The sacred and profane in western Christian music

Abstract

The terms SACRED and PROFANE, referring to an immense and valuable path in the history of music, are rendered in this paper as defining essential aspects of the art of sound, mainly of the choral one. In order to differentiate the sacred (Christian) music with a religious (Biblical) text and the music without religious content (love, nature, war, or mythology), we will use in turn this sensitive terminology for language diversification purposes. Musicology clearly differentiates in the opuses of composers between the sacred and profane creation.