[extropy-chat] Atheist Hymn Book

[pjmanney]

But seriously, folks...

To deal with Emlyn's direct question, I too was in his boat.  Sang in a church choir as a kid because they played great music.  I loved flying away on the wings of transcendental sound, which as you discussed, is the allure of great religious music.

But as most of you know my schtick by now, "...born a jew, raised an agnostic... practice my own half-baked buddhism," I clearly wasn't there for the religion.  Actually, the Presbyterians had the best music program in town and most of my friends were members.  So I sang.  And for my efforts, I still remember the entire score of Handel's Messiah by heart.  Now that's music.

As for secular music that might suit, I remember singing compositions by Randall Thompson at school (think Ralph Vaughan-Williams meets Aaron Copeland).  He did a series of pieces called "Frostiana" based on the poems of Robert Frost.  I especially remember loving "The Road Not Taken" which could as easily be an H+ anthem.  It certainly is the iconoclast's anthem, which I assume most of us are.

And at least they're great lyrics.  Frost rocks.  And Thompson's music is beautiful  Together, they've nailed the transcendental-without-the-Almighty part.

http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html
http://www.chem.yale.edu/~chem125/125/Star.html

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0006ZP2WK/ref=ord_cart_shr/102-0491878-4703357?%5Fencoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

>From Amazon:
"In 1958, Randall Thompson was commissioned to compose a piece celebrating the 200th anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Amherst, Massachusetts. The townspeople suggested that Thompson set a poem by Robert Frost... Thompson, a friend of Frost's, agreed... he chose to compose a suite of seven poems, and titled it Frostiana... A common thread unites the poems, emphasizing the importance of the many small choices we are called to make throughout life. Through his sensitive settings of Frost's texts, Thompson gently counsels us to take the road less traveled, to keep our promises before we sleep, to stay our minds upon something like a star."

As for orchestrating existing popular H+ music as choral works, I do have a problem imagining "Singular Indestructible Droid" by Papa Roach as a choral piece.  Call me crazy.  Jefferson Airplane's "Crown of Creation" as rock opera with chorus would work, though!

PJ