Taize, a Musical and Spiritual Experience Like None Other

It's little difficult to describe the experience of participating in a Taize service, but I will try. Last Friday evening, my quartet and I went to a local Catholic church. I think about 600 people filled the church. Some were standing, as there weren't enough seats.

There were musicians present at the front of the church: an oboist, one bass player, two cellists, one violist and two violinists, one of which was me. The church organist played the piano and we went through the basic pieces before the service started.
Note: The photos and music heard here are not from our Friday service. I found them on the Internet.

Adoramus te


At that point everyone in the church fell silent as the sound of pealing bells high up in the steeple resounded faintly. It was time to meditate and be ready for the service. The meditation lasted, with complete silence, for about 5 minutes. After that, the church organist and the director of the Taize music service stood up in the pulpit and taught the first melody to the people gathered in the church. Then we heard amazing singing in four parts.

It was thrilling to hear about 600 ordinary people singing the simple hymn over and over and over many times. We musicians could join in by playing the melody, a harmony part or one of the many obbligato parts which were provided. We could choose any of the parts or choose to sit out during any of the verses.

During one of the pieces, played only by the piano, we musicians were invited to contribute improvisations by staying in the key and observing the simple chord changes. This was a liberating experience for me and I felt free to improvise a little solo in front of the huge group of people. I was extremely comfortable about it.

The power of Taize derives from the extended participation of everyone in the church. There is no choir, there is barely a leader. On each repetition of the simple melodies, new sounds are heard . .. the feeling builds and builds, as everyone focuses on the simple words of the hymn, such as Ubi caritas Deus est. (Where there is love, there God is.)
Ubi Caritas



Candles were passed out and lit. The next song was "Alleluia". On the word "Alleluia", everyone raised up their candles. It was an awesome sight!

Later on, during a song, everyone in the church joined a processional to the front of the church where containers of sand were placed. Each person put his or her candle in the containers.
After this, the whole church became completely silent. It was silent for about ten minutes. Everyone could lapse into a completely meditative state. It was a moving experience for me. There is so little chance for silence in our modern world. And here were 600 people deeply meditating together.

In short, although I don't share the religious views of the people present at the church, I was able to participate in the emotional and spiritual depth of the experience of these good and fervent people. It reminded me so much of happy times in my childhood, for example, singing around the campfire.

Jesus Remember Me



Taize is a movement which began in France and has spread across the entire world. My local church sponsors this event on the first Friday of every month. This was my third time to attend Taize at the church. One of the things which helps to create this amazing atmosphere is the church musician who guides the singing. His generous spirit, total musicianship and devout nature contribute much to the Taize event.