Running head: SACRED MUSIC IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Sacred Choral Music In Public Secondary Education

Noel Zucchero

Westminster Choir College

Running head: SACRED MUSIC IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

For future choral music educators, one of the most common topics in education classes is

the constant battle of whether sacred music has a role in public schools or not. This can be

incredibly frustrating for the new teacher, as most of the music in the choral repertoire is sacred.

Between students, parents, administration, and the educator’s knowledge and love for the various

types of choral literature, it can be nearly impossible to please all parties. The word ‘sacred’ can

seem like a curse word in public schools. It is a topic schools try to shy away from, in an effort to

not offend anyone. However, in the choral classroom, it is essential that sacred music continues

to be part of the performing repertoire. It teaches students history and broadens their horizons to

other cultures and religions; on top of the simple fact that it greatly increases the amount of

available repertoire to be chosen from.

What is ’sacred music,’ really? In the Western classical music world, where many music

educators live, sacred music is most commonly viewed music which uses Christian texts.

However, this is certainly not always the case. There are many pieces set to Hindu texts, Jewish

texts, Buddhist texts, among many more sacred texts from various cultural traditions. If

educators fail to take full advantage of all of the choral resources that exist, including those with

sacred texts, they are being unfair to students and robbing them of potential enriching musical

experiences.

Faith D. Kasparian (1997), in The Constitutionality of of Teaching and Performing

Sacred Choral Music in Public Schools wrote, “Can one sing a sacred song, recognizing the

important aesthetic relationship between music and text, without engaging in a religious
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exercise? These questions remain when the locale of the tension shirts from worship service to

public schools. In the public school context, however, the fear is not that the secular pleasure of

the music will take precedence over the sacred text, but rather that the sacred text will take

precedence over the music, with unconstitutional Establishment Clause ramifications” (p. 1115).

In short, many schools unfortunately choose to not permit any sacred music to be sung as a quick

and easy way to avoid getting in trouble. But responsible choral music teachers sometimes have

to take a step back and find a new approach and find a way to teach sacred music in the context

of public school. In order to include these important works in the curriculum, changes need to be

made how people view sacred music so they can learn why it is important to still be sung.

The question that always arises is “is forcing students to sing sacred music unconstitutional?”

The objective answer is no, it is not, however some people still believe wrongly that it is. In a

1965 Music Educator’s Journal, Donald Meints said “...The decision, then, is clear. The reading

of the Bible was not outlawed, but reading for devotional purposes was considered a violation of

the people’s rights of freedom of religion, as outlined in the First and Fourteenth Amendments to

the Constitution… The First Amendment does not forbid all mention of religion in the public

schools; it prohibits the infringement of religious beliefs” (MEJ, 1996, p. 2). It is impossible to

avoid discussing religious matters and texts when learning about the Crusades in history class, or

studying the Bible as a piece of literature in English class. Why is music treated differently? Why

do people assign music teachers that include sacred music in their classroom as ‘preachers’ when

they are teaching these works from a completely objective point of view? If music with sacred
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texts are taught as pieces of historically situated religious literature, it is completely

constitutional.

There have been court cases addressing this issue, and all of the challenges against sacred

music were found unsuccessful. In 1978, in the case Florey v. Sioux Falls District, there was a

parent who objected the performance of Silent Night in the school’s winter concert program. The

parent argued that teaching of this song violated the separation of church and state. The district’s

policy however, allowed the use of sacred music for educational purposes, and was supported by

the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (TMEA). Similarly, there was a case in 1995, Bauchman v.

West High School, where a student objected the use of Christian songs in the classroom, calling

them “sung prayers.” The court stated that “music has a purpose in education beyond the mere

words or notes in conveying a mood, teaching cultures and history, and broadening

understanding of arts” (Music with a Sacred Text, 1996, p. 23).

Without any form of sacred music in schools, school ensembles would be spurious, only

touching the surface of the repertoire. The ensembles could sing some Eric Whitacre,

contemporary pop arrangements, and the occasional madrigal. They could create beautiful art

that moves people, but it would only scratch the surface of what the choral world has to offer.

But, when implementing religious music into the public school world, the choice of repertoire

and approach is key.

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Before the Romantic period, most choral music was sacred. Composers would write new

motets, cantatas, or masses every week and they would be sung in worship. Greats like Orlando

Gibbons, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, J. S. Bach, G. F. Handel, William H. Harris, Herbert

Howells, upon a myriad of others were all composing their music for churches. There is no

question that these are some of the most influential composers in all of choral music. Many

students have probably heard the names Bach and Handel in history class. “The chorales of J.S.

Bach, the “Hallelujah Chorus” from George Frideric Handel’s Messiah , spirituals and Ernest

Bloch’s Sacred Service all have an important place in the development of a student’s musical

understanding and knowledge” (Religious Music in the Schools, 1996). If sacred music is cut

from the traditional choral curriculum, students will have no experience singing music of the

most influential choral composers.

There are thousands of settings of traditional sacred Latin texts such as the Mass, Te

deum, Requiem, and Stabat mater. Joseph Haydn alone set the Mass eight times. Latin is one of

the most important languages to teach in a choral classroom. It is the basis of all the romantic

languages, and uses completely pure vowels without diphthongs. Most music teachers use Latin

as a basis to teach IPA (the international phonetic alphabet). IPA in the classroom is the gateway

tool which helps students to more easily sing in many languages. Without sacred music, there are

essentially no Latin texts to sing. It would functionally eliminate the Renaissance polyphonic

motet from our schools.

