This book explores the way in which singing can foster experiences of belonging through ritual performance. Based on more than two decades of ethnographic, pedagogical and musical research, it is set against the backdrop of "the new Ireland" of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Charting Ireland's growing multiculturalism, changing patterns of migration, the diminished influence of Catholicism, and synergies between indigenous and global forms of cultural expression, it explores rights and rites of belonging in contemporary Ireland. Helen Phelan examines a range of religious, educational, civic and community-based rituals including religious rituals of new migrant communities in "borrowed" rituals spaces; baptismal rituals in the context of the Irish citizenship referendum; rituals that mythologize the core values of an educational institution; a ritual laboratory for students of singing; and community-based festivals and performances. Her investigation peels back the physiological, emotional and cultural layers of singing to illuminate how it functions as a potential agent of belonging. Each chapter engages theoretically with one of five core characteristic of singing (resonance, somatics, performance, temporality, and tacitness) in the context of particular performed rituals. Phelan offers a persuasive proposal for ritually-framed singing as a valuable and potent tool in the creation of inclusive, creative and integrated communities of belonging.

This book explores the way in which singing can foster experiences of belonging through ritual performance. Based on more than two decades of ethnographic, pedagogical and musical research, it is set against the backdrop of "the new Ireland" of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Charting Ireland's growing multiculturalism, changing patterns of migration, the diminished influence of Catholicism, and synergies between indigenous and global forms of cultural expression, it explores rights and rites of belonging in contemporary Ireland. Helen Phelan examines a range of religious, educational, civic and community-based rituals including religious rituals of new migrant communities in "borrowed" rituals spaces; baptismal rituals in the context of the Irish citizenship referendum; rituals that mythologize the core values of an educational institution; a ritual laboratory for students of singing; and community-based festivals and performances. Her investigation peels back the physiological, emotional and cultural layers of singing to illuminate how it functions as a potential agent of belonging. Each chapter engages theoretically with one of five core characteristic of singing (resonance, somatics, performance, temporality, and tacitness) in the context of particular performed rituals. Phelan offers a persuasive proposal for ritually-framed singing as a valuable and potent tool in the creation of inclusive, creative and integrated communities of belonging.

The approval and publication of the document Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship, developed by the United States Bishops' Committee on Divine Worship, paves the way for further and more comprehensive application of the Church's norms and directives for the sung celebration of the Sacred Liturgy in our country. Music in Catholic Liturgy: A Pastoral and Theological Companion to Sing to the Lord is is an essential, practical, and theological resource for all involved in the preparation of the sung celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, especially parish priests and liturgical music ministers, with an easily accessible way to read, to more completely understand, and make excellent pastoral use of the direction now given to US parishes in Sing to the Lord: Music in Divine Worship.

Scholars of Vedic religion have long recognized the centrality of ritual categories to Indian thought. There have been few successful attempts, however, to bring the same systematic rigor of Vedic Scholarship to bear on later "Hindu" ritual. Excavating the deep history of a prominent ritual category in "classical" Hindu texts, Geslani traces the emergence of a class of rituals known as santi, or appeasement. This ritual, intended to counteract ominous omens, developed from the intersection of the fourth Veda - the oft-neglected Atharvaveda - and the emergent tradition of astral science (Jyotisastra) sometime in the early first millennium, CE. Its development would come to have far-reaching consequences on the ideal ritual life of the king in early-medieval Brahmanical society. The mantric transformations involved in the history of santi led to the emergence of a politicized ritual culture that could encompass both traditional Vedic and newer Hindu performers and practices. From astrological appeasement to gift-giving, coronation, and image worship, Rites of the God-King chronicles the multiple lives and afterlives of a single ritual mode, unveiling the always-inventive work of the priesthood to imagine and enrich royal power. Along the way, Geslani reveals the surprising role of astrologers in Hindu history, elaborates conceptions of sin and misfortune, and forges new connections between medieval texts and modern practices. In a work that details ritual forms that were dispersed widely across Asia, he concludes with a reflection on the nature of orthopraxy, ritual change, and the problem of presence in the Hindu tradition.

Designed for music teachers, students and scholars of music education, as well as educational administrators and policy makers, this fourth book in the set focuses on issues and topics that help to broaden conceptions of music and musical involvement, while recognising that development occurs through many forms

In The Heart of Our Music, master practitioners of the art of liturgical music come together to offer enriching insights, a stirring vision, and practical new ideas that will change the way you think about liturgy and liturgical ministry. These reflections are written with the needs of parish liturgists and liturgical musicians in mind. This volume includes reflections on the role of composition, the role of music, the kind of language we use, the missionary dimension of our texts and music, whether esthetic beauty is the only quality needed, and how we think about and name God in the songs we sing. Contributors and their articles include: "A Sacrifice of Praise: Musical Composition as Kenosis" by Alan J. Hommerding; "'The Word Is Near You, in Your Mouth and in Your Heart' Music as Servant of the Word" by Bob Hurd; "The Songs We Sing: The Two Languages of Worship" by Tony Barr; "Moving to Metamelos: A New Heart, a New Church, a New Song" by Rory Cooney; "Beauty and Suitability in Music in the Liturgy" by Paul Inwood; and "From 'God Beyond All Names' to 'O Agape' Images of God in Liturgical Music" by Jan Michael Joncas.

Contemporary worship music is ubiquitous in many Protestant Christian communities today. Rather than debating or decrying this post–worship-wars reality, David Lemley accepts it as a premise and examines what it means for us to be singing along with songs that aren’t so different from the pop genre. How do we cope with the consumerism embedded in the mentality that catchy is good? How do we stay committed to subverting cultural norms, as Christians are called to do, when our music is modeled after those cultural norms? How do we ensure that the way we participate in the liturgy of contemporary worship music rehearses a cruciform identity? Becoming What We Sing draws on cultural criticism, ethnomusicology, and liturgical and sacramental theology to process the deluge of the contemporary in today’s worship music. Lemley probes the thought of historical figures, such as Augustine, Hildegard of Bingen, Martin Luther, and the Wesleys, while also staying situated in the current moment by engaging with cultural philosophers such as James K. A. Smith and popular artists such as U2. The result is a thorough assessment of contemporary worship music’s cultural economy that will guide readers toward greater consciousness of who we are becoming as we sing “our way into selves, societies, and cosmic perspectives.”

In The Heart of Our Music, master practitioners of the art of liturgical music come together to offer enriching insights, a stirring vision, and practical new ideas that will change the way you think about liturgy and liturgical ministry. These reflections are written with the needs of parish liturgists and liturgical musicians in mind. This volume includes reflections on the role of composition, the role of music, the kind of language we use, the missionary dimension of our texts and music, whether esthetic beauty is the only quality needed, and how we think about and name God in the songs we sing. Contributors and their articles include: “A Sacrifice of Praise: Musical Composition as Kenosis” by Alan J. Hommerding; “’The Word Is Near You, in Your Mouth and in Your Heart’: Music as Servant of the Word” by Bob Hurd; “The Songs We Sing: The Two Languages of Worship” by Tony Barr; “Moving to Metamelos: A New Heart, a New Church, a New Song” by Rory Cooney; “Beauty and Suitability in Music in the Liturgy” by Paul Inwood; and “From ‘God Beyond All Names’ to ‘O Agape’: Images of God in Liturgical Music” by Jan Michael Joncas.

Meeting House Essays in a series of papers reflecting on the mystery, beauty and practicalities of the place of worship. This popular series was begun in 1991, and each resource focuses on a particular aspect of space, design or materials and how they relate to the liturgy.