Een performatieve benadering van muziek in de eredienst

Samenvatting

If one of the aims of liturgy is to communicate with God, what is the role and function of singing hymns and psalms in this liturgical communication? Does the singing contribute to the theological aim of the liturgy, and if so, how? This article focusses on the sound of the music. Although text of a psalm or hymn is important, the ritual itself of singing shapes the participants’ liturgical experience. My thesis is that the musical experience can be interpreted as a religious experience. Music is sacramental and as such indispensable to liturgy. From a performative perspective this article explores how sound unites the participants and gives them the experience of an eternal ‘now’.