By Dr Alexandra Fol, CTh
Music director and organist, Église unie St James
Montréal, QC, Canada
music@stjamesmontreal.ca
In 2021, upon accepting the music directorship position at Église unie St James in Montréal, a National historic site of Canada, I had to reflect on various philosophical considerations in order to work on building an interesting and durable music programme led by notions of artistic quality and the values promoted by the United Church of Canada.
Art-related outreach programs allow churches and especially traditional tourist sites like St James, to transcend traditional religious boundaries, engaging with culture, spirituality, and community in an integrative approach. By weaving together these elements, music ministers can create vibrant environments where individuals feel valued, inspired, and connected, enhancing both their faith and their cultural engagement. This holistic approach to outreach not only enriches the church community but also contributes positively to societal well-being, creating a legacy of creativity and collaboration.
Art outreach programs that focus on quality content while accepting and promoting stylistic diversity foster a profound understanding of the breadth of the human condition. By integrating cultural events into the church’s regular activities, these initiatives emerge as platforms for showcasing local talents and heritage, thus entrenching the church’s central space in the immediate community and enriching the church’s identity, rendering it more relevant to the larger society. The resulting cultural vibrancy creates a mosaic of perspectives that deepens the understanding of different worldviews.
Spiritually, art serves as a profound medium for exploring faith and spirituality. Artistic expression can facilitate contemplative practices, enabling individuals to reflect on their spiritual journeys and encounter the divine in new ways. Through workshops, exhibitions, and performances, participants engage with art not only from ontological, but also from a semiotic standpoint. This engagement allows individuals to articulate their beliefs and struggles through creative work, often giving voice to the ineffable aspects of faith that traditional liturgy may not encompass. Moreover, art-related outreach programs can act as catalysts for healing and transformation, where the process of creation becomes a spiritual exercise that fosters personal growth and community support.
On a communal level, art-centered outreach fosters a sense of belonging and shared purpose. Engaging in artistic endeavours together cultivates relationships not only between individual church members, but also between the church members and/or the church as an institution, and the wider community, breaking down barriers and inviting dialogue among diverse populations. Collaborative projects can unify individuals towards a common goal, enhancing their sense of community ownership and collective identity. Art also serves as bridge-builder, allowing even those who may feel marginalized or disconnected from organized religion to participate, thus expanding the church’s reach and impact.
The active promotion of Canadian cultural product(ion)s does not constitute a large-scale national policy on the part of the majority of artistic institutions in our country. Similarly, promotion of Canadian art in general and liturgical art in particular does not constitute an accepted fundamental value for Canadian churches. This lack of vision, this intellectual laziness, not to say this criminal indifference, makes Canadian artists practically unknown in provinces other than their own or internationally, their talent frequently perceived as of lesser importance in the absence of public visibility and support from a state system that fosters their careers. Yet, as several tourism reports have established for decades, cultural offerings – especially ones found in old places of worship and pilgrimage across the world! – serve as an important driver for the economic development of a country and for the maintaining of a religion’s cultural relevancy.
Concerts, festivals and related activities linked to the music industry in general, and/or to religious tourism in particular, generate significant revenues – financial returns that greatly exceed the initial investments, advertising and grants, enriching the lives of city dwellers and visitors both spiritually and materially. The economic benefits of art and art consumerism enhance a country’s image and thus, a shared identity, on a global stage. The creative industries generate jobs, attract tourism, and stimulate innovation. Cultural events, exhibitions, and performances can draw visitors, showcasing a nation’s identity while promoting economic development. By prioritizing the arts, governments, charities, as well as for-profit organizations can create a vibrant cultural landscape that enhances their reputation and fosters new relationships – diplomatic, economic and spiritual.
Considering all of the above, one of my first actions as music director of Église unie St James was to reimagine the church’s long-standing organ series as MusOrgue – a unique series of organ concerts in Canada, which aims to promote Canadian music. Hosted and presented by Église unie St James in the heart of downtown Montreal since 2022, each MusOrgue concert includes 50% Canadian content, 50% female content and at least one composer still living at the time of the concert announcement. Presented on summer Sundays between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., the concerts are free in order to attract as many new and diverse audiences as possible among Montreal residents and tourists visiting the city and the nationally significant historic site that is Église unie St James.
Located on the west side of the Quartier des spectacles in Montreal, St. James United Church is frequented by a large number of tourists, especially in the summer. These are people curious to explore the cultural mosaic that Montréal has to offer, and who are looking for new experiences, less available or unavailable in their home cities and countries. The music by long-dead composers such as Bach and Vierne is easily found everywhere and, consequently, their music will not constitute a great appeal in itself to someone who sees a poster in a public square and decides to enter to hear (part of) an organ concert and see the inside of the beautiful historic building.
The experience of the first three years of MusOrgue indicates that the public listens with great interest to Canadian works, sharing its enthusiasm with the staff members and volunteers on site. Tourists who enter “for five minutes” tend to stay for at least half of a concert. Accustomed to so-called “classical” music as background music and elevator music, listeners are very interested in the sometimes daring harmonies and unusual timbres presented on the great organ of St. James by the guest organists. Some people expected to meet composers on site, an idea that I would like to develop in anticipation of the centennial of the United Church of Canada in 2025.
As a living church that perceives and assumes the weight of its responsibility towards living heritage, St James considers the production of the MusOrgue festival as a service to the greater community rather than a commercial product, because music remains an important, even essential, means of expressing, promoting – and yes, building! – the cultural identity of a country. St James encourages the diversity and artistic creativity of Canada, focuses on parity, and thus contributes to strengthening the sense of belonging and pride, through programming that reflects our country. Among the music offered within the MusOrgue festival, we find doubtless masterpieces, some very modest attempts, and everything in between. This qualitative variety reflects the global reality and testifies to the deep presence of musical inspiration among all our composers, to their tenacity, their diligence and their desire to contribute in a way, unfortunately too often without pay, to a repertoire that – let’s admit it! – remains exceptionally niche!
An organ festival located in the touristic heart of a large metropolis known for its cultural diversity, allows to highlight this wealth of talent. By encouraging the discovery and appreciation of different genres, St James fosters open-mindedness, understanding and respect for different musical styles so that each of us can be captivated and uplifted by a world of sound that speaks to our soul.
In 1965, at the signing of the USA’s the Arts and Humanities law, the then-president of the country Lyndon B. Johnson remarked: “In the long history of man, countless empires and nations have come and gone. Those which created no lasting works of art are reduced today to short footnotes in history’s catalogue. Art is a nation’s most precious heritage. For it is in our works of art that we reveal to ourselves, and to others, the inner vision which guides us as a Nation. And where there is no vision, the people perish.”
Art plays a vital role in nation-building and fostering shared identity by reflecting cultural values, promoting social cohesion, and stimulating dialogue among diverse communities who inhabit shared public spaces, including religious spaces. Through various artistic expressions, such as visual arts, music, literature, and performance artists can unify others around common narratives and experiences. On a grassroots level pop art, such as mural painting, artisanal workshops, participatory installations, and outdoor concerts, do foster a satisfying sense of belonging that serves as a bridge between cohabitation and shared identity. One of the primary contributions of art to nation-building is its ability to enhance, articulate and preserve public spaces and cultural heritage, fostering a sense of belonging and pride. This sense of belonging, arising from what seems a simple art observation, constitutes and essential first step for the creation of a cohesive identity, preceding all forms of formal education and civic knowledge because of its subliminal effects and universal accessibility.
Hence, art creates spaces for dialogue and understanding among diverse populations. Countries, such as Canada, home to a hundreds of immigrants groups, allow artists to easily draw from various cultural influences, resulting in hybrid forms of expression that celebrate diversity while emphasizing commonalities. Artists frequently address pressing social issues—such as inequality, injustice, and environmental concerns—through their work, inspiring audiences to take action. Art’s role as a catalyst for social change is crucial for nation building, as it encourages active citizenship and civic engagement. When individuals feel empowered to contribute to societal progress, they develop a stronger sense of responsibility towards their community, and then by extension towards their city and country.
The promotion Canadian music in general, and the production of the MusOrgue festival in particular, play a pivotal role in transforming cohabitation and coexistence in shared spaces into a cultural pluralism that fosters a sense of shared identity while celebrating diversity. By highlighting the work of Canadian composers regardless of their ontological and artistic quality of output, the MusOrgue festival and other organizations that share the same values, contribute to the gradual emergence of a common cultural-historical narrative.
As a professional artist who has been propelled in a high-profile music directorship position incorporating a lot of event production, I have chosen to focus on promoting Canadian content based on the principle “Think globally, act locally”. As discussed above, contrary to art-specific charities, Église unie St James, an active church, considers MusOrgue and its various in-house cultural activities as public service, spiritual and cultural outreach. In alignment with the values promoted by the United Church of Canada, St James encourages the diversity and artistic creativity, focuses on parity, and contributes to strengthening the feeling of belonging and pride through programming that reflects the image of our country.
As people immerse themselves in this rich musical landscape, they begin to see themselves as part of a broader Canadian identity. This continuous journey towards cultural pluralism underlined by the solid foundation of art’s unapologetically visible presence, strengthens our nation and enriches our social fabric and collective identity.
Creating history takes time, investment and the corresponding patience. At seven concerts a year, I calculate that in thirty years there will be two-hundred-and-ten Canadian and foreign organists who would have played at least half an hour of Canadian music in their lives at least once, before at least 42,000 people from dozens of countries: a staggering success considering the current overall lack of visibility of our artists and composers in mainstream concerts. Promoting Canadian music ultimately writes the story of us.
Collage: Alexandra Fol
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