Study of musical manuscripts from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, opening a window on piety, liturgy and musical life in late medieval society. The musical culture of the Low Countries in the early modern period was a flourishing one, apparent beyond the big cathedrals and monasteries, and reaching down to smaller parish churches. Unfortunately, very few manuscripts containing the music have survived from the period, and what we know rests to a huge extent on six music books preserved from St Peter's Church, Leiden. This book describes the manuscripts, their provenance, history and repertory, and the zeven-getijdencollege, the ecclesiastical organisations which ordered the music books, in detail. These organisations have their roots in fifteenth-century piety, founded on the initiative of individuals and townadministrators throughout Holland, principally to ensure that prayers and Masses were said for those in the afterlife. Music, both chant and polyphony, played an important part in these commemorative practices; the volume also looks at the choristers and choirmasters, and how such services were organised. ERIC JAS is a lecturer in music at the university of Utrecht.

This book collects twelve of the papers given at a conference held at the Library of Congress, Washington D.C., on 1-3 April 1993, in conjunction with the exhibition `Rome Reborn: The Vatican Library and Renaissance Culture'. A group of distinguished scholars considered music in medieval and Renaissance Rome. The volume presents a series of wide-ranging and original treatments of music written for and performed in the papal court from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. New discoveries are offered which force a radical reevaluation of the Italian papal court as a musical centre during the Great Schism. A series of motets for various popes are subject to close analysis. New interpretations and information are offered concerning the repertory of the papal chapel in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the institutional life of the papal singers, and the individual biographies of singers and composers. Thought-provoking, even controversial, evaluations of the music of composers connected with, or thought to be connected with, Rome and the papal court, such as Ninot le Petit, Josquin, and Palestrina round out the volume.

The Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems caters for church choirs of all types and sizes, enabling them to have at their fingertips easy music for every occasion. The collection presents flexibility of scoring in a constructive and realistic way, with particular provision for unison or two-part singing, while not forgetting SATB choirs, and a focus on ease of learning and performance. With complete coverage of the Church's year, and a fabulous range of accessible, quality material, this is a vital resource for all church choirs.

The Art of Avaz and Mohammad Reza Shajarian: Foundations and Contexts, by Rob Simms and Amir Koushkani, examines the traditional art of singing classical Persian poetry, as represented by its greatest living exponent. This in-depth study surveys the social and historical context of the twentieth-century tradition of avaz while placing Shajarian's early career within this complex culture, from being a child prodigy of Qur'an recitation in Mashhad to his rise to national prominence in the 1970s. As a globetrotting celebrity who is renowned for singing medieval poetry with impeccable technique and radiant inspiration, Shajarian's life and work provide a compelling case study for larger issues of reconciling tradition and modernity, and the crucial role of the individual in maintaining and renovating traditional art forms. Avaz is discussed in the broader context of Iranian narrative performance traditions, where the performer retells well-known scripts in a way that is appropriate to the audience and the present occasion, spinning the tale to convey a personal message. Shajarian's career also exemplifies the huge changes that Iranian musical culture underwent in the 1960s and 70s. Finally, the study includes a detailed examination of the materials and creative processes of Shajarian's artistic craft, including his acquisition process and training, vocal technique, selection and treatment of poetry, use of traditional musical materials, and his balance of engaging preset materials with improvisation. The Art of Avaz and Mohammad Reza Shajarian is an impressively detailed study of the music, life, and environment of the most influential musician in Iranian classical music of the past three decades.

Oxford Choral Classics: English Church Music assembles in two volumes around 100 of the finest examples of English sacred choral music. The second volume presents a wealth of service material suitable for use throughout the year. The evening canticles are given due space, with seventeen settings, including those by Byrd, Gibbons, Purcell, Walmisley, Stanford, Noble, Howells, Walton, and Tippett. Also included are settings of the Te Deum and Jubilate Deo, alongside seven settings of the Preces and Responses and two additional early Lord's Prayers. The selection is completed with three supplementary items: a set of previously unpublished Psalm chants by Howells, John Sanders's Good Friday Reproaches, and a written-out Order for Compline. Robert King has prepared completely new editions of all the pre-twentieth-century works, going back to the earliest and most reliable manuscripts or printed sources. Playable keyboard reductions have been added for the majority of unaccompanied items.

This popular collection of 280 musical pieces from both the African American and Gospel traditions has been compiled under the supervision of the Office of Black Ministries of the Episcopal Church. It includes service music and several psalm settings in addition to the Negro spirituals, gospel songs, and hymns.

