One of many examples of the perversions of Satan's world is found in music. One of the best ways to track the consistent degradation of society over time is to monitor the devolution of its musical tastes. What we have seen transpire within the world of music during the last century tracks perfectly with the plummeting state of our societies' morality.

          With that in mind, one of the blessings of God's teaching through the ministry of Mr. Herbert Armstrong was the knowledge of good music vs. corrupt music. These principles are just as much a part of the faith once delivered as any other doctrines we were taught.

          When the church began to depart from major revealed doctrine in the early 1970s, there was likewise a change in orientation toward music. Worldly, "popular style" music began to be incorporated into church services rather than the sacred, reverential music Mr. Armstrong had always insisted upon before.

          Thankfully, Mr. Raymond Cole continued Mr. Armstrong's original example of choosing appropriate music for our special music offerings before God. This remnant body has been blessed with that example now for the last thirty years.

          Years ago Mr. Raymond Cole commissioned Mr. George King to compose sacred music to portray the meaning of God's annual Holy Days. To date, six of seven have been completed. These include the Cantata for Passover, Cantata for Unleavened Bread, Cantata for Pentecost, Cantata for The Feast of Trumpets, Cantata for The Day of Atonement, and Cantata for The Feast of Tabernacles. Each of these six cantatas is centered upon texts from the Holy Scriptures, selected by Mr. Cole to capture the spiritual meaning of each Holy Day. They were written in the Baroque style of classical music, one style confirmed by Mr. Armstrong as meeting God-ordained standards.

          Although we own and control legal rights to these musical compositions, as is true of our copywrited articles, our purpose is to share that material with anyone whom God sends to us, who values the spiritual principles contained therein. These original musical compositions are unique among those groups who came out of our parent organization. No one else has produced music of this type and quality to magnify the Truth of God. Many are not aware it exists, and that is something we hope may change.

          Other significant and major works written by Mr. King under the auspices of Church of God, The Eternal over several decades include The Song of Moses—a Sacred Oratorio and Hearken Unto Me O House of Jacob, arranged in cantata format.

Definitions

(The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company).

can-ta-ta (kan-tät-ah) n.

    A musical composition, often using a sacred text, comprising recitatives, arias, and choruses.

or-a-to-ri-o (ôra-tôr-ē-ō) n.

    A musical composition for voices and orchestra, telling a sacred story without costumes, scenery, or dramatic action.

          Below are links to streamed RealMedia samples of the musical works available for order from Church of God, the Eternal. If you would like to receive any or all of the complete works on Compact Disk (CDDA only), please click on the link below entitled "Request Sacred Music". Once we receive the completed form we will be happy to mail the items you have requested.

          Notes: When accessing streamed media, even with a high speed connection, please allow up to one or two minutes for the data to spool before it begins playing. Also, regrettably, streamed media does not work well with dial-up connections.