Sacred Sound and Social Change
Liturgical Music in Jewish and Christian Experience
Edited by Lawrence A. Hoffman and Janet R. Walton
Two Liturgical Traditions
Teachers, students, composers, performers, and other practitioners of sacred sound will appreciate this volume because, unlike any book currently available on sacred music, it treats the history, development, current practices, composition, and critical views of the liturgical music of both the Jewish and Christian traditions.
Contributors trace Jewish music from its place in Hebrew Scriptures through the nineteenth-century Reform movement. Similar accounts of Christian music describe its growth up to the Protestant Reformation, as well as post-Reformation development. Other essays explore liturgical music in contemporary North America by analyzing it against the backdrop of the continuous social change that characterizes our era.
Reviews
“Following two excellent collections examining the development of Judaism and Christianity, this third volume in this series traces the usages of music in the two faiths, from biblical origins and medieval developments to current practices, while analyzing the varieties of music within each tradition.”—Journal of Ecumenical Studies
“The editors sought to bring diverse voices to the discussion. Their treatment of Jewish and Christian traditions within the same volume is significant; since both musical traditions stem from common sources and deal with similar social forces today, common reflection can lead to greater insight.”—Theological Studies
“This book reveals profound thought about the function of music in liturgy. All church and synagogue musicians should read it.”—Choice