This is a major collection of organ music for students, players, and church musicians of all levels and abilities. Compiler and editor Anne Marsden Thomas has drawn on her long experience of teaching and playing to select the most attractive, tuneful repertoire in two sets of graded anthologies, one set (3 volumes) for manuals only, the second set (3 volumes) for manuals and pedals. Within each book the pieces are grouped according to service needs into Preludes, Interludes, Processionals, and Postludes. The repertoire spans the 16th to the 21st century, with some new pieces written especially for the collection. A number of pieces throughout the collection have been selected for the ABRSM organ syllabus. The result is a wonderful collection of repertoire for all players, containing a wealth of attractive and varied pieces that will offer much practical support for church musicians and enrich and develop their playing.

SPANISH EDITION. This is one of the most popular hymnals, used by million of believers because it contains traditional hymns as well as praise and worship songs.

A great collection of 20 hymns arranged at an easy level, including: Abide with Me * Amazing Grace * Blessed Assurance * For the Beauty of the Earth * Holy, Holy, Holy * A Mighty Fortress Is Our God * Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us * To God Be the Glory * What a Friend We Have in Jesus * and more.

Emphasizes the English hymn as a literary entity within denominational and historical contexts. The author sets forth a number of definitions for hymnody and congregational song, and then examines the development of the various forms in England and the United States. With a listing of works for further reading, an index to all hymns discussed, and chronology.

The New Oxford Easy Anthem Book is an outstanding anthem collection, suitable for all church choirs and designed for use throughout the year. The emphasis is placed firmly on providing the highest quality, easy, and accessible anthem settings. BL 63 easy and accessible anthems - scored for SATB with the minimum of divisi, and using comfortable ranges BL Wonderful repertoire from the Renaissance to the present day - favourite and lesser-known pieces from all periods BL 20 brand new pieces and arrangements - by Andrew Carter, Bob Chilcott, David Willcocks, Alan Bullard, Malcolm Archer, Simon Lole, and others BL Music for every season of the Church's year - with a seasonal index for easy reference BL Playable accompaniments - simplified wherever possible and mostly suitable for organ without pedals

This book is an auto-ethnographic account of the development of a charismatic community choir leader. It brings together management literature and a survey of the community choir scene with the development of community choir leadership. It provides a useful introduction to the sustaining of community choirs, including the use of English folksong material in this context. Some useful arrangements of folk songs are included. Community singing events are described with helpful advice on setting up and managing these. It presents a useful model of the range of skills necessary for aspiring community choir leaders. This is linked with the formation of a community that contains spiritual elements; this is theorized in relation to the role of the parish church in communal singing. It also discusses the two aesthetics of choral singing and the relationship between oral and literate traditions. The book arises from the engagement of the University of Winchester in partnership with the local community, which is theorized.

Proceedings from The Nordic Festival and Conference of Gregorian Chant

This book surveys North German church music from the period of one of the most well-known of J.S. Bach's immediate German predecessors, Dietrich Buxtehude (c.1637-1707). Particular emphasis is placed on composers whose work has suffered unjust neglect, and on the influence of contemporary Italian church music. As well as providing a detailed study of the music itself, Geoffrey Webber also examines the religious and social background, and aspects of performance practice.

This collection of studies presents unpublished material from the book Isobel Woods Preece was planning at the time of her death. It contains articles published by her and extracts from her dissertation on the Carvor Choirbook. There are also newly written chapters on medieval chant and polyphony by Warwick Edwards and on the music of the Reformed Church by Gordon Munro. Both scholarly and accessible, this work will be of importance to all with an interest in Scotland's Christian musical heritage. ISOBEL WOODS PREECE (1956-1997) was a major pioneer within Scottish music research. A graduate of the University of Glasgow, she subsequently become a Rotary International Graduate Fellow at Princeton University, where she wrote her doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Margaret Bent. She held the posts of lecturer, and later senior lecturer, in the Music Department at the University of Newcastle, where she was greatly respected as a scholar, teacher, administrator, conductor and performer.

The normative edition for all who sing, choir and congregation alike, containing all hymns and service music.

Five hundred years ago a monk nailed his theses to a church gate in Wittenberg. The sound of Luther's mythical hammer, however, was by no means the only aural manifestation of the religious Reformations. This book describes the birth of Lutheran Chorales and Calvinist Psalmody; of how music was practised by Catholic nuns, Lutheran schoolchildren, battling Huguenots, missionaries and martyrs, cardinals at Trent and heretics in hiding, at a time when Palestrina, Lasso and Tallis were composing their masterpieces, and forbidden songs were concealed, smuggled and sung in taverns and princely courts alike. Music expressed faith in the Evangelicals' emerging worships and in the Catholics' ancient rites; through it new beliefs were spread and heresy countered; analysed by humanist theorists, it comforted and consoled miners, housewives and persecuted preachers; it was both the symbol of new, conflicting identities and the only surviving trace of a lost unity of faith. The music of the Reformations, thus, was music reformed, music reforming and the reform of music: this book shows what the Reformations sounded like, and how music became one of the protagonists in the religious conflicts of the sixteenth century.

