Liturgy is inherently musical — Music is integral to liturgical celebration

[Extract] ...the intent is to assert that musical expression as a whole is integral to worship, with singing being a type of music that most readily demonstrates the proposition—especially that liturgy is “inherently musical.”

It is fitting to begin our collaborative collection with this particular proposition. In a sense, it is the foundation of all of the other principles so creatively and adeptly addressed by the eminent contributors to this collection. For most or even all of the other propositions, it would make sense to begin them with, “Liturgy is inherently musical, and music is integral to liturgical celebration, therefore…” In what follows, I will demonstrate the veracity of this proposition, drawing on historical examples as well as insights from theology and ritual.