Read complete books and articles on: Religious Music

Church Music - 1 Music intended for performance as part of services of worship. With few exceptions, music is essential to the ritual of every religion; the singing of prayers and portions of Scripture is part of Judaeo-Christian tradition, and a large number of melodies for specific parts of the liturgy were embodied in the medieval collection of church music called Gregorian chant. Additional

13 of the Best Books and Articles on: Religious Music

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

Ancient and Oriental Music » Read Now
by Egon Wellesz. 540 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

The New Oxford History of Music is an authoritative ten-volume survey of classical music from ancient times up to 1960. Each volume is devoted to a recognised period in music history, and is written by noted scholars in the field.
2.

Singing the Body of God: The Hymns of Vedantadesika in Their South Indian Tradition » Read Now
by Steven Paul Hopkins. 344 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Literature, Entire Library

This is the first full-length study of the devotional poetry and poetics of the fourteenth-century poet-philosopher Vedantadesika, one of the most outstanding and influential figures in the Hindu tradition of Sri-Vaishnavism (the cult of Lord Vishnu). Despite their intrinsic beauty and theological...
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This is the first full-length study of the devotional poetry and poetics of the fourteenth-century poet-philosopher Vedantadesika, one of the most outstanding and influential figures in the Hindu tradition of Sri-Vaishnavism (the cult of Lord Vishnu). Despite their intrinsic beauty and theological importance, the poetry and philosophy of Vedantadesika have received very little scholarly attention. But for the millions who belong to the Vaishnava tradition, those poems are not just classical literature; they are committed to memory, recited, sung, and enacted in ritual both in India and throughout the Hindu diaspora. Steven Hopkins here offers a comparative study of the Sanskrit, Prakit, and Tamil poems composed by Vedantadesika in praise of important Vaishnava shrines and their icons--poems that are considered to be the apogee of South Indian devotional literature.
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3.

The Making of Sikh Scripture ("Rag as the Organizing Principle of the Adi Granth" begins on p. 87) » Read Now
by Gurinder Singh Mann. 193 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

The Adi Granth ("original book"), the primary scripture of the Sikhs, comprises approximately 3,000 hymns. Although the authorship of the hymns is well-recorded, the history of the compilation the Adi Granth - the creation of the Sikh "canon" - is the subject of considerable speculation and debate...
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The Adi Granth ("original book"), the primary scripture of the Sikhs, comprises approximately 3,000 hymns. Although the authorship of the hymns is well-recorded, the history of the compilation the Adi Granth - the creation of the Sikh "canon" - is the subject of considerable speculation and debate. In this book, Gurinder Mann attempts to construct a comprehensive secondary literature on the topic. His findings on some key issues differ from the traditional Sikh position and from the hypotheses of other 20th-century scholars, as well as raising some entirely fresh questions. Mann's revised and expanded picture of the history of the text and institution of Sikh scripture will be of interest not only to scholars of Sikhism and Sikh religionists, but to scholars of comparative canon formation.
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4.

The Ragas of Early Indian Music: Modes, Melodies and Musical Notations from the Gupta Period to c.1250 » Read Now
by Richard Widdess. 432 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
5.

Islamic Spirituality: Manifestations (Chap. 24 "Sacred Music and Dance in Islam") » Read Now
by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. 548 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
6.

The Aesthetics of Spiritual Practice and the Creation of Moral and Musical Subjectivities in Aleppo, Syria, in Ethnology » Read Now
by Jonathan H. Shannon. 10 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
7.

Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Chap. 2 "Religious Music") » Read Now
by William P. Malm. 302 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
8.

The Sound of Light: A History of Gospel Music » Read Now
by Don Cusic. 267 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Don Cusic presents gospel music as part of the history of contemporary Christianity. From the psalms of the early Puritans through the hymns of Isaac Watts and the social activism of the Wesleys, gospel music was established in eighteenth-century America. With the camp meetings songs of the Kentucky...
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Don Cusic presents gospel music as part of the history of contemporary Christianity. From the psalms of the early Puritans through the hymns of Isaac Watts and the social activism of the Wesleys, gospel music was established in eighteenth-century America. With the camp meetings songs of the Kentucky Revival and the spirituals and hymns that stemmed from the Civil War and beyond, gospel music grew through the nineteenth century and expanded through new technologies in the twentieth century.
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9.

The History of Catholic Church Music » Read Now
by Karl Gustav Fellerer, Francis A. Brunner. 235 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
10.

Man and His Music: The Story of Musical Experience in the West » Read Now
by Alec Harman, Wilfrid Mellers, Anthony Milner. 1174 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library
11.

Wiser Than Despair: The Evolution of Ideas in the Relationship of Music and the Christian Church » Read Now
by Quentin Faulkner. 254 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Philosophy, Entire Library

This book addresses a highly complex and elusive matter: why the Christian Church was able to contribute so generously to music from its earliest days through the 18th century and why it has suffered since that time from a creeping artistic paralysis. Modern attitudes and assumptions often find the...
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This book addresses a highly complex and elusive matter: why the Christian Church was able to contribute so generously to music from its earliest days through the 18th century and why it has suffered since that time from a creeping artistic paralysis. Modern attitudes and assumptions often find the values and accomplishments of the Christian worldview enigmatic, even repellant, and church music has come to be one of the primary arenas in which the tension between conflicting worldviews continues to be worked out on a daily basis. This thoughtful work investigates the historical interaction of theology, philosophy and music, and will be of interest to church musicians, theologians, music historians and cultural anthropologists.
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12.

Religious Perspectives in American Culture ("Religious Music in America" begins on p. 289) » Read Now
by A. Leland Jamison, James Ward Smith. 427 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library
13.

Passport to Jewish Music: Its History, Traditions, and Culture » Read Now
by Irene Heskes. 353 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Music historian Irene Heskes takes a topical and chronological approach to present an exhaustive examination of the history, form and meaning of Jewish musical traditions. Chapters include: Documenting the Heritage; Bible, Liturgy, and Cantorial Art; The Musical Heritage of Sephardic and Oriental...
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Music historian Irene Heskes takes a topical and chronological approach to present an exhaustive examination of the history, form and meaning of Jewish musical traditions. Chapters include: Documenting the Heritage; Bible, Liturgy, and Cantorial Art; The Musical Heritage of Sephardic and Oriental Jewry; Music of Mysticism and Piety; The Yiddish Musical World of Eastern Europe; The Holocaust Era; America; The Music of Zion and Israel; Composers and Compositions; and Women.
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