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Books > Music > Other types of music > Sacred & religious music
The book examines from various viewpoints Britten's War Requiem, written in 1962 to celebrate the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral and uniting the famous anti-war poetry of Wilfred Owen with the Latin Requiem Mass. Britten's and Owen's pacifist beliefs are compared, and the chronology of the compositional process unraveled from documentary and manuscript sources. The musical language is analyzed in detail, and the fluctuating critical responses to the score are assessed.
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.
The world's most famous hymn book has undergone a complete revision
and now offers the broadest ever range of traditional hymns and the
best from today's composers and hymn/song writers. 150 years since
its first publication and after sales of 170 million copies, this
brand new edition contains over 840 items, ranging from the Psalms
to John Bell, Bernadette Farrell and Stuart Townend. The guiding
principles behind this collection are: * congregational singability
* biblical and theological richness * musical excellence *
liturgical versatility * relevance to today's worship styles and to
today's concerns New features include added provision for all the
seasons of the Church year, new items for carol services and other
popular occasions where the repertoire is in need of refreshing,
more choices for all-age worship, fresh translations of some
ancient hymnody, beautiful new tunes, short songs and chants -
alleluias, kyries, blessings etc. and music from the world church.
A full range of indexes (including biblical and thematic) and a
helpful guide to choosing hymns for every occasion will help to
make Ancient & Modern the premier hymn collection of choice.
This is the Full Music edition.
A survey of the huge importance of Thomas Tallis, the `Father of
Church Music', on Victorian musical life. In Victorian England,
Tallis was ever-present: in performances of his music, in accounts
of his biography, and through his representation in physical
monuments. Known in the nineteenth century as the 'Father of
English Church Music', Tallis occupies a central position in the
history of the music of the Anglican Church. This book examines in
detail the reception of two works that lie at the stylistic
extremes of his output: Spem in alium, revived in the 1830s, though
generally not greatly admired, and the Responses, which were very
popular. A close study of the performances, manuscripts and
editions of these works casts light on the intersections between
the antiquarian, liturgical and aesthetic goals of
nineteenth-century editors and musicians. By tracing Tallis's
reception in nineteenth-century England, the author charts the hold
Tallis had on the Victorians and the ways in which Anglican - and
English - identity was defined and challenged. Dr SUE COLE is a
research associate at the Faculty of Music, University of
Melbourne.
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."
In Jewish Religious Music in Nineteenth-Century America: Restoring
the Synagogue Soundtrack, Judah M. Cohen demonstrates that Jews
constructed a robust religious musical conversation in the United
States during the mid- to late-19th century. While previous studies
of American Jewish music history have looked to Europe as a source
of innovation during this time, Cohen's careful analysis of primary
archival sources tells a different story. Far from seeing a fallow
musical landscape, Cohen finds that Central European Jews in the
United States spearheaded a major revision of the sounds and
traditions of synagogue music during this period of rapid
liturgical change. Focusing on the influences of both individuals
and texts, Cohen demonstrates how American Jewish musicians sought
to balance artistry and group singing, rather than "progressing"
from solo chant to choir and organ. Congregations shifted between
musical genres and practices during this period in response to such
factors as finances, personnel, and communal cohesiveness. Cohen
concludes that the "soundtrack" of 19th-century Jewish American
music heavily shapes how we look at Jewish American music and life
in the first part of the 21st-century, arguing that how we see, and
especially hear, history plays a key role in our understanding of
the contemporary world around us. Supplemented with an interactive
website that includes the primary source materials, recordings of
the music discussed, and a map that highlights the movement of key
individuals, Cohen's research defines more clearly the sound of
19th-century American Jewry.
Forty seven chants, responses, choruses, introits and shorter songs
are featured in the songbook. The cassette contains 21 of the songs
aand demonstrates ways to use the material. Sources are Southern
Africa, the Russian Orthodox church, charismatic assemblies in
Central and Southern America and ancient Scottish church
traditions.