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Sacred music has historical importance. African American spirituals and Sacred Harp

hymn tunes are two of the few genres of choral music that are truly American. As one of the

darkest times in American history, slavery is a crucial topic for students to be learning about in

schools. They discuss it in history class, and see photos and watch videos that can barely scratch

the surface of the historical reality. While reading about this, and learning about it, is extremely

important, immersing students in the history can help them learn even more. By performing the

African American spiritual, students can tie in the ideas they learned in history class while also

learning appropriate performance practice, and emoting the beauty of the hope these people

managed to find during such dark times.

“The music aided the survival of many through the use of its various music

elements. By its particular uses of phrasing, vocal quality, dynamics, tone color,

and the emphasis of text and meaning, the spiritual sets itself apart from any other

style of music. In learning about and performing spirituals, students have the

opportunity to understand the music and how it connects to American culture of

the past as well as the present” (Small, 2009, p. 47).

If you talk about the text of spirituals from this point of view, the study of them becomes

completely historically based, instead of religious based. The students can then add their own

meaning to it, only if they feel so inclined.

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The same approach can be applied to Sacred Harp hymn tunes. Sacred Harp hymn tunes

are a Southern American tradition. The tradition began in the late 18th century, and many people

still sing these tunes today. Many hymns in current American hymnals are harmonized tunes

from the sacred harp tradition set to different text. Sacred harp singing is also known as “shape

note singing.” Using only four syllables, fa, sol, la, and mi; Shape note singing can be used as an

introduction to the modern solfége system used in the Kodály method.

Parents and administration do not want to feel like the music teacher is imposing on a

student’s own ideas, or contradicting what they are learning in their own religious classes. It can

be a difficult topic to talk about in class, especially with young children whose minds are quite

malleable. “Teachers of young children have a special responsibility in treating this sensitive

subject. Young students (and their parents) sometimes become confused and upset by what they

view as contradictions to their religious teaching. It is important to communicate that music

learning, not religious indoctrination, is the motivation in choosing repertoire” (MEJ, 1996, p. 3).

This is essential. Making sure parents know that sacred music is not chosen for the value of the

text, but for the value of the music. Sometimes, teachers choose repertoire just because they

enjoy it. However, more commonly repertoire is carefully chosen to help build a new skill in the

ensemble, or showcase their strengths.

Critical pedagogy is built on the idea of taking what students already know and building

upon it. ‘What they know’ not only applies to physical content learned in school, but also what

they know about the world. Social class, demographic, and home environment all play huge roles
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in the student as a person and what they know. Every student comes from a different home,

which includes a different belief set and moral set. No teacher ever wants to try to change what

their students believe. However, if a teacher only uses music of one religion or style, it is easy

for a student to feel ostracized for being different. That is why teachers should invite their

students to talk about their families’ cultures and traditions. If a teacher truly wants to be critical

pedagogues, they cannot completely discount religions as a whole. So much of critical pedagogy

is about building upon students’ lives and what they know. And, religion is such an important

aspect of many of our student’s lives.

Many teachers find themselves working in schools where sacred music is not allowed. If

this is the case, the teacher should talk with the administration and ask them to reconsider. There

are many valuable lessons that come from sacred music and it is important they know that choral

teachers are not doing sacred music just for the purpose of doing it. It is important in the

development of musical abilities and for students to open their minds and grow as people that

they sing sacred music from different religions. First, the teacher must emphasize that the music

is being taught through a historical lens. The purpose never is to try to infringe on any beliefs on

the students or their families. At the beginning of the year, the teacher may want to send a letter

home to parents being fully transparent about their intentions towards the use of sacred choral

music, and any questions or concerns could be resolved right at the beginning of the year. Many

of the concerns of parents are that the students will only be singing music from one religion. If
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that is the case, the teacher is doing a poor job of showing their students the grand scope of

music from around the world.

Despite the objective teaching of sacred music, some students and parents still may feel

uncomfortable singing certain words. Students can also change the word of a piece if it would

make them feel more comfortable. If they would not feel comfortable saying a word like ‘Jesus’

or ‘Abba’, they can change it to ‘creator,’ or ‘spirit,’ or just leave a word out. Teachers need to

trust that students are responsible enough to make their own decisions regarding what words they

are comfortable saying. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Paolo Freire wrote “Revolutionary praxis

cannot tolerate an absurd dichotomy in which the praxis of the people is merely that of following

the leaders decisions—a dichotomy reflecting the prescriptive methods of the dominant elites.

Revolutionary praxis is a unity, and the leaders cannot treat the oppressed as their

possession” (Freire, 1970 p. 126). Although Freire is talking about the oppressed, these ideas can

be directly transferred into the classroom. Students should be encouraged to make more

decisions regarding their education. In doing this in the choral classroom, students will feel more

personally connected to their music.

Overall, the topic of sacred music is completely unavoidable in the choral music

education classroom. The more conversation that takes place addressing questions and concerns,

the more students and parents can see the educational importance of teaching the sacred music

repertoire. As long as the teacher approaches the manner in an objective, historical way, there is

nothing unconstitutional about it. Eliminating sacred music from all religions would eliminate so
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much of the repertoire and would not give students the true scope of choral music and its past. To

not include sacred music in the classroom would do a disservice to the future students and

musicians who have an interest in the choral art. 


Running head: SACRED MUSIC IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

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