Sunday, July 13, 2008

Time to harness the power of hymns

http://www.sydneyanglicans.net/culture/thinking/time_to_harness_the_power_of_hymns/

[sydneyanglicans.net] 13 Jul 2008--When I first met Ross Cobb, he was both barefoot and wearing a tweed jacket, alive with creative energy that spilled out like his musical instruments across a cramped office.

I wonder – with his jovial demeanour and warm English accent – whether his students at St Andrew’s Cathedral School see him as some kind of youngish Dumbledore of Harry Potter fame – tucked away in his medieval-like stone office deep in the intestines of the Cathedral weaving together strange musical incantations.

He certainly cast a spell on me that day. I was hypnotised into believing something I never thought possible.

I am about as far from a classical music fan as you can imagine – opera is my definition of a snooze-a-thon. And I truly believe that the pinnacle of musical genius is Radiohead’s OK Computer.

As a Gen-Xer, I can remember the day my former minister killed the dwindling choir at my childhood Anglican Church. I remember the old service as stuffy and starchy, otherworldly in a bad way. More like hades than heaven.

The idea that we would have amplified rock music felt like a breath of fresh air.

I believe this was the right move – but Ross makes me doubt my convictions.

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