Christian music

== Worship services ==
{{Main|Church music}}

[[File:Kirchenchor.gif|thumbnail|upright=0.8|left|A church [[choir]] singing]]

Among the most prevalent uses of Christian music are in church worship or other gatherings. Most Christian music involves singing, whether by the whole congregation (assembly), or by a specialized subgroup—such as a soloist, duet, trio, quartet, madrigal, [[choir]], or [[Contemporary worship#Worship band|worship band]]— [[responsory|or both]]. It is frequently accompanied by instruments, but some denominations such as some [[Exclusive Brethren]], the [[Churches of Christ]], the [[Primitive Baptists]] and the [[Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)|Free Church of Scotland]] prefer unaccompanied or ''[[a cappella]]'' singing. Other denominations such as [[Baptists]], [[Methodism|Methodists]], and [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterians]] sing alongside some form on accompaniments. Some groups, such as the [[Bruderhof Communities|Bruderhof]], sing songs both with religious and non-religious meanings and words.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://soundcloud.com/bruderhof|title=Bruderhof Communities|website=SoundCloud|language=en|access-date=2018-05-31}}</ref> For them, the act of singing is important. One of the earliest forms of worship music in the church was the [[Gregorian chant]]. [[Pope Gregory I]], while not the inventor of chant, was acknowledged as the first person to order such music in the church, hinting the name "Gregorian" chant. The chant reform took place around 590–604 CE (reign of Pope Gregory I) (Kamien, pg. 65–67). The Gregorian chant was known for its very [[monophony|monophonic]] sound. Believing that complexity had a tendency to create [[cacophony]], which ruined the music, Gregory I kept things very simple with the chant.<ref>[[Roger Kamien|Kamien, Roger]]. Music: An Appreciation. 9th ed. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.</ref>

=== Instrumental accompaniment ===
[[File:Ninth Symphony original.png|thumb|A page (leaf 12 [[recto]]) from Beethoven's manuscript. Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide church,<ref name="Hall100">Hall, p. 100.</ref> and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music, and its many derivatives. The [[Baroque]] style, which encompassed music, art, and architecture, was particularly encouraged by the post-Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor.<ref name="Murray45">Murray, p. 45.</ref>]]
In the West, the majority of Christian denominations use instruments such as an organ, piano, electronic keyboard, guitar, or other accompaniment, and occasionally by a band or orchestra, to accompany the singing. But some churches have historically not used instruments, citing their absence from the New Testament. During the last century or so several of these groups have revised this stance.

The singing of the [[Eastern Orthodox]] is also generally unaccompanied, though in the United States organs are sometimes used as a result of Western influence.

=== Instrumental music ===

Some worship music may be unsung, simply instrumental. During the [[Baroque]] period in Europe, the [[chorale prelude]] (for organ) was widely used, generally composed by using a popular hymn tune thematically, and a wide corpus of other solo organ music began to develop across Europe. Some of the most well-known exponents of such organ compositions include [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], [[Dieterich Buxtehude]], [[George Frideric Handel]], [[François Couperin]], [[César Franck]] and [[Charles-Marie Widor]] to name a few. Up to the present time, various composers have written instrumental (often [[organ (music)|organ]]) music as acts of worship, including well known organ repertoire by composers like [[Olivier Messiaen]], [[Louis Vierne]], [[Maurice Duruflé]], and [[Jean Langlais]].

The [[church sonata]] (for orchestra and chamber group) and other sacred instrumental musical forms also developed from the [[Baroque]] period onwards.