The story of Christian music : from Gregorian chant to Black gospel : an authoritative illustrated guide to all the major traditions of music for worship / Andrew Wilson-Dickson.
| Author/creator | Wilson-Dickson, Andrew |
| Format | Book |
| Edition | First Fortress Press edition. |
| Publication Info | Minneapolis, MN : Fortress Press, 1996. |
| Description | 256 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | Part 1. The birth of Christian music. Music in the Old Testament. The Psalms in temple worship ; Music in the synagogue -- Music in the early church. The spread of Christianity -- The beginning of the Western Middle Ages. Worship in fifth-century Jerusalem -- The monastic tradition. Antiphons ; Cantillation -- Music of the spheres: the medieval world-view. The eleventh-century mass -- Music for the liturgy. The development of notation -- From the ear to the page. Rich church: poor people -- From Gregorian Chant to polyphony -- Wycliffe's challenge to the church -- Part 2. Renaissance and Reformation. Luther and the Reformation. The Renaissance ; Lutheran song -- The Swiss reformers: the Calvinist tradition. The Genevan Psalter -- The Reformation in England. The Eton Choirbook -- The Catholic Reformation. Organ music ; The golden age of Spanish music -- The power of music -- |
| Contents | Part 3. The flowering of Christian music. The development of oratorio. The splendours of Monteverdi -- The music of the Lutheran Church. Christmas 1659 in the Nikolaikirche, Berlin -- Heinrich Schütz. Patronage -- J.S. Bach. Bach's cantatas ; The Moravian Brethren -- Turmoil in England: Commonwealth and Restoration -- The glory of the Chapel Royal. The music of the Chapel Royal ; Henry Purcell -- English congregational music: the birth of the English hymn. Handel and Messiah ; Wales: land of song -- Part 4. The path divides. Music in the courts of Europe -- The Romantic movement. The Cecilian movement ; The corruption and resurrection of the chant -- The decline of the Lutheran hymn. 'A dismal melody' -- The Church of England and the Tractarians: the demise of the west gallery players -- Revival in the nineteenth century -- The path divides -- Part 5. Eastern traditions. The Orthodox churches. Worship in the Orthodox Church -- The Greek Orthodox Church. The divine liturgy of the Orthodox Church ; Notation in the Greek Orthodox Church -- The Russian Orthodox Church -- The Coptic and Ethiopian Churches. Notation in Ethiopian music -- Christianity, East and West: worlds apart? -- |
| Contents | Part 6. The African genius. Africa and the influence of Western music. Cameroun: African Christian music ; A marriage of African and Western music -- The independent churches. The true Christian music of Africa -- Part 7. Music in North America. Christianity comes to the New World. William Billings -- Africans in America. Camp meetings ; A 'shout' -- North and South. The Fisk Jubilee Singers -- Gospel music: white and black. Tommy Dorsey ; Take six -- The United States and the European classical tradition. Charles Ives -- The charismatic movement -- Part 8. Music in twentieth-century Europe. Roman Catholic music in Europe this century -- The Bible in the concert hall -- Vatican II and the liturgy. L'Abbé de Silvanès ; Taizé -- Lutheran musical revival. Hugo Distler ; The Kirchensteuer: church tax -- Music in Britain. The Royal School of Church Music ; Leaping into the dark: musical innovation -- The popular stream -- Good music, good worship?. What is excellence? -- Conclusion -- Glossary. |
| Review | Just as the psalms were at the heart of worship in Jewish temple and synagogue, so music has been central to Christian worship since its beginning. Right through medieval times and the centuries since, some of the most creative musical geniuses have produced works to be performed as part of the life of the Christian church. The result is a great wealth of hymns, anthems, oratorios and other sacred music, from the direct and simple to the most ornate and complex. And from this rich store, organists and choirmasters in churches, chapels and cathedrals throughout the world draw the hymns and other music for worship today. How has this magnificent tapestry developed? And where does the relatively small part of the pattern with which each Christian tradition is familiar fit into the tremendous variety of the whole? Andrew Wilson-Dickson is ideally suited to tackle these issues. At home in the worlds both of music education and of church music, he has devoted five years' research to piecing together the story of Christian music. This resulting book is painted on a large canvas. It covers each period of European musical history, as well as the Orthodox tradition, the growing African scene, and the many-sided American picture. The book narrates a continuing history of music. At the same time it shows the relationship between Christian music and the beliefs which shape it. And it ends by pointing ahead to ways of worshipping through music which are appropriate for coming generations. |
| General note | Originally published: Oxford, England ; Batavia, Ill. : Lion Pub., 1992. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| LCCN | 97146737 |
| ISBN | 0800629876 |
| ISBN | 9780800629878 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML3000 .W56 1996 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |