Christmas and the meaning of church music
Church music has always played an important role around Christmas. Performances of Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah and other works are all very popular. Hymnologist Jan Luth studies how church music touches the listeners, and what role it plays. That is partly related to nostalgia, but also to a feeling of unity in these individualistic times. The brilliant compositions are of course also important. They can even give atheists a near-religious or spiritual experience.
Jan Luth retired from the UG in November. Luth was linked to the Institute for Christian Cultural Heritage (ICCE) at the UG, which focuses on studying, understanding and making use of the cultural legacy of Christianity in our own time.
More information
University of Groningen videos
The weekly online video magazine Unifocus highlights topics related to the University of Groningen in the fields of research and society, student life, teaching, policy and internationalization.
You can find more videos in our video portal.
| Last modified: | 25 August 2020 1.28 p.m. |
More news
-
07 September 2020
Mecca in Morocco: Negotiating the Meanings of Hajj in Everyday Life
On 10 September 2020, Kholoud Al-Ajarma will defend her dissertation ‘Mecca in Morocco: Negotiating the Meanings of Hajj in Everyday Life’ in order to receive the doctoral degree in Comparative Study of Religion at the University of Groningen.
-
02 September 2020
Dr Julia Martínez-Ariño Lecturer of the Year at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies
The students of the UG Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies have chosen Dr Julia Martínez-Ariño , assistant professor of Sociology of Religion, as their Lecturer of the Year 2020.
-
01 September 2020
‘Sex education in the Netherlands is too one-sided’
In the Netherlands, the subjects of religion and sexuality are often considered to be incompatible. PhD student Jelle Wiering is contesting the tendency to automatically assign the blame for problems concerning sexuality to religion. Wiering...