Robert Peters:

>Music has been used as propaganda for ages, that is: mostly propaganda for
>the Roman Catholic Church (later for all the regimes you can think of, for
>countless monarchies, for communists and capitalists and so on).  All the
>masses e.g.  do not speak exclusively about faith and the condition humaine
>in the face of God but also very often of the "one and only true" church
>who ordered and used them.

That's a bit unfair and simplistic.  Western musical language was developed
almost entirely at the church practice:  our posibility of writing music
down is a result of this.  "Propaganda" means in some way "a malicious
lie", and I don't think this expression fitted to Catholic Church music
(which is its most ancient liturgical custom).  With your criterion, the
music of many religions could be, also unfairly, submitted to thie category
of "propaganda".  The singers at the synagogue speaks frequently of the
"one and only true" God, and of its one and only true "chosen people".
I am not a jew, but don't think it as a "malicious lie".

Pablo Massa
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