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The esthesic is the experience and perception of the music by the congregation who I have identified as the receivers. The Praise and Worship session is a very important part of the overall service. Lasting nearly 40 minutes of a two-hour service, this slot emphasised the centrality of the music to the environment and confirms its role as a ritual activity experienced by the worshipper. An uncontested definition of the term ritual as described by the Compact Oxford English Dictionary defines it as ‘a religious or solemn ceremony involving a series of actions performed according to a set order.’ Ritual, like the word liturgy used in the introduction is, not often associated either with Pentecostal vocabulary (Albrecht 1999: 9) or with Pentecostal performativity (Lindhardt 2011) due to the use of these words deemed to be too restrictive or unspiritual for Pentecostal environments (Albrecht 1992: 107). The activity functions as a ritual experience characterised by improvisation and spontaneity. These features are noted in the dance, the hand claps, the repetitions, the unscripted vocal injections of the W.L. amongst other

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factors. However, as observed by Ingalls (2015) Praise and Worship in Pentecostal churches is not without direction:

‘…it is characterised by a goal-oriented progression involving the separate but related action of ‘Praise and Worship’ Ingalls (2015: 7).

The primary goal is to facilitate an encounter with the divine. The secondary goal is to prepare congregants to receive the Word, i.e. the preaching. The progression in the 40- minute session begins with upbeat and energetic praise songs. These songs also fulfil the role as a call to action, i.e. to worship and also serves as a welcome, both to the supernatural and the worshippers. This then moves through to quieter more reflective material. The W.L. choosing the set list for the service has this goal and order in mind when preparing and selecting songs for the service. A similar order noted by Alexander (2009) is worth quoting in full to express the sensual nature of the experience.

‘But not all Pentecostal music is energetic. The singing and music at Pentecostal worship services tends to start strong and loud: it gets people on their feet, and the energy is high. But after a while the tempo slows, the mood relaxes, and the soothing, peaceful songs flow. Worshipers may sit down or sway gently during the softer, gentler songs. This time of the service is calming, less celebratory, and more relational. The structure of Pentecostal worship is diverse and varied, but it’s rarely all high-octane. Like sex, sometimes it’s passionate in a rip my clothes off kind of way and sometimes passionate in a tease me slowly’ kind of way’ Alexander (2009: 22).

This format noted by Ingalls (2015) and Alexander (2009) is one that is characteristic of most Pentecostal or charismatic settings and was observed in all the services that I attended. This deliberate construction of the experience may appear manipulative, but it was clear from my observation that some people chose to disengage. In fact, I saw, on many occasions often during the first 30 minutes of the service, people were still wandering in. Indeed, some people sat in their seats and chose not to engage. The fact that the music had an order meant that it was fulfilling its role as Praise and Worship.

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There is a play of signifiers that participants understand and engage with. Participation in this ritual activity for those who engage is transformative. It is a meaning-making process that performs a type of psychological and spiritual refreshing enabling one to forget about the cares of the week. A certain type of music and singing are central to this process. If these sounds are taken away from the ritual, it would cease to exist.

Pleasure

Engagement in this ritual activity was pleasurable. It was clear to me that the congregation were engaging in an activity that was enjoyable and had a high entertainment value. The positional and visual arrangements as referred to already, framed it as entertainment, and it was received as such by the congregation. The well- rehearsed band, the dynamic vocals and the tight rhythm section, indeed the overall high quality of musicianship executed by the team, ensured that it was a pleasurable listening experience. Modern Praise and Worship music is critiqued for its entertainment value (Frame 1997: 59) and a supposed corresponding lack of spiritual depth. A similar view of the link between music, pleasure and therefore a paucity of critical engagement is noted by Pinker. According to him, music is auditory cheesecake, an exquisite confection crafted to tickle the sensitive spots of at least six of our mental faculties Pinker (1997: 3). He states that if music disappeared from our culture - nothing would be missing. This rather negative view of music fails to recognise music’s role as a polysemic communicator. Furthermore, it could be argued that a small amount of cheesecake is appropriate in a balanced diet and adds to the pleasure of eating. The problem occurs when exquisite confection becomes the norm for the entirety of every meal.

I would argue that this was not the case at NWC. The Praise and Worship session lasted for around 40 minutes of a two-hour service. This was equally balanced by the delivery of the message, giving of notices, periods of prayer, communication of important church

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information. This was unlike other Pentecostal environments that I have experienced in which Praise and Worship can last for two or three hours. Indeed, these additional activities may well be accompanied by music, but not to the same degree as observed in the Praise and Worship session. This ordering of the ritual activity was symptomatic of the carefully controlled management processes observed frequently at NWC and highly appealing to busy professionals who may not want to commit to spending several hours in church.

Therefore, the pleasure denoted in this ritual activity was encoded in the joy of participation, quality of musicianship and management of the experience. Much of the interaction I experienced at NWC encoded this level of pleasure which was celebrated and foregrounded. In his prayer at the end of the Praise and Worship session, Pastor Michael repeated the word ‘pleasure’ several times. He prayed that the days of pain would be over. There were few occasions where I witnessed the opportunity for lament or suffering. In a church where the emphasis is on wealth, health and prosperity a focus on these seemingly negative elements can appear to be counter to the theology. Therefore, much of the musicological material referenced the possibilities of pleasure, rather than the reality of pain or lament. As argued by McCoy in his theoretical exploration of the relationship between worship music and suffering

‘When health and health become understood as inevitables of faith, the ongoing reality of suffering may become very difficult for otherwise faithful Pentecostals to express.’ (McCoy 2015: 53).

Therefore, this loud, well executed, visually beautiful and sonically exhilarating performance typified much of the Praise and Worship at NWC. The timbre and visual arrangements of the music communicated pleasure, creating for its users the reality of the good life blessed by God.

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