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The christian
music and the new evangelization
 Roberto
Bignoli is one of the most representative international
contemporary Christian music artists.
Could you
briefly tell us how you became “ singer-songwriter to God”?
Before being a singer-songwriter to God I found out Faith. I
realised that my life without God had no value. After many
troublesome situations in 1984 . thanks to my coming closer to the
Virgin Mary and to a pilgrimage to Medjugorie, I rediscovered life
values and I started to come closer to the Church and to
Sacraments. Since then I have started to wish to translate
into music what I had experienced . I wanted to become an
instrument for evangelisation, unpretentiously but offering my
personal experience as a reference to talk about God’s greatness.
All that has happened year after year gradually, but surely I
really experienced that. I have held concerts all these
years in Italy and abroad. In 2001 I receive 2 awards in
Washington (USA) as best international artist of the year and best
song ( Ho bisogno di te –I need You). Recently in Rome I
received the Golden Grail as recognition of my commitment in new
evangelisation.
Contemporary Christian music is a phenomenon emerging all
around the world. In your opinion what do you think we
need in Italy to make it a mass phenomenon? I think all of us
would believe in what they are doing. We need strength from many
people who declare and fight in order to permit the Word of God to
emerge. Christian music is not a different type of music from what
we generally listen to. Lyrics are different and the artists are
different. Considering the common rules of the mass media
productions I doubt Christian music could become so popular.
Anyway everything can change in a minute, and so I do not reject
new horizons for Italian Christian Music in the future. A better
expertise is needed, as well, both for the producers and for the
artists. Most of all a great courage from the institutions in the
church is missing. They do not still believe that the music with
Christian inspiration is an important mean of evangelisation
especially among young people.
Christian music is a good tool for evangelisation or better to
let people know Christ. How and when, in your opinion, can this
experience become a true dynamic of faith following the
Resurrected? “Now go to every part of the world” is a sort
of slogan of the Dioceses of Milan which I think to be the answer
to your question. We need to reach every place to really bring
God’s message. Music is the way to reach directly the young and
everybody, isn’t it?
Don’t you think that singing (as it often happens) values or
situations which do not strictly refer to a Lord’s praise may
echo the world matters? Of course, singing of values is always
positive, but it is not if the singer does not apply them in his
life. It is the example and testimony that give credibility: I do
not feel to be better than others or perfect. I know to be limited
and to contradict myself, but, maybe, my winning point is that I
really believe in the values I sing and talk about.
There is a way of thinking ( which I honestly share) , very
strict, which states Christian music must be essentially a praise
and adoration and suggests not to sing anything else because the
Lord must always stay in the centre and only to Him is the Glory.
What do you think? As it is for everything, I think there must
not be integralism. But, if we really talk about Christian music,
themes must be coherent to Jesus’ Spirit and to the Gospel. If
we go far from the centre then we become protagonists. I hope not
to fall in this trap.
There is also a lively debate according to which the correct or
distorted use of musical instruments or genres answer to the
instinct side and not the spiritual side of a man as Christian
religion would ask. The reference is to st. Paul’s letters, and
particularly to Galatians,5. In Ephesians 5,19 st. Paul specifies
that Christian have to speak to one another with psalms, hymns and
spiritual songs. “ Spiritual “ is the nature of these songs,
and being the Word of God true, real, eternal, and unchangeable,
producer of what it says, we should go back to the Gospel
according st. John: God is Spirit, and the true worshippers will
worship the Father in spirit and truth (John 4,5) and since the
same Word of God states that man is made to glorify Him, it seems
there is only one possibility for the Christian to sing. What do
you think? Well, we must pay attention, of course. We
must not mix up Christian music and liturgical music: they are
very different. Of course we can’t confuse the Christian message
or better the Gospel with other spiritual influences, because we
could lose the meaning and the spirit.
It seems there are two main categories: one of praise and
adoration ( diversified according to the different
confessions and names) and the other which can give a shade and
colour to the life of a Christian, and that follows in a way the
more questionable world music genres. What do you think? As
I ‘ve told you, I think that the mistake is on mixing up
liturgical and Christian music. They are not the same thing and
surely they are both important means, but they have a different
destination. Beside, the music of praise and adoration is often
used in charismatic prayers while other genres, such as rock,
Christian rap and so on, are generally played and proposed in
theatres, squares, pubs, discos, I would say those places where
the Word is not announced but where it is necessary to bring.