A unique tribute to often overlooked women who have left an
indelible mark on Gospel Music-powerful talents who overcame racism
and sexism to define the genre, establish its sound, and set the
standard for good sangin' for generations. Nothing in the world
soothes the soul better than Gospel music. From the foot-stomping,
hand-clapping melodies of yesterday to the head-bobbing,
bass-thumping hits of today, Gospel music ignites the spirit and
delivers the inspiration that takes us from the rough side of the
mountain to the peak of God's love and grace. That feeling of joy,
peace, love, and contentment is amplified when it's ringing through
the voice of a sister who can SANG, Cheryl Wills reminds us. The
remedy for a tough day at work can be alleviated with Mary Mary's
uplifting jam Shackles, the answer to your heart's desires can be
found in the harmonies of The Clark Sisters Name It, Claim It, and
if you need a reminder of God's love, there is nothing more
timeless that Aretha Franklin's stirring rendition of Amazing
Grace. Some talented performers, like Sister Rosetta Tharpe have
faded from history, while singers like Yolanda Adams are at the top
of her game. During the twentieth century, Willie Mae Ford spent
most of her life encouraging and uplifting Christians both in
church and on stage and composed more than 100 Gospel songs, yet it
was men like her co-writer, Thomas A. Dorsey, who received the
accolades and fame. Many women in the Gospel music industry go
unnoticed, unpaid, and under-appreciated for their contributions,
yet it is these women who are often the bedrock for songwriting,
arranging, directing, and developing singers. Cheryl Wills, the
granddaughter of a Gospel singer, at last shines a spotlight on
these spectacular women of song. The only book of its kind, Isn't
Her Grace Amazing! showcase the talents, gifts, and skills of women
in the Gospel music industry. It celebrates these heroines,
chronicles their journeys from the choir loft to the world's
largest stages, and reveals how they revolutionized this sacred
music that is beloved worldwide. From the matriarchs of this
movement to today's chart-topping divas, Wills offers in-depth
portraits of twenty-five amazing women of Gospel music-based on
interviews and extensive research-behind-the-scenes stories of
favorite gospel hits, and illuminates what makes each of them
shine.
Comparative studies of medieval chant traditions in western Europe,
Byzantium and the Slavic nations illuminate music, literacy and
culture. Gregorian chant was the dominant liturgical music of the
medieval period, from the time it was adopted by Charlemagne's
court in the eighth century; but for centuries afterwards it
competed with other musical traditions, local repertories from the
great centres of Rome, Milan, Ravenna, Benevento, Toledo,
Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Kievan Rus, and comparative study of
these chant traditions can tell us much about music, liturgy,
literacy and culture a thousand years ago. This is the first
book-length work to look at the issues in a global, comprehensive
way, in the manner of the work of Kenneth Levy, the leading
exponent of comparative chant studies. It covers the four most
fruitful approaches for investigators: the creation and
transmission of chant texts, based on the psalms and other sources,
and their assemblage into liturgical books; the analysis and
comparison of musical modes and scales; the usesof neumatic
notation for writing down melodies, and the differences wrought by
developmental changes and notational reforms over the centuries;
and the use of case studies, in which the many variations in a
specific text or melodyare traced over time and geographical
distance. The book is therefore of profound importance for
historians of medieval music or religion - Western, Byzantine, or
Slavonic - and for anyone interested in issues of orality and
writing in the transmission of culture. PETER JEFFERY is Professor
of Music History, Princeton University. Contributors: JAMES W.
McKINNON, MARGOT FASSLER, MICHEL HUGLO, NICOLAS SCHIDLOVSKY, KEITH
FALCONER, PETER JEFFERY, DAVID G.HUGHES, SYSSE GUDRUN ENGBERG,
CHARLES M. ATKINSON, MILOS VELIMIROVIC, JORGEN RAASTED+, RUTH
STEINER, DIMITRIJE STEFANOVIC, ALEJANDRO PLANCHART.
