Mozart's Requiem. Mendelssohn's Elijah. Handel's Messiah. At the intersection of art and faith we find sacred music. In the sixteen 45-minute lessons of this course, you'll study these extraordinary creations and many more, taking in a rich panorama of Western sacred music and its most magnificent artistic landmarks. You will become familiar with a repertoire and a legacy of extraordinary musical greatness, and you will also acquire a unique lens through which to view Western history and a deeper understanding of Christian ritual and Christian worship.
These fascinating lectures are filled with essential insights and stunning musical excerpts, covering over 1,200 years of music, from medieval chant to the massive sacred works of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. An accomplished musician himself, Professor McGuire sings excerpts and examples for you throughout the course. This is music for the religious and the non-religious person alike - a tradition of compelling universality, beauty, and humanity in art.
As a fascinating counterpoint to the music itself, you'll explore the sociological background of its writing and performance. You'll learn how sacred musical works were often commissioned by important clerical and aristocratic patrons, and how sacred music composers were challenged to write works that were not only religiously edifying, but also entertaining and publically successful. And you'll observe how, through time, sacred music moved beyond the church walls to become appreciated in secular venues as autonomous works of art.
In The Great Works of Sacred Music, you'll encounter many of the supreme achievements of the Western classical tradition, compositions that demonstrate the roots of our musical heritage in passionate spiritual expression.