La musica napoletana conosce uno straordinario successo europeo fin dai primi decenni del Settecento. I contributi raccolti in questo volume presentano le fonti e la fortuna dei Napoletani, e di Pergolesi in particolare, a Dresda, in Boemia e in Slesia. Le fonti pergolesiane vengono esaminate fin nei dettagli di scrittura, tanto in vista della nuova edizione critica quanto nella prospettiva della prassi esecutiva storicamente informata. La corrispondenza diplomatica tra Dresda e Napoli si rivela un canale ricchissimo di scambi di informazioni e di partiture. Lontano dalla corte sassone, per la diffusione della musica napoletana giocano un ruolo essenziale alcune famiglie nobiliari boeme. Le case di ordini religiosi (cistercensi, gesuiti) si scambiano tra Boemia e Slesia moltissime composizioni sacre, variamente adattate secondo i bisogni locali. Le opere napoletane sono popolarizzate dalle compagnie girovaghe di cantanti, che solitamente provengono dall'Italia settentrionale. Nuovi elementi biografici e analisi di opere arricchiscono la nostra conoscenza di conterranei o contemporanei di Pergolesi come Giovanni Alberto Ristori, Nicola Porpora, Domenico de Micco e Leonardo Leo. Neapolitan music enjoyed an extraordinary European success starting with the first decades of the 18th century. The contributions to the present volume illustrate the sources and the reception of the Neapolitans, and foremost of Pergolesi, in Dresden, in Bohemia and in Silesia. Pergolesi sources are described down to details of writing, with an eye both to the new critical edition and to historically informed performing practice. Diplomatical correspondence between Dresden and Naples was widely used as a source of musical information and a means of exchanging scores. Far from the Saxon court, the Neapolitan music is encouraged by some prominent Bohemian aristocrats. Different religious houses (cistercians, jesuits) exchange sacred music, variously adapted to local needs. Neapolitan opera is popularised through wandering troupes, coming mostly from Northern Italy. New biographical data and work analyses enrich our knowledge of contemporaries or fellow countrymen of Pergolesi's such as Giovanni Alberto Ristori, Nicola Porpora, Domenico de Micco and Leonardo Leo.

Everyone loves a Christmas carol - in the end, even Scrooge. They have the power to summon up a special kind of midwinter mood, like the aroma of mince pies and mulled wine and the twinkle of lights on a tree. It's a kind of magic. But how did they get that magic? In Christmas Carols Andrew Gant tells the story of some twenty carols, each accompanied by lyrics and music, unravelling a captivating - and often surprising - tale of great musicians and thinkers, saints and pagans, shepherd boys, choirboys, monks and drunks. We delve into the history of such favourites as 'Good King Wenceslas', 'Away in a Manger' and 'The Twelve Days of Christmas', discovering along the way how 'Hark, the Herald angels sing' came to replace 'Hark, how all the welkin ring' and how Ralph Vaughan Williams bolted the tune of an English folk song about a dead ox to a poem by a nineteenth-century American pilgrim to make 'O little town of Bethlehem'. Christmas Carols brims with anecdote, expert knowledge and Christmas spirit. It is a fittingly joyous account of one of our best-loved musical traditions.

Urban God Talk: Constructing a Hip Hop Spirituality, edited by Andre Johnson, is a collection of essays that examine the religious and spiritual in hip hop. The contributors argue that the prevailing narrative that hip hop offers nothing in the way of religion and spirituality is false. From its beginning, hip hop has had a profound spirituality and advocates religious views-and while not orthodox or systemic, nevertheless, many in traditional orthodox religions would find the theological and spiritual underpinnings in hip hop comforting, empowering, and liberating. In addition, this volume demonstrates how scholars in different disciplines approach the study of hip hop, religion, and spirituality. Whether it is a close reading of a hip hop text, ethnography, a critical studies approach or even a mixed method approach, this study is a pedagogical tool for students and scholars in various disciplines to use and appropriate for their own research and understanding. Urban God Talk will inspire not only scholars to further their research, but will also encourage publishers to print more in this field. The contributors to this in-depth study show how this subject is an underrepresented area within hip hop studies, and that the field is broad enough for numerous monographs, edited works, and journal publications in the future.

The definitive collection of 27 of the most popular classics of the wedding repertoire in simplified arrangements for manuals only. All the best-loved processionals, marches, and more reflective pieces are included.

John Milsom's selection of 17 of Tallis's shorter anthems and motets includes new editions by Alan Brown and Jason Smart as well as many by himself. The collection is designed to give singers and students alike a useful cross-section of Tallis's output, and includes some of his best-known pieces (freshly edited or revised) together with others that are less familiar. All have general-purpose texts. Critical commentaries are included for each piece, and there is an introduction by the editor.