Sacred music
The rousing anthems that we call hymns have been described as occupying a space somewhere between lullabies and football chants, and the modern church provides little room for innovation. When Johann Sebastian Bach was Kapellmeister he was not merely employed to play hymns and direct the choir. He was tasked with creating original works for the various offices of the Christian calendar. That which emerged varied from the humble to the grandiose. His employers wanted works which celebrate the glory of God whilst also making their church notable among its peers.
Since his humble beginnings as a gifted member of a congregation providing music for Communion, Jonathan Byrd has been tasked with the creation of original works for services at various London churches. Taking as his prime inspiration the Bach pieces adapted for guitar by the great Andrés Segovia, Jonathan imbues the guitar with a stately quality that proclaims glory alongside the more prayerful voices one might expect from such an intimate instrument.
Not at all similar to 'worship music'. It is orchestrated instrumental music for solo guitar - both conducive to prayer and appreciable as music in its own right.
Naturally inspired by the ability and piety of flamenco guitarists, Jonathan blends this sophisticated art form with an almost classical approach to composition.
In Spain, the Catholic Church enjoys a close relationship with the high end of flamenco, regularly incorporating guitarists and singers in the observance of Christian feasts in churches and cathedrals.
Using no singers, Jonathan allows the guitar to sing, the result at times sounding rather like a choir.
He has christened this expressive and all-encompassing style 'Devotional Guitar' and it has been used for Adoration/Exposition of the Blesséd Sacrament, Lectio Divina, Veneration of the Cross, Tenebrae/Strepitus, Stabat Mater, The Seven Last Words, The Watch Until Midnight, musical illustrations of each of the Stations of the Cross, a dramatised reading of the Passion story, and many feasts such as Candlemas, Pentecost and All Souls.
One highlight was playing in the presence of a relic of the True Cross.
Furthermore, Jonathan provided for several years all music, in place of organist, for a church at Highgate and is one of the featured musicians at St Dominic's Priory Church in Hampstead.
Seeking no greater glory than to ply his trade in honour of God and perhaps bring greater numbers into church, Jonathan is always happy to oblige when a Priest senses the beauty and purpose in his mission and invites him to play.