John Frye says that “nobody was ever ‘saved’ by a musical note.” But I wonder, can music wield more influence than paid religious professionals? Can music articulate Spirit to an otherwise unreceptive community?

Celebrated Cambridge scientist Arthur Peacocke (d. 2006) once said that Bach’s Art of the Fugue is perhaps his most abstract and intellectually challenging work (I would add the Brandenburgs and 2/3 Inventions to that short list). Peacocke mused that the “Holy Spirit had written it, using Bach’s hand.”

Sometimes spiritual power and “leadership” appear in the most unexpected of places. In Japan, with less than 1% Christian demographic, the most successful contemporary evangelist appears to be…. J. S. Bach.

Japan is a spiritually impoverished nation. I spent a great deal of time there in the early 1980s managing high-tech OEM business of a giant Japanese manufacturer. Traditional religions (Shinto, Buddhism) were mostly ceremonial – many of their temples were tourist attractions. Japan’s primary religion might be called immaculate consumption (in fairness, the same could be said of Europe and USA).

Uwe Siemon–Netto, in a fascinating report (HT), explores the enormous spiritual influence that J.S. Bach’s music has had on Japanese lives. Masashi Masuda relates how Bach’s Goldberg Variations aroused an interest in Christianity. “There was something about that music that prompted me to probe deeper and deeper into its spiritual origins.” Masuda is now a Jesuit priest and a lecturer in Systematic Theology at Tokyo’s Sophia University. Yoshikazu Tokuzen, rector of Japan’s Lutheran seminary and president of his country’s National Christian Council (NCC), echoed Peacocke: “Bach is a vehicle of the Holy Spirit.”

A Japanese law student describes her realization of “God as love personified” by listening to Bach’s Vergnügte Ruh’, beliebte Seelenlust. While the vast majority of Japanese profess no religion, nearly 10% say that they are “sympathetic” to Christianity, due in large part (says Siemon-Netto) to the music of J.S. Bach.

Renowned organist, professor, and Bach Collegium founder Masaaki Suzuki, says, “What people need in this situation is hope in the Christian sense of the word, but hope is an alien idea here.” Suzuki is the driving force behind the ‘Bach boom’ sweeping Japan. “Our language does not even have an appropriate word for hope,” Suzuki says. “We either use ibo, meaning desire, or nozomi, which describes something unattainable.”

Says Netto, after every Bach Collegium performance, Suzuki is crowded on the podium by non–Christian members of the audience who want to talk about topics that are normally taboo in Japanese society—death, for example. “And then they inevitably ask me to explain to them what ‘hope’ means to Christians.”

Says one Japanese Bach lover, “he gives us hope when we are afraid; he gives us courage when we despair; he comforts us when we are tired; he makes us pray when we are sad; and he makes us sing when we are full of joy.” Perhaps Bach’s music has “converted” more Japanese than we can imagine? How has music affected your heart? Your faith?

One reason I blog this is because Bach has similarly influenced my life. There is spiritual power in music. By the way, one of my Japanese friends translated my name as “GEE / ON / LAKU / RU” which means “Music / Temple / Stay / Enjoy” – which is ironic given that I’ve spent part of my life playing music professionally and “in church.”

Listen to Suzuki’s recording of Bach’s Mass in Bm HERE.

And here, a Japanese performance of Bach’s St. John Passion conducted by Suzuki. How can anyone experience this and not be changed?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 at 12:10 pm and is filed under Art & Creativity, Awe & Mystery, Sound, μυστικός. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.