Simple music = simple faith?

Food for thought here from Bernard Holland in the NYTimes which contains this nugget:

Getting great music and simple faith together happens, but with difficulty.

Verdi’s Requiem, with its visceral depiction of human fright at Judgment Day, comes pretty close to satisfying both the critic and the Christian.

My nominee for the music that both thrills the senses and puts into its auditors the appropriate fear of God is the gospel singing of black churches. The sounds are amazing, and everyone in the building has something to do with making them.

(Photo cred:  NYTimes, Photobucket)