The argument as I see it, in this article, is that the Jesuit presence in Japan established a musical tradition (Gregorian chant) that took root sufficiently in Japanese culture to provide a foundation upon which to be able to produce Western classical music today. I don’t know enough about music to say whether that was the case or not, but it’s plausible.

Without a tradition of understanding and being able to perform music in the tradition of which Bach is a part, I doubt that the Japanese would be able to appreciate Bach to the extent that they evidently do (as a culture; individuals can of course be exceptions).

You have to know how to listen to classical music to appreciate it. I dare say that most of my American students, who listen to music on their iPods 24/7, would be bored and turned off by Bach, lacking the patience to sit still for more than five minutes, and with their senses so dulled by overstimulation so that they can’t hear the beauty of it.

“Pre-evangelism” through Christian art is very important – and we have to be extremely vigilant to keep it as part of the culture.

In today’s colleges and universities, Western (especially Christian) art, music, and literature are being increasingly marginalized from the curriculum, and often explicitly denigrated. The result is a lowering of quality, as artists are taught based on other factors such as race, gender, sexual orientation, or politics, rather than quality or lasting impact on culture. (I might add, much “modern” literature ranges from lackluster to abysmal in quality, and would never be taught if it weren’t that it carries the messages that the Left wants in the classroom.)

I can’t help but think, reading articles like this one, that there’s a connection. That which is truly beautiful points to God – perhaps a reason why it’s being shoved out of the classroom and out of the art world. Cut off from the source in God, explicitly denying God or any source of value whatsoever, modern art can only seek to shock or dismay or unsettle; it cannot be truly beautiful.

We Christians need to defend beauty and the treasures of our Western heritage, not just for their own sake, but for evangelism too.