This is the first full-length study of the vernacular motet in thirteenth-century France. The motet was the most prestigious type of music of that period, filling a gap between the music of the so-called Notre-Dame School and the Ars Nova of the early fourteenth century. This book takes the music and the poetry of the motet as its starting-point and attempts to come to grips with the ways in which musicians and poets treated pre-existing material, creating new artefacts. The book reviews the processes of texting and retexting, and the procedures for imparting structure to the works; it considers the way we conceive genre in the thirteenth-century motet, and supplements these with principles derived from twentieth-century genre theory. The motet is viewed as the interaction of literary and musical modes whose relationships give meaning to individual musical compositions.

During the lifetime of Guillaume Du Fay (c. 1400 1474) the motet underwent a profound transformation. Because of the protean nature of the motet during this period, problems of definition have always stood in the way of a full understanding of this crucial shift. Through a comprehensive survey of the surviving repertory, Julie Cumming shows that the motet is best understood on the level of the subgenre. She employs new ideas about categories taken from cognitive psychology and evolutionary theory to illuminate the process by which the subgenres of the motet arose and evolved. One important finding is the nature and extent of the crucial role that English music played in the genre's transformation. Cumming provides a close reading of many little-known pieces; she also shows how Du Fay's motets were the product of sophisticated experimentation with generic boundaries.

Music and the choice of musical settings function as one of the most basic forms of affiliation and identity in American Jewish congregations. This study explores the networks of musical interaction within this community through oral stories and an analysis of recordings. While the same melody may be used in different worship circles, its meaning can vary dramatically from one community to another, even when these worship groups are located only a few miles apart. This book examines how choice of melondy helps Jews present and maintain their cultural identity. An audio CD packaged with the book includes field recordings of the most important tunes discussed.

Bach's cantatas are among the highest achievements of Western musical art, yet studies of the individual cantatas that are both illuminating and detailed are quite few. In this book, Eric Chafe combines theological, historical, analytical, and interpretive approaches to the cantatas to offer readers and listeners alike the richest possible experience of these works--that is, given the composer's intentions as well as the enduring and universal qualities of the music itself. Concentrating on a small number of representative cantatas, mostly from the Leipzig cycles of 1723-24 and 1724-25, and in particular on Cantata 77, Chafe illustrates how Bach strove to mirror both the dogma and the mystery of religious experience in musical allegory.

Iain Fenlon explores how music was an 'instrument' of those in power in late Renaissance Italy. Focusing on major urban centres - Mantua, Milan, Rome, Florence, and Venice - he argues that, far from losing its vigour after 1530, Italian culture was in fact transformed, as both individuals and institutions reacted to new political, economic, and religious circumstances.

The Bach cantatas are among the highest achievements of Western musical art; yet studies of individual Bach cantatas that are both illuminating and detailed are few in number. In Analysing Bach Cantatas, Eric Chafe combines theological, historical, analytical, and interpretive approaches to the cantatas to offer the reader and listener the richest possible experience of the works, in the light of the composer's intentions and of the enduring and universal qualities of the works. Concentrating on a small number of representative cantatas, mostly from the Leipzig cycles of 1723-24 and 1724-25, and in particular on Cantata 77, Chafe illustrates how Bach strove to mirror both the dogma and the mystery of religious exerience in musical allegory.

Michael Tippett's oratorio A Child of Our Time was written at the beginning of the second world war as an expression of "man's inhumanity to man." This Handbook discusses the significant musical and literary features of this remarkable work within its specific historical, social and stylistic context. Attention is given to the shaping of Tippett's own text as well as its musical representation. Also of importance is the initial critical reception of the work, a reception that defined certain responses that still surround the work today.

O sing unto the Lord a new song Every generation. Every culture. Every church. Every Christian. What an incredible privilege and responsibility And yet, believers have been arguing about music since the days of the early church. Why is this? Perhaps we rely on our traditions, personal tastes, cultural backgrounds, or the latest trends more than God's Word. New Heart, New Spirit, New Song attempts to reorient our thinking in fundamental ways about: the nature of music the heart of worship the role of music in the Christian's daily life music in missions In these pages you will find simple, direct help in making your musical praise reflect the glorious Saviour you worship. "Doug speaks with refreshing clarity to an essential issue: the theology behind sound communication. New Heart, New Spirit, New Song reawakens the honest reader to simple truths God intends to be obvious: a refreshing and timely help." Dr. Phil Gingery, Assistant Pastor and Minister of Music, Bible Baptist Church (PA); Music Director, West Chester Christian School "Having witnessed first hand the author's work and ministry, we have anxiously awaited such a publication of his lectures on Biblical music. A well-articulated and accessible resource for developing a theologically sound and God-honoring music program." Dr. Hugh Givens, Professor of Voice, St. Cloud State University (MN) Dr. Marcie Givens, Assistant Professor, College of St. Benedict/St. John's University (MN)

