Last night at a concert, a lady in the audience admitted to wondering if it was OK to set the Bahá’í Writings to music in a way that made her want to move and dance and get happy. This was after hearing us play a twanged-up Moanin’ Sons version of Whither Can a Lover Go - which, while certainly one of our more intense pieces using the Writings as lyrics, is far from what we would consider ‘pushing it.’
“Is it OK?” I found her question startling, even after decades of playing for Bahá’í audiences. If someone is willing to ask this out loud – and I admire her candor – how many others are thinking it?
The reason I was startled in this instance was that the woman in question was African American. It was her own culture that wrote the book on how to combine music and Scripture in the most exuberant, joyous ways imaginable – I can think of no instance in world history, including the ecstatic drumming of the Sufis, that can compete with the sheer visceral intensity of African American sacred music. And yet she questioned her own emotional and physical response to a song that borrows heavily from that proud tradition – her own tradition.
Where did she get the idea that this was not valid in the Bahá’í Faith? Whose voice was in her head? Certainly not the position of the Writings themselves, which insist that that we ‘leap and dance with ecstasy in the triumphal procession of the Covenant,’ that we ‘lift up (our) voices and sing the blissful anthems of the spirit.’
My heart goes out to anyone who doubts whether the music they find spiritually inspiring is appropriate in a Bahá’í setting. Be it folk songs, hip hop, rock & roll, gospel or whatever, there is always a way to raise these art forms to a level befitting worship. (How to do that is another story – and a subject for another post.)
Reverence and dignity are always a consideration for any artist attempting to present the Faith using their talents. But whose concept of reverence? Whose definition of dignity? Are there cultural norms in place that we mistake for a Bahá’í standard?
These subjects will become more and more relevant as people from all walks of life embrace this Faith as their own. We will explore them in depth in later posts. For now, let these words of the Master suffice:
If we are not happy and joyous in this season, for what other season shall we wait and for what other time shall we look?'Abdu'l-Bahá
Thoughts on listening to Badasht volume II: This album does not feel like a ladder for the soul, as the Bahá’í Writings say music can be. It is a rocket! It is the sound of the upliftment of cultural expression. It is a 12-track wonder. And how exciting that it is far from alone in this; there is a rapidly expanding group of songwriters, singers, and musicians, of great variety of musical styles, who are reflecting their Bahá’í inspiration in their work. The Dawnbreaker Collective’s album Arise is another rocket and buttress to my spirit. I have no music education other than listening, but in just the Unity Prayer I hear an echo of Seals and Crofts and many others with lovely harmonies, to native peoples and their drums, to black spirituals, to rock and soul. On the album I hear an influence of JB Eckl’s work with the group War and with Santana (the gorgeous re-imaging of “These Great Oppressions“ from the Reggae Project album), and he and others’ work in gospel and soul, including Eric Dozier. Song after song puts me in awe of the beautiful arrangements and vocals, and the decades of training and experience that went lovingly into this creation. Recently a blog post at Badasht.net asked “can you sing the Writings like that?” We have all heard so much music with rhythm that was based on our animal nature, but as we transform cultures to reflect our higher divine nature, these same instruments, beginning with the voice and ancient instrument of the drum, will lift us higher into our true nobility.
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LikeThanks JB! I appreciate you writing this and also quoting the writings for backup. It helps me and gives me a resource to point people in the direction of when I get this question. I think one thing we forget is that we are still evolving and we don't know what future society will evolve into; therefor, our understanding of what reverence is continues to evolve. Thanks again!
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LikeLove what you wrote. My musical background is strongly based in the african/american experience and I understand the woman's uncertainty. Your question about cultural norms being mistaken as a Baha'i standard, is a great one. Let's always remember and apply unity in diversity to avoid that.
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I figure, if you can sing, I can dance!