Introduction
Religious music, especially Christian, has been evolving and diversifying over the centuries from centuries-old and traditional styled songs and hymns to contemporary styles. Before the eighteenth century, hymns were published separately as standalone texts without musical score accompaniment. The first publishing of hymnal text and songs was done in America in 1831, as the singing of hymns was not allowed in the Church of England before 1820 (Maslon, 2018). The hymns originally sang out ‘lining out’ the lyrics as the pastor would sing a line, and congregants would repeat it. The expensiveness informed this of books as an economical step to help congregants memorize the songs from one copy. This paper looks into the history of hymns, particularly the Rock of Ages, and analyzes its lyrics.
Background Information
A Christian hymn is a Christian religious devotional song written primarily for prayer and praise to dieties or promonent religious figures. The songs are compiled in books that pastors and congregants read to a tune during Christian services (Masud, 2019). The practice has roots in ancient times and continues till today and has been converted to recorded and performed songs in churches and concerts. The singing or performance of songs may or may not include musical or instrument accompaniment. However, the most used instrument in the performance of hymns in modern times is the Piano. Most famous performers of the songs include Thomas Hastings and Lowell Redhead.
Music Description
Rock of Ages is a famous Christian hymn by Augustus Toplady in the 18th century. The Gospel magazine published the first four lines of the first version in 1775, with the complete publication happening in 1776. The 1776 ‘alt’ version has been edited by different domination throughout the song’s history, creating several versions by other churches worldwide (Behr, 2019). The lyrics ‘when my eyes shall close in death’ were original ‘when my eye-strings break in death.’ The correctness of the words of the edited version ‘be of sin and double cure, Save from wrath, and make me pure’ was a heated pamphlet exchange between the composer, Toplady, and John Wesley, who converted him to Christianity. Wesley initially taught ‘double cure’ as salvation emanating from the atonement of sin and inbred sin cleansing by infilling the Holy Spirit. However, Toplady’s 1776 ‘alt’ version varies from Wesley’s teachings and contains the line’ be of sin the double cure, Save me from its guilt and power.’
The song has been lyrically compared to the ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’ hymn, which also focused on personal salvation (Roberts, 2019). Notable recordings include Alma Gluck and Louise Homer’s 1914 version and Bing Crosby’s 1949 versions. Famous performers include Rosemary Siemens and different church choirs such as the Pillar of Truth Church choir, among many other performers, churches, and congregations worldwide.
Song Analysis
‘Rock of ages’ is sung to the tunes TOPLADY by Thomas Hastings and revised by Lowell Redhead 76, also named Petra, about the Biblical Peter the Rock. TOPLADY is mainly used in the United States, while Redhead 76 is used in the United Kingdom, although the tunes circulate freely in both countries and the entire world churches.
The hymnal is a multicultural gospel song focused on helping build stronger family relations through Christ. The piece, which evolves on the atonement of sin and betterment of relationships through maintaining a healthy relationship with God, calls for humility and God’s grace in the face of a trying world.
The song is a personal hymn that focuses on individual salvation as informed by the use of personal pronouns ‘I, me, we, our’ and offers assurance to self that even when we are alone, God will never abandon his people as the light and rock that we Christians stand upon. The song ‘Rock of Ages’ is also informed by Several Bible verses, such as Psalms 62:6, Samuel 2:2, Samuel 22:2, Psalms 144:1, and Hebrew 13:8, which refer to God as the rock of salvation who does not change.
Conclusion
Hymns have been part of human religious heritage with a long history dating back to many years before the Common Era. They have been used to instill humility, peace, and Godliness in the world. As such, preserving powerful hymns such as the Rocks of Ages as a religious heritage is imperative to offer comfort, strength, and hope where there was none in religious settings. Subsequent generations must, therefore, work to ensure that these compositions by their forefathers are kept.
References
Behr, J. (2019). The prologue as a paschal hymn. John the Theologian and his Paschal Gospel, 245-270. Web.
Communal poetry. (2020).(Communal poetry, 2020) A Little History of Poetry, 105-111. Web.
Maslon, L. (2018). Hymn for a Sunday evening. Oxford Scholarship Online. Web.
Masud, N. (2019). Sound words: Hymns in twentieth-century literature. The Review of English Studies, 70(296), 732-751. Web.
Roberts, W. A. (2019). Church and organ music. Incorporated association of organists: Congress at hull. The Musical Times, 70(1040), 919. Web.
The Role Of Fromm’s Psychoanalysis In Attachment Theory
The attachment theory is a complex idea that implies the long-term relationships and bonds between people, particularly children and parents relationships. The theory developed by John Bowl was lately corrected by Mary Ainsworth, eliminating the point that a mother was solely responsible for her infants’ development (Slater 2007). The idea of the theory is closely related to Fromm’s psychoanalysis and view of the theory. The research works conducted by Bacciagaluppi, Colmer, and Slater focus on identifying new means of the theory and connect their approaches to Fromm’s early works. Bacciaguluppi presents Bowlby’s attachment theory as the transformed form of Fromm’s opinion. At the same time, Colmer and colleagues support the point that early childhood is crucial in child development, directly appealing to attachment theory. Slater, on the other hand, highlights present implementations of attachment theory using Fromm’s contributions. All three researchers even not directly connect the attachment theory with Fromm’s psychoanalysis.