Aristide Cavaille-Coll (1811-1899) is often referred to as the greatest organ builder of all time. The pipe-organ, being the most complicated musical instrument mechanically and tonally, as well as the most expensive, adds significantly to that world's greatest designation. The talents required to be such a person range far from music-making to advanced physics, architecture, and engineering. That, plus the obvious knack to raise vast sums of money. Cavaille-Coll's Monumental Organ Project for Saint Peter's, Rome: Bigger Than Them All, by Ronald Ebrecht, is the story of the quest to build the largest-ever mechanical-action organ in the biggest church at the time. Cavaille-Coll's model for that organ and the book he wrote outlining his proposal are the core of Ebrecht's discussion. Cavaille-Coll bestrode a century as well as an art-form. His century complicated the project with the most intricate, intractable problems. Saint-Peter's Square, now a part of the Vatican City State, was then part of the newly-united Italy, which had just deposed the pope as ruler of the center of Italy and taken the papal lands. The east end of the basilica facing the square and the Tiber became a much disputed boundary. It was a part of the Italian state so hotly contested that the Italian Republicans would not accept the concept of an organ hanged from the basilica wall, lest it shift. Before, or since, has the music sphere ever provoked such a question that could bring nations to swords?

Monteverdi's Vespers is an exceptional collection of sacred music, both in the inventiveness of the compositions that it contains and in the debate that it has provoked over its use in the seventeenth century and over Monteverdi's intentions in publishing it. This handbook provides all the information that the reader needs for an in-depth appreciation of the musical settings themselves, of the debate that surrounds the original intention of the volume and of the problems of performing the music today. The book includes the texts and plainsongs used by Monteverdi, and a discography.

Monteverdi's Vespers is an exceptional collection of sacred music, both in the inventiveness of the compositions that it contains and in the debate that it has provoked over its use in the seventeenth century and over Monteverdi's intentions in publishing it. This handbook provides all the information that the reader needs for an in-depth appreciation of the musical settings themselves, of the debate that surrounds the original intention of the volume and of the problems of performing the music today. The book includes the texts and plainsongs used by Monteverdi, and a discography.

The German Requiem is Brahms' largest work, written for orchestra, chorus and two soloists. It made Brahms an international name, and the scope and technique of the composition brought him not only a new audience but also comparison with Bach and Beethoven. In the past fifty years it has found new critical support as an original and progressive work. This detailed study examines its history and controversial reception, analyzes its textual and musical structure, and discusses performing traditions from Brahms' time until the present.

Verdi's Requiem is one of the most frequently performed works of the choral repertoire, and one of Verdi's most important nonoperatic works. In this new handbook, David Rosen discusses the work's composition and performance history, and analyzes each of the seven movements, considering Verdi's interpretation of the liturgical text, with reference to settings by Mozart and Cherubini. Rosen also considers the work's coherence and the controversial issue of its generic status--the degree to which it is "operatic."

A well researched account of gospel blues that encompasses the broader cultural and religious histories of the African-American experience between the late 1890s and the 1930s. Harris skilfully contextualizes sacred and secular music styles within African-American religious history and significant social developments of the period.

Dancing at the Harvest - Songs by Ray Makeever

This collection of essays, written to commemorate their centenary, celebrates the work of the Plainsong and Mediaeval Music Society. Founded in 1888, the Society quickly established two areas of activity: the propagation of information on medieval music and the revitalization of the Anglican liturgy with the riches of the plainchant of the Roman Rite.

Of the two sides of the Society's activities, the scholarly and the practical, this collection represents the former. The essays reflect the founders' interest in medieval music, both monophonic and polyphonic, and, particularly, their concern with chant. The contributors to this volume are among the most distinguished scholars of medieval music of recent years.

Contributors: David Hiley, Ritva Jacobsson, Michel Huglo, Susan Rankin, Wulf Arlt, Ruth Steiner, David Chadd, Andrew Hughes, John Caldwell, Frank Ll. Harrison, Nick Sandon.

