7973b18453cadae530456ee05cc HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, Vol 76, Iss 3, Pp e1-e9 (2020) songs worship musical styles emotion identity memory The Bible BS1-2970 Practical Theology BV1-5099 article 2020 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.5618 2024-08-05T17:49:01Z This article aims to explore the complex issue of the emotive effect of Christian songs. It is based mainly on a literature survey, using sources both from Christian hymnology and musicology. It also uses illustrative examples from three informal surveys in congregations on the reasons particular songs are favourites. The point is made that exploring this issue scientifically is very complex as there are so many variables in people’s appreciation of songs. Some of these elements are discussed, such as the effect of the external setting in which people experience a song, factors important in the appreciation of a text, such as poetic quality and knowledge of the author’s background. Other factors are the emotive quality and level of difficulty of a tune and in what time this style was popular. Then there are the internal factors, such as the link of a song with group identity and special memories. Some of the survey results corroborate the pointers in the literature for what makes certain songs particularly emotionally appealing. Some of these were a preference for musical styles popular in one’s youth, the importance of relationships with significant others for forming favourites and the important element of memory in the emotional impact of songs. Concluding pointers for worship include motivating for different styles of music in worship and carefully finding those songs in each new musical genre, which have the potential for sustaining today’s youth into the future. Contribution: This article makes a contribution in what is a complex and often emotionally charged issue in congregations: Worship styles and musical preferences. It argues for the importance of using different musical styles and bringing the generations together. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Pointers Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies 76 3 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
Afrikaans English |
topic |
songs worship musical styles emotion identity memory The Bible BS1-2970 Practical Theology BV1-5099 |
spellingShingle |
songs worship musical styles emotion identity memory The Bible BS1-2970 Practical Theology BV1-5099 J. Gertrud Tönsing ‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs |
topic_facet |
songs worship musical styles emotion identity memory The Bible BS1-2970 Practical Theology BV1-5099 |
description |
This article aims to explore the complex issue of the emotive effect of Christian songs. It is based mainly on a literature survey, using sources both from Christian hymnology and musicology. It also uses illustrative examples from three informal surveys in congregations on the reasons particular songs are favourites. The point is made that exploring this issue scientifically is very complex as there are so many variables in people’s appreciation of songs. Some of these elements are discussed, such as the effect of the external setting in which people experience a song, factors important in the appreciation of a text, such as poetic quality and knowledge of the author’s background. Other factors are the emotive quality and level of difficulty of a tune and in what time this style was popular. Then there are the internal factors, such as the link of a song with group identity and special memories. Some of the survey results corroborate the pointers in the literature for what makes certain songs particularly emotionally appealing. Some of these were a preference for musical styles popular in one’s youth, the importance of relationships with significant others for forming favourites and the important element of memory in the emotional impact of songs. Concluding pointers for worship include motivating for different styles of music in worship and carefully finding those songs in each new musical genre, which have the potential for sustaining today’s youth into the future. Contribution: This article makes a contribution in what is a complex and often emotionally charged issue in congregations: Worship styles and musical preferences. It argues for the importance of using different musical styles and bringing the generations together. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
J. Gertrud Tönsing |
author_facet |
J. Gertrud Tönsing |
author_sort |
J. Gertrud Tönsing |
title |
‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs |
title_short |
‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs |
title_full |
‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs |
title_fullStr |
‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs |
title_full_unstemmed |
‘That song moves me to tears’ – Emotion, memory and identity in encountering Christian songs |
title_sort |
‘that song moves me to tears’ – emotion, memory and identity in encountering christian songs |
publisher |
AOSIS |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.5618 https://doaj.org/article/fa73d7973b18453cadae530456ee05cc |
genre |
The Pointers |
genre_facet |
The Pointers |
op_source |
HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, Vol 76, Iss 3, Pp e1-e9 (2020) |
op_relation |
https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/5618 https://doaj.org/toc/0259-9422 https://doaj.org/toc/2072-8050 0259-9422 2072-8050 doi:10.4102/hts.v76i3.5618 https://doaj.org/article/fa73d7973b18453cadae530456ee05cc |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v76i3.5618 |
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HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies |
container_volume |
76 |
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3 |
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1809946278987038720 |