Foundations of Christian music
Subtitle: the music of pre-Constantinian Christianity
By: Edward Foley.
Series: American essays in liturgy; American essays in liturgy (Collegeville, Minn.)
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Published: 1996
Place of publication: Collegeville, Minn
Language: eng
Number of pages: 111
Subjects: Church music -- To 500
Description: In the study of Christian liturgical music, the first three centuries of the Christian era are foundational. Seldom, however, does this period receive serious attention from scholars. One of the reasons for this oversight is the fluid auditory environment of this period, and the inadequacy of the Western concept of "music" to describe this environment.

Foundations of Christian Music addresses this lacuna by exploring the auditory environment of first-century Judaism and emerging Christianity until the time of Constantine (d. 337). Through a consideration of the text, styles, forms, performance, and settings of Jewish and early Christian worship, Foundations offers an unusually rich perspective on the lyrical nature of emerging Christian worship.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.