Hymnologische Forschung ist per se interdisziplinar und uberkonfessionell. So gehoeren zwar Psalmen, Hymnen, Sequenzen, Kirchenlieder und Neue Geistliche Lieder in das Gebiet der Praktischen Theologie, genauer: der Liturgiewissenschaft. Reflexionen aus Literatur-, Sprach- und Musikwissenschaft sind jedoch nicht nur Beigabe zur theologischen Untersuchung, sondern fuhren aus je eigenem Blickwinkel zu eigenstandigen hymnologischen Erkenntnissen. Dies und ein wachsendes oeffentliches Interesse an der wissenschaftlichen Beschaftigung mit dem religioesen Liedgut moegen dazu beigetragen haben, dass recht schnell eine Neuauflage des Sammelbandes notwendig geworden ist. Er vereinigt AufsNeuauflage des Sammelbandes notwendig geworden ist. Er vereinigt Aufsatze, die auf der Grundlage von Vortragen und wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten im Kontext des interdisziplinaren Forschungsschwerpunktes "Hymnologie" (Arbeitskreis Gesangbuchforschung, Gesangbuch-Archiv, Graduiertenkolleg) an der Universitat Mainz entstanden sind. Grundfragen der Hymnologie (Mentalitats- und Bedeutungswandel sowie Liedbearbeitung) werden eingehend reflektiert. Mittels ausgewahlter Liedstudien sind daruber hinaus Einblicke in die hymnologische Detailarbeit moeglich.

This is the first volume of a magisterial survey of English music that charts its development from its beginnings in the early monastic institutions to the rise of 17th-century opera and masque and instrumental music, culminating in the genius of Henry Purcell.

This delightful set of practical miniature arrangements of hymn tunes for organ is useful throughout the church year and is accessible to the average church organist. These short pieces not only enhance church services, but also prove invaluable to the church musician looking for something fresh to use during services. The styles of miniatures, which last anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute in duration, are sufficiently varied to maintain interest: some settings are meditative, while others are fanfares, and they can be used during various parts of the service. The book includes a preface that discusses practical usage of the miniatures, citing some examples from te Velde's own experience. It also includes a liturgical index and an index of first lines for the convenience of the organist.

The Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis was founded in honour of Dionysius, one of seven missionaries sent from Rome to Gaul around 250. It grew to be one of the most powerful monasteries in western Christendom and enjoyed a central position in French history as the first Gothic abbey, royal necropolis, and place of origin of the chronicles of the kings. This is a study of the music and ritual at Saint-Denis from the sixth to the sixteenth century. It is based on an examination of the liturgical books and archival sources relating to the abbey, in particular the surviving service-books, which tell us much about the history of the music and of the Divine Office at Saint-Denis. Anne Robertson also looks at the tropes and sequences proper to the office for Saint-Denis, provides information on the performance practices, instruments, musicians, and liturgists from the abbey, and offers an account of the history of the liturgy from the Council of Tours in 567 to the pillage of the abbey by the Huguenots in 1567, thus explicating the extant liturgical codices from Saint-Denis. For the author the ritual and history of the abbey is also inextricably linked to the reconstruction of its various buildings, the decorations of the church, even the monks' ambitions. This is a fascinating and wide-ranging study of this extraordinary institution.

William Penns promise of religious freedom brought many diverse religious groups to Pennsylvania in the 17th and 18th centuries. Each brought pre-existing hymns and hymn tunes, but many also wrote original texts and music. This book examines the hymns of the 1694 Wissahickon settlement under Johannes Kelpius, the 18th century Ephrata Cloister of Conrad Beissel, and the hymn life of the Bethlehem Moravian Unitas Fratrum. Among the later writers of hymn text or music selected for this study are William Kirkpatrick, John Wyeth, William Gustavus Fischer, Francis Hopkinson, Eleanor C. Donnelly, and many more. Sample texts are included for many hymns, and six musical scores are reproduced. Of special interest are the earliest texts and music from the Wissahickon and Ephrata communities. Pennsylvanias hymn background is unique and compelling. The stories of the writers and their hymns should appeal to anyone interested in hymns, theology, music, or American history. Dr. Lucy E. Carroll is currently organist and choir director at the Carmelite Monastery in Philadelphia, and Adjunct Associate Professor at Westminster Choir College in Princeton NJ. She was appointed Scholar in Residence by the PHMC for the Ephrata Cloister site, and she has served as a PHC Commonwealth Speaker. She is Research Chair for the Kelpius Society of Philadelphia. Her articles on music have appeared in many journals and periodicals, and her Churchmouse Squeaks cartoons appear monthly in the Adoremus Bulletin. The recipient of numerous awards and honors, Dr. Carroll has served as organist, conductor, theatre director, educator, music coordinator, clinician and guest speaker. She chaired the music segment of the 1992 International Conference on Arts and Communication at St. Johns College, Cambridge, England and was awarded the International Order of Merit.

This book is an edition, with commentary, of Handel's exercises for continuo playing, which he wrote for the daughters of George II. The exercises, which until now have not been readily available, are supplemented by clear and concise commentary. Remaining faithful to his source, Ledbetter, who lectures in keyboard studies, has prepared an edition that will prove invaluable to students and performers of the music of Handel and his contemporaries.