Lately the music of praise and adoration was brought by
charismatic groups especially in USA and England out of their
meetings and prayer groups.
Most of all with the singer Marco Barrientos ( Aliento
producciones) a great ministry of songs and music for an internal
healing has emerged. It is anyway something that can bring a
desire of a closer encounter with God and also it can represent
one of the first successful attempts to regain the place
taken for many years by new Age. What’s your opinion? On
this topic I am always very prudent. I don’t reject the
possibility of healing through music because everything is
possible for God. Only from the fruits we will recognise the tree.
I think that the people who think to have this gift, to be
truly of God, in my opinion must be people of God. They must be
filled completely by God. Their lives should be the most coherent
possible with Jesus’ life . Their links to the Sacraments should
be their strength. And when all that is present lets’ thank the
Lord that through this ministry is near to those who suffer to
heal them.
I say that: if contemporary Christian music is not accompanied
by a spiritual and mass awakening it will remain hidden,
especially in Italy where there is a certain spirituality which is
not spirituality. What is your opinion? It is true.
Particularly in Italy there is a religious tradition, but
actually every one leads his ordinary life. What do I mean? When
you see the churches full of people you may think there are a lot
of Christians, but when they are out they start again their common
life. It is not meant as a critic but it is a starting point. We
don not know how to cultivate faith inside us with a great grace
the Lord has given us. This clearly leaves inside us a sense of
torpor that does not permit to collaborate to Christian’s unity
and so to became a crowd that believe in a common ideal.
Music has always been a favourable vehicle to join and
share, either for young people or in general for people. Why ,
especially in Italy, is there a marked division in Christian
music? Can Ecumenism and unity of Christians start mostly from
music? Unfortunately music alone dos not operate miracles.
There are still a lot of people, also the most representative
members of the Church , dioceses, parishes, who do not understand
the importance of this mean of evangelisation. They refuse or
interfere. It is clear if there is not the Church help to reach
many young people it is also evident how the message finds
obstacles not easily to be overcome. So, we can see Christian
music grow in a strong and successful way inside the evangelic
church where the ministers are the first to sustain and develop
Christian message through music. They understood that young people
answer in a strong way to this kind of language, if it is
supported by expertise and sophisticated means to develop these
productions and they have a full and total support form the papers
and evangelic mass media. It is stronger if we go outside Italy.
What do we need to create a real market with shops,
clothes and other objects connected with Christian music, as it
happen in north or Latin America and other countries in the world?As
it was already said in many points of this interview to be
successful we need expertise, firm belief and the have the courage
to announce the good news with force and credibility, having
always in mind the Gospel and a strong relationship with the
Church.
 How do you see the information scenery in this field?
Lately , thanks to many web sites such as Informusic, papaboys, Il
mio Dio canta giovane, Korazym, Giovani.org, and many others,
Christian music has been present and will be known. It is not
always easy to reach Catholic papers while a good answer is given
from the so called ‘secular’ papers. The result is
undoubtfully positive if you think that only 5 years ago if you
were looking for Christian music in Italy you could find very few
things. Now there are many many pages of reviews, articles
and so on about Christian music.
How could the great mass media , papers and specialised papers,
speak about Christian music? It could be done simply dealing
it as it is: music, with no stress on the word Christian or be
worried of it, even because when mass media deal with transgress
music, satanic or hard music, or negative genres and not common
for the general audience, the do not put the question on writing
or speaking. In some cases this kind of music is exalted, so it
was not so bad if also Christian music would be proposed with the
same attention.
How is it possible not to fall into temptation of becoming a
star? Many people say if in the centre there is only God,
inspired and guided only by the Holy Spirit, and not by own ideas,
opinions, projects, realities and so on, you mostly avoid to fall
into idolatry. What do you think? It depends on the way you
really believe in God, and not in yourself. Now you can win the
temptation.
By Giancarlo
Padula
(jourmalist and writer)
giancarlo.padula@tin.it
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