Sacred sound and social change
Subtitle: liturgical music in Jewish and Christian experience
By: edited by Lawrence A. Hoffman and Janet R. Walton.
Contributors: Hoffman, Lawrence A., 1942-; Walton, Janet Roