Twenty centuries of Catholic Church music / by Erwin Esser Nemmers.

Author/creator Nemmers, Erwin Esser
Format Book
Publication InfoMilwaukee : The Bruce Publishing Company, ©1949.
Descriptionxvii, 213 pages : illustrations, portraits, music ; 23 cm
Subjects
Church music--Catholic Church.

Contents 1. Early church music to A.D. 400. Greek and other influences ; Documentary testimony ; Eastern church influence ; Brief statement for musical purposes of development of parts of the liturgy ; The proprium ; The ordinarium ; The officium ; Hymns -- 2. The Gregorian chant. Gregorian chant at present ; The history of chant ; Ambrosian chant ; Gregory the Great and the chant ; Neums and chant notation ; Gregorian chant rhythm ; Development of staff and its significance ; The modal system and solmization ; The psalm tones ; Tropes and sequentiae ; Chant accompaniment ; Mozarabic and Gallican chant ; History of later Gregorian chant and its extinction ; Wedding of chant and liturgy -- 3. Polyphony from its beginnings to its denouement. Development of part singing ; Organum ; Development of notation for measured music ; Development of discant, conductus, motetus, and cantilena ; Faux bourdon, gymel, the German hymn and musica ficta ; The polyphonic schools: the Netherland school ; The Roman school ; The Spanish school ; The English school -- 4. Modern church music. The Venetian school ; Other Northern Italian cities ; Polish church music in the sixteenth century ; Germany ; Eighteenth and nineteenth centuries ; The music of Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and the classical masters ; Resurrection of church music ; Nineteenth-century reform chapters -- 5. Organ music for the church. Early organ composers ; The golden age of organ composition ; The liturgical reformation in organ music -- 6. History of American Catholic Church music. Mexico ; Puerto Rico ; California ; Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona ; Florida ; Louisiana ; Canada ; Eastern seaboard of the United States ; The middle west ; The twentieth century -- Appendix I. Glossary of terms peculiar to church music ; Appendix II. Bibliography of bibliographies ; Appendix III. Leading Catholic church music periodicals ; Appendix IV. Moto Propriu of Pope Pius X on sacred music.
Abstract The principles of liturgical music have, in recent years, become a subject of bitter, yet confused controversy, and until now a general source of information or background on the subject has been unavailable in English. Furthermore, most European books, because they are old, have long been out of print. The author's present work, therefore, at last offers the kind of material for which there has been great need as well as much demand. The author has written for anyone interested in or concerned with the subject of church music--whether musically trained or not. To make it easy, footnotes have been used to give an explanation of particular musical terms where they are necessary for an understanding of the text, and these definitions are cumulated in the appendix for the convenience of a ready reference. Introducing the subject by a survey of early church music up to the year A.D. 400, the author gives major treatment to the three great schools of liturgical music: Gregorian, polyphonic, and modern. He also discusses the development and use of organ music for the church and concludes with a history of American Catholic Church music. Readers will greatly appreciate the many new and original illustrations that highlight the book, the translation of the Encyclical on Sacred Music by Pius X, and the list of leading Catholic Church music periodicals. For the home library or the public book shelf, for the average reader who wishes to be generally informed as well as the student and scholar, here is reading that is interesting, informative, and an important American contribution to the existing literature on this vital aspect of Catholic worship.
General note"Glossary of certain terms peculiar to church music and defined in the text": pages 188-192.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographies and index.
LCCN 49001798

Availability

Library Location Call Number Status Item Actions
Music Music Stacks ML3002.N35 T8 ✔ Available Place Hold