What Does it Sound Like When Angels Sing?
What Does it Sound Like When Angels Sing? is a collection of six myths about music from the historical Christian zeitgeist. It is designed to be accessible and educational for children aged four to eight years old, and include sources from a diverse set of countries and time periods.
The retellings are the product of research from a variety of sources, and they walk a balance between Christian belief and historical fact. Each story is accompanied by a simple melodic transcription, inviting experiential learning and participation.
This project provides a balance for the dominant culture trend in educational books for young children. In picture books which describe cultural and faith practices other than mainstream Christianity, the authors take on a particular tone of spinning a beautiful but ultimately “other” display of exotic beliefs. Children’s books about Christianity are usually written from a Christian perspective and with a Christian audience in mind, and don’t frame God’s works as magic or metaphor in the same way that, for example, indigenous experiences are. When Angels Sing intentionally tells these stories as the magical “other,” while still preserving a respect or reverence for the source material.
Music a shared element of all of human history and connects us with faraway times and places. Using historical melodies to create a bridge between our present-day experiences and these far-off creators and exemplars allows people of all ages to explore the inherent humanity of people who influenced the development of Christianity. It lays the groundwork for more in-depth exploration of the human motivations and challenges which inspired the actions of famous names, and prevents us from forgetting the lives and contributions of those who, though no less important, were pushed aside or neglected by the mainstream.
I hope that What Does it Sound Like When Angels Sing? inspires curiosity and joyful exploration as an entry point to deeper learning for people of all ages.
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