Bacciagaluppi (1989) emphasizes the evolution of Fromm’s ideas into Bowlby’s attachment theory. Fromm and Bowlby had standard views in different aspects of attachment theory, including its nature and impacts. For example, both researchers shared the common opinion that the primary character of attachment is convinced to the mother (Bacciagaluppi 2014). In addition, Bowlby and Fromm converged on the view that ethology is crucial in understanding the nature of attachment (Bacciagaluppi 2014). Accordingly, based on Fromm’s impact on attachment theory, Bacciagaluppi (1989) states that children have an inborn desire to attach to someone to feel safe. According to Bacciagaluppi (1989), this mechanism occurred during the early stages of human evolution and could be found in every individual. Moreover, Baccigaluppi (2014) asserts that Fromm’s most notable input indicates that society acting through family creates the most suitable character for itself. Thus, children form relationships because of unconscious desire and specific patterns of communication (Bacciagaluppi). This interpretation is crucial in promoting positive outcomes related to children’s behavior.
Colmer et al. (2011) describe the effects and applications of attachment theory to reinforce the position that positive and supporting relationships are closely related to children’s well-being and future success. Even the authors did not directly correlate with Fromm’s psychoanalysis; they applied to Bowlby’s view that Fromm initially developed. According to Colmer et al. (2011), the parent-child attachment bond requires constant revision and cultivation. Moreover, the authors declare that the attachment model constructed between a child and a primary caregiver is vital due to the child’s emotional and social development (Colmer et al., 2011). This idea claims Fromm’s position regarding the social impact on child development, considering an example of the child and the primary caregiver. Colmer et al. (2011) show that attachment theory combined with the primary caregiving model demands continuous reflection, dialogue, and support. Otherwise, children’s social and mental development will be interrupted, leading to problems in their relationship with family and society (Colmer et al., 2011). Colmer et al. (2011) observe that children’s development according to attachment theory helps primary caregivers emotionally regulate children’s behavior as well as build necessary skills. The position explained by Colmer and colleagues perfectly represents the effect of attachment theory on communication skills.
Slater (2007) explains the importance of attachment theory in current practice and indicates the advantages and disadvantages of the view. According to Slater (2007), attachment theory could help educators use sensitive and cognitive skills to regulate students’ behavior. Fromm’s psychoanalysis was used to outline the history of the theory as well as to provide positive and negative sides considering the primary source. For example, defining comprehensive relation-based interaction as an advantage, Slater (2007) appeals to Fromm’s view that economic, cultural, and institutional realities represent the bond. Additionally, Slater (2007) indicates Bowlby’s definition of emotional trauma according to attachment theory as a defensive process. Bacciagaluppi (2014) also mentioned the bond between attachment theory and trauma, based on his reflection of Fromm’s traumas and their influence on the idea. Another idea introduced by Slater (2007), which agrees with Fromm’s psychoanalysis, is the interdisciplinarity of attachment theory. The theory includes psychology, neuroscience, anthropology, and cognitive psychology (Slater, 2007). Furthermore, Slater (2007) points out that attachment theory remains ultimate for present structure and could be applied to achieve favorable results. Finally, Slater shows that the theory could be used in modern times.
To conclude, Fromm’s contribution to Bowlby’s attachment theory is prominent. The studies conducted by Bacciagaluppi, Colmer, and Slater relate to attachment theory and show Fromm’s psychoanalytic impact on the idea. Talking about the analysis made by Bacciagaluppi, it expresses the opinion of the evolution of Fromm’s view into Bowldy’s attachment theory. Moreover, Bacciagaluppi’s study suggests the point that indicates the evolutional moment of attachment theory and its role. Colmer and colleagues do not directly rely on Fromm’s idea; however, the bond constructed between their study and attachment theory gives a clear vision of the connection between the two concepts. Their research is directed to understand the relationship between early childhood and attachment theory. Finally, Slater explains the present implementation of the view and uses Fromm’s psychoanalytic as an outline expressing its importance in modern practice.
References
Bacciagaluppi, M. (1989). Attachment theory as an alternative basis of psychoanalysis. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 49(4), 311-318.
Bacciagaluppi, M. (2014). The relevance of Eric Fromm. The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 74, 123-132.
Colmer, K., Rutherford, L., & Pam Murphy. (2011). Attachment theory and primary caregiving. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 36(4), 16–20.
Slater, R. (2007). Attachment: Theoretical development and critique. Educational Psychology in Practice, 23(3), 205-219.
Sensation And Perception Skills In Early Infancy
The early years of children’s lives are associated with intense brain development and acquisition of new skills, with perception maturity being one of the essential tasks. Although infants’ study is related to certain theoretical, practical, and methodological difficulties, there is a significant body of knowledge that attempts to explain which sensational and perceptual skills newborns possess. Moreover, robust conceptual models have also been presented. Among them, three theories, namely predictive processing, habituation, and information processing models, are highly important.
The predictive processing model states that successful orientation in physical and social surroundings depends on the brain’s ability to make and revise predictions about one’s own behavior based on incoming sensory information (Köster et al., 2020). Within the framework of that theory, it is argued that the human body strives to make the most accurate forecasts about the future. Therefore, the incoming data is constantly analyzed and reconsidered. Although that process may seem difficult for infants’ organisms at first glance, the studies found that newborns can construct causal links for their actions at least since they are one month old. For instance, the experiment conducted with 2-month newborns revealed that infants could logically connect the movement of the phone attached to their feet with the movement of their legs (Köster et al., 2020).
Acquiring new knowledge for predictive processing may take a lot of brain activity when the information is fresh or contradictory. However, habituation theory asserts that each time sensory data aligns with the previous experience, the body reacts less to a similar stimulus. Indeed, due to the limited abilities of a person to focus and maintain attention on various objects, as the information processing framework suggests, the habituation process seems to be a crucial part of survival. It helps to distinguish important information from non-important and allows reacting fast in various life situations.
Reference
Köster, M., Kayhan, E., Langeloh, M., & Hoehl, S. (2020). Making sense of the world: infant learning from a predictive processing perspective. Perspectives on psychological science, 15(3), 562-571.