Ian Spink, a leading authority on 17th-century English music, has carried out a remarkable new investigation of the musical sources of the Restoration period, and of the archives of every cathedral and choral foundation. For the first time, perhaps, the true character and shape of this period of musical history is revealed, taking in the work of the great men of the age, including Purcell, Locke, and Handel, and many lesser masters such as Humfrey, Blow, Clarke, Weldon, and Croft.
This is a substantial setting of the canticles of Mary and Simeon,
suitable for performance in both concert and liturgical settings.
The choral writing features fugal counterpoint and a chromatic
soundworld rooted around the octatonic scale. The text is in
English throughout, with occasional Latin interjections in the
Magnificat. Bringing a fresh voice to an established genre, this
setting presents a rewarding challenge for singers and the
opportunity for congregations or audiences to appreciate familiar
words in a new way. A version for SATB with piano and organ (ISBN
978-0-19-356329-2) is also available.
Analysis of Latin sacred music written during the century
illustrates the rapid and marked change in style and
sophistication. Winner of the 2007 AMS Robert M. Stevenson prize
The arrival of Francisco de Penalosa at the Aragonese court in May
1498 marks something of an epoch in the history of Spanish music:
Penalosa wrote in a mature, northern-oriented style, and his sacred
music influenced Iberian composers for generations after his death.
Kenneth Kreitner looks at the church music sung by Spaniards in the
decades before Penalosa, a repertory that has long been
ignoredbecause much of it is anonymous and because it is scattered
through manuscripts better known for something else. He identifies
sixty-seven pieces of surviving Latin sacred music that were
written in Spain between 1400 and the early 1500s, and he discusses
them source by source, revealing the rapid and dramatic change, not
only in the style and sophistication of these pieces, but in the
level of composerly self-consciousness shown in the manuscripts.
Withina generation or so at the end of the fifteenth century,
Spanish musicians created a new national music just as Ferdinand
and Isabella were creating a new nation. KENNETH KREITNER teaches
at the University of Memphis.
The music of clarinetists Naftule Brandwein and Dave Tarras is
iconic of American klezmer music. Their legacy has had an enduring
impact on the development of the popular world music genre. Since
the 1970s, klezmer music has become one of the most popular world
music genres, at the same time influencing musical styles as
diverse as indie rock, avant-garde jazz, and contemporary art
music. Klezmer is the celebratory instrumental music that developed
in the Jewish communities of eastern Europe over the course of
centuries and was performed especially at weddings. Brought to
North America in the immigration wave in the late nineteenth
century, klezmer thrived and developed in the Yiddish-speaking
communities of New York and other cities during the period
1880-1950. No two musicians represent New York klezmer more than
clarinetists Naftule Brandwein (1884-1963)and Dave Tarras
(1897-1989). Born in eastern Europe to respected klezmer families,
both musicians had successful careers as performers and recording
artists in New York. Their legacy has had an enduring impact and
helped to spurthe revival of klezmer since the 1970s. Using their
iconic recordings as a case study, New York Klezmer in the Early
Twentieth Century looks at the inner workings of klezmer dance
music, from its compositional aspects to the minutiae of style.
Making use of historical and ethnographic sources, the book places
the music within a larger social and cultural context stretching
from eastern Europe of the nineteenth century to the United
Statesof the present. JOEL E. RUBIN is Associate Professor of Music
at the University of Virginia and an acclaimed performer of
traditional klezmer music.
The Tropologion is considered the earliest known extant chant book
from the early Christian world which was in use until the twelfth
century. The study of this book is still in its infancy. It has
generally been believed that the book has survived in Georgian
translation under the name 'ladgari' but similar books have been
discovered in Greek, Syriac and Armenian. All the copies clearly
show that the spread and the use of the book were much greater than
we had previously assumed and the Georgian ladgari is only one of
its many versions. The study of these issues unquestionably
confirms the earliest stage of the compilation of the book, in
Jerusalem or its environs, and shows its uninterrupted development
from Jerusalem to the Stoudios monastery, the most important
monastery of Constantinople. Over time many new pieces and new
authors were added to the Tropologion. It is almost certain that it
was the Stoudios school of poet-composers that divided the content
of the Tropologion and compiled separate collections of books, each
one containing a major liturgical cycle. In the beginning all of
the volumes kept the old title but in the tenth century the copies
of the book were renamed, probably according to the liturgical
repertory included, and by the thirteenth century the title
'Tropologion' is no longer found in the Greek sources as it became
superfluous, and fell out of use.
