Music in Religion

The four different songs we listened to in class on Friday each had their own different styles and moods.  The first two pieces were very similar though.  "If Ye Loved Me" and "Sancte Deus" seemed to be Christian songs.  They were both mainly composed of choir singing and distinct melodies.  "If Ye Loved Me" was very soothing, peaceful, and calm.  It sounded like all men were singing, but I'm not too sure.  "Sancte Days" had many more voices singing the different melodies.   Because both these pieces used words and melodies to compose a song, they seemed to be very Western.  The voices made the music, not instruments.  This was the opposite for the last two songs, "Angklung" and "Raku".  "Angklung" had many bells, flutes, and instruments.  It sounded like it was  a piece from the East, more oriental, maybe some Islamic religion.  It was more upbeat and it seemed to be music for some sort of celebration or dance.  It had kind of a happy feeling.  "Raku" was similar in that it was composed of all instrument sounds.  It contained flutes and drums, percussion.  This piece did not sound very pleasant though.  It was somewhat hurtful to the ears and I have no idea what it could possibly be used for.  Maybe a ritual? The last two songs were definitely from an Eastern religion as supposed to the first two Christian songs.  Although all these songs had different sounds, they each have a purpose in their religion.