It was during the Medieval Period that the first church dramas began to appear. As Richard Courtney, famous drama teacher and theatre scholar, pointed out that the Mass itself of course has the seeds of drama – chanted dialogue and a theme of action, but not the essential quality of impersonation.
Impersonation began with the trope sung during the night before Easter. A trope was an extra chant written to accompany church music on special occasions. In the Mass, the trope had been sung by the choir. When repositioned, it became a separate little scene performed at Matins on Easter morning; much like a tiny opera, three people impersonated the Marys and one the angel before an improvised sepulchre.
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INTRODUCTION
There are four principles deduced from the New Testament worship which, if applied, will help produce a God-honouring music and worship ministry. These are found in Colossians 3:16,17 and they include the memorandum or message of music; means of music; medium or matrix of music and the motive of the musician.
MEMORANDUM OF MUSIC
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One of the most cherished parts of religious worship has always been the singing of Scripture. In fact, most of the first Christians sang only scriptural texts put to music, particularly the Psalms. In the words of John Calvin, “Singing [the Psalms] we may be sure that our words come from God, just as if he were to sing (through) us for his own exaltation.”
Since the time of Calvin, some churches have continued the practice of singing Scripture, with help from a variety of metrical Psalters. While some modern churches have almost given up the practice, often bypassing the updated Psalm sections in newer hymnals, other churches continue to sing scriptural texts almost exclusively,
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