This book is the most thorough and extensive history of English
parish church music ever published, covering the period from the
late middle ages to the present day. Through the ages English
parish churches have resounded to all manner of music, ranging from
the rich choral polyphony of Henry VIII's or Victoria's reigns to
the bare unaccompanied psalm tunes of the seventeenth century.
Temperley has found in this neglected field a wealth of fascinating
music, as well as a host of intellectual problems to intrigue the
scholar. A recurring theme of the book is the conflict between two
incompatible goals for Protestant parish church music: artistic
performance and popular expression. Professor Temperley suggests
that the Elizabethan metrical psalm tunes were survivors of a mode
of popular music that preceded the familiar corpus of ballad tunes.
Passed on by oral transmission through several generations of
unregulated singing, these once lively tunes changed gradually into
very slow, quavering chants. This later style, which came to be
called 'the old way of singing', is fully described and explained
here for the first time. Temperley guides the reader through the
complex social, theological and aesthetic movements that played
their part in the formation of the late Victorian ideal of the
surpliced choir in every chancel, and he makes a fresh assessment
of that old bugbear, the Victorian hymn tune. His findings show
that the radical liturgical experiments of the last few years have
not dislodged the Victorian model for the music of the English
parish church.
Fiddled out of Reason is a study of several poems spanning the life
and career of Joseph Addison, who, along with John Dryden,
Alexander Pope, Ambrose Philips, Isaac Watts, and many British
poets of the turn of the eighteenth century, helped to cultivate a
broad new current of nonliturgical "hymnic" verse that became
immensely popular across that century, though it has eluded
critical notice until now. The texts the book examines-Addison's
St. Cecilia's Day odes (1692, 1699), his libretto for the opera
Rosamond (1707), and a sequence of five hymnic works in The
Spectator (1712)-precede by twenty-five years John Wesley's
publication of the first hymnal for use in the Church of England.
The book argues that "secular" hymnic works such as Addison's
emerged alongside religio-political controversies and anxieties
about British national identity, morality, and expressions of
"enthusiastic" passions. Church and Tory interests largely rejected
hymnic verse, claiming it would only "fiddle" unwitting readers
"out of their reason" and reignite the dangerous fervor of
Revolution-era Nonconformity and Dissent. As is evident from his
poetry, Addison, a moderate Whig, ardently opposed this view,
arguing that the hymnic could in fact be a portal to national and
individual amelioration. After an introductory chapter exploring
period conceptions of hymnic poetry and the highly contested term
"hymn" itself, the argument proceeds through three sections to
trace the hymnic's upward trajectory through Addison's early,
mid-period, and mature verse. The book devotes the lion's share of
its attention to the last of these three, which includes the
five-poem Spectator sequence (a poem from the sequence, "The
Spacious Firmament on High," will be familiar to many readers).
Indeed, in addition to offering new readings of hymnic works by
Dryden and Pope, Fiddled out of Reason provides the first extended
critical treatment of these five important poems. Publication of
the book coincides with the 300th anniversary of Addison's death
and with the appearance of a new Oxford edition of Addison's
nonperiodical writings.
From the series examining the development of music in specific
places during particular times, this book looks at ancient and
medieval music, from Classical and Christian antiquity to the
emergence of the Gregorian chant and the medieval town and Court.
