religions Article TheoArtistry, and a Contemporary Perspective on Composing Sacred Choral Music George Corbett School of Divinity, University of St Andrews, St Mary’s College, South Street, St Andrews, Scotland KY16 9JU, UK;
[email protected] Received: 13 November 2017; Accepted: 19 December 2017; Published: 28 December 2017 Abstract: This article presents the methodology and research underpinning the TheoArtistry Composers’ Scheme, a project based in ITIA (the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts), School of Divinity, University of St Andrews (2016–2017). I analyse Sir James MacMillan’s theology of music, outline some practical and theoretical issues that arose in setting up theologian-composer partnerships, and reflect critically on the six new works of sacred choral music that emerged (these are printed as supplementary materials). The article assesses the implications of such collaboration for future work at the interface between theology and music, and between theology and the arts more generally. Keywords: sacred music; choral music; composition; theology; theoartistry; annunciation; Hebrew Bible; James MacMillan; Michael Symmons Roberts; Jeremy Begbie 1. Introduction In Sacred Music in Secular Society, Jonathan Arnold highlights a strange phenomenon: ‘the seeming paradox that, in today’s so-called secular society, sacred choral music is as powerful, compelling and popular as it has ever been’ (Arnold 2014, p. xiv). In particular, the explosion of new media through the internet and digital technology has created a new, much broader audience for ‘the creative art of Renaissance polyphony and its successors to the present day’, a genre of sacred music that seems to have ‘an enduring appeal for today’s culture’ (ibid.).1 Arnold suggests, moreover, that sacred choral music is thriving, as well, in Anglican worship: while attendance continues to decline in general, he cites the 30% rise at religious services sung by professional choirs in British cathedrals over the last decade (p.