Sounding Back and Forth
This chapter explores some of the ways in which resonance has been theorized in recent literature. Through this exploration it proposes ways in which attentiveness to dynamics of resonance can be useful in the study of congregational musicking. Drawing upon the work of Hartmut Rosa, the author draws attention to the potential for individuals to aspire to resonant relationships with the world around them. This is supplemented with perspectives from Jean-Luc Nancy in order to emphasize the way in which sound continually draws different entities into dynamic and meaningful relationships, and from the work of Veit Erlmann in order to highlight the ways in which these relationships spill over between sonic and more-than-sonic dimensions. Bringing these authors into conversation, the author suggests the need to hold together a number of different understandings of resonance in order to exploit the term’s ability to point toward the multidirectional and multidimensional complexes of relationships that surround devotional musicking.