A music chord so powerful that some consider it sacred

Among the most cherished elements of the holiday season is Christmas music. It’s perhaps the only holiday that comes with its own soundtrack, songs ranging from the secular to the sacred.

Today we spend a few moments talking about a single chord, one that’s been called a rare moment of drama in liturgical music, a chord so ‘popular’ that it’s got its own merchandise, from Christmas ornaments to t-shirts.

It’s known to some as “The Chord,” to others as the “Word of the Father” chord. It’s a B-half diminished chord, and it appears with all its fanfare in the final verse of “O Come All Ye Faithful" under the line “Word of the father,” in the organ accompaniment.

To find out more about the chord and why it feels so powerful to so many, host Robin Young talks to Dr. Martin Clarke, a musicologist who studies the intersection between music and theology. He joins us from The Open University in the UK.

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