As an agnostic theist (believing in the Unknown God), I trust Classical religious music is much easier appreciated, in every possible aspect (apart from the obvious musical reasons) by listeners or audiences who may share the meaning of the text sung. I would not feel the immense power of the religiously emotional message in the Sanctus & Benedictus of Missa Solemnis by Beethoven, if I just had to "deprive" the musical experience from the actual message coming from a very obvious text. I would feel I "insult", to some extent, all these performers (singers, players, conductor) who, believers or not, give whatever they have to convince us for the message sung. As quite a few singers have told me :when I have to sing some hundreds of time "Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domine", I have to pass the message of what is the meaning of Benedictus.
Of course, the music transcends the meaning of the words. That is more obvious in the transformation of tedious, trivial stories of Operas and sometimes profane songs. However, in this standard, mostly Latin, texts, the composers actually serve the purpose of spreading the message of Faith.
Personally, whenever I listen to Bach's Mass in b minor or Beethoven's Missa Solemnis or Mozart's Great Mass in c minor (or his Requiem), I feel I have to be at least faithful to get in full everything this works have to provide. In the same way, when I first listened to Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 by Liszt, I claimed that, if this is Hungarian music, I wish I can be an Hungarian, so that this music can be mine and not simply to admire it as a mere listener.
On the other, it is very encouraging that most members of this forum and listeners worldwide enjoy (at least) this music. However, I can imagine how boring or irrelevant should be the 100 times repetition of Kyrie eleison or a relentless Fugue on a single Amen for a non-believer or atheist.
I wonder whether anyone of us could still "enjoy" the same scores of the greatest religious works, if, instead of the indifferent (to some or most of us) religious texts, he/she had to be faced with a text hailing a politically or socially negative notion. Will we still call these works "great music" to enjoy to listen?
Principe