Soli Deo Gloria

As I plan music for Sunday morning's week after week, I like to keep this quote by J.s. Bach in front of me.

"The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul."

I've been reading through the history of different composers online lately and it has benefited me immensely.  Now when I sit and play through Bach chorales, I feel like I can get a glimpse of where he was coming from when he composed them.

In one of the articles featured on this website, Calvin R. Stapert writes that Bach was "arguably the greatest composer in the history of Western music and a man whose staunch Lutheran faith informed his life, his career, and his view of music. He believed that music was a "refreshment of spirit," as some of the title pages of his works stated. He believed that music was a powerful tool for the proclamation of the gospel, as his cantatas, Passions, organ chorales, and other compositions clearly show. And ultimately, he believed that music brought glory to God, as the initials SDG (Soli Deo Gloria, "To God alone be glory") at the end of most of his scores bear witness."


Thank you for your music, Bach.  And thank you, God most high, for giving such inspiration to these world-renowned composers.  May their music bring you glory.