Presents 72 primary documents illustrating the philosophy and practice of congregational singing during various historical periods of the Christian Church, including the early Church and Middle Ages, the Reformation, and English and American hymnody. Among them are letters, diaries, prefaces to hymnals and tunebooks, controversial books and pamphlets, theological treatises, and the deliberations of Vatican II and other church councils. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Reproduction of original publication.

This volume draws together a collection of Robin A. Leaver's essays on Bach's sacred music, exploring the religious aspects of this repertoire through consideration of three core themes: liturgy, hymnology, and theology. Rooted in a rich understanding of the historical sources, the book illuminates the varied ways in which Bach's sacred music was informed and shaped by the religious, ritual, and intellectual contexts of his time, placing these works in the wider history of Protestant church music during the Baroque era. Including research from across a span of forty years, the chapters in this volume have been significantly revised and expanded for this publication, with several pieces appearing in English for the first time. Together, they offer an essential compendium of the work of a leading scholar of theological Bach studies.

A well-known and respected authority on hymnody for more than forty years, Sing with Understanding is now available in its updated third edition. This edition builds on its predecessors' scholarship, and enhances it with recent developments. New to this edition is a focus on the theology of hymn texts and their music as they form Christians in prayer. More than one-hundred fifty congregational songs from the treasures of Western hymnody, recent Contemporary Christian repertoire, and the global church are analyzed in depth. Also new is a companion website featuring bibliographic resources for additional research, articles referenced in the print version, as well as a glossary of musical/theological terms and indexes.