A great collection of 100 inspirational favorites, including the
title song and: Ave Maria * Beautiful Savior * Faith of Our Fathers
* Go Down, Moses * Holy, Holy, Holy * I'll Live for Him * Jesus
Loves Me * Rock of Ages * Tell Me the Old, Old Story * and more.
Our best-selling recording of all time - more than 20,000 copies
sold! The Bells of Christmas will fill your home with the joyful
and sparkling sound of handbells, played by the dynamic ensemble,
Gloriae Dei Ringers. Playing on a five-and-a-half octave set of
Malmark handbells, these young musicians explore the full range of
Christmas cheer and wonder - from the tenderness of Away in a
Manger to the majestic expanse of A Flight of Angels - all in
arrangements that showcase the tremendous musicality and unique
spirit of handbells!
This book is a study of music inculturation in Indonesia. It shows
how religious expression can be made relevant in an indigenous
context and how grassroots Christianity is being realized by means
of music. Through the discussion of indigenous expressions of
Christianity, the book presents multiple ways in which Indonesians
reiterate their identity through music by creatively forging
Christian and indigenous elements. This study moves beyond the
discussion (and charge) of syncretism, showing that the inclusion
of local cultural manifestations is an answer to creating a truly
indigenous Christian expression. Marzanna Poplawska, while telling
the story of Indonesian Christians and the multiple ways in which
they live Christianity through music, emphasizes the creative
energy and agency of local people. In their practices she finds
optimism for the continuing existence of many traditional genres
and styles. Indonesian Christians perform their Christian faith
through music, dance, and theater, generating innovative cultural
products that enrich the global Christian heritage. The book is
addressed to a broad spectrum of readers: scholars from a variety
of disciplines - music, religion, anthropology, especially those
interested in interactions between Christianity and indigenous
cultures; general music lovers and World Music enthusiasts eager to
discover musics outside of European realm; as well as Christian
believers, church musicians, and choir directors curious to learn
about Christian music beyond Euro-American context. Students of
religion, sacred music, (ethno)musicology, theater, and dance will
also benefit from learning about a variety of indigenous arts
employed in Christian churches in Indonesia.
for SATB and organ This superb Latin mass setting for choir and
organ demonstrates the composer's strong melodic sense and innate
feeling for the sound of choral worship. The atmospheric Kyrie
leads to a Gloria that contrasts vibrantly rhythmic passages with
smoother, expressive sections. The mysterious harmonies of the
Sanctus pave the way for a tender Benedictus, and the Agnus Dei is
a haunting and powerful prayer for peace.
During his lifetime (1888-1970), Hall Johnson's concert
arrangements of spirituals have been performed and recorded by
stellar singers, such as Marian Anderson, Leontyne Price, Kathleen
Battle, Jessye Norman, and Denyce Graves, and were sung by school
and concert choirs all over the world. The Hall Johnson Negro Choir
was acclaimed in concert halls throughout America and Europe, on
Broadway, on radio, and in Hollywood and can be seen and heard in
movie classics like Lost Horizon, Jezebel, Dumbo, and Song of the
South. Yet the story of Johnson's life and accomplishments as
conductor, composer, arranger, violist, author, and teacher has
never been told until now. Hall Johnson: His Life, His Spirit, and
His Music is the first definitive biography of Hall Johnson,
providing both a historical narrative of Johnson's entire life and
work, as well as a comprehensive treatment of his movie career, his
literary creations, his work in musical theatre, and a complete
exploration of his music, with special emphasis on the larger
works. Author Eugene Thamon Simpson, the curator of the Hall
Johnson collection in New Jersey, has amassed important pieces of
the collection, such as letters, reviews, interviews, and other
documents by and about Hall Johnson, and referenced or published
them here for greater accessibility. The book also includes
personal recollections of Hall Johnson by people who knew him as
teacher, conductor, or professional colleague. Over 20 photos, a
discography, and a complete listing of Johnson's works help to
document his achievements, making this a valuable resource for
those interested in Black History Studies, the evolution of the
Negro Spiritual, and blacks in American Cinema and musical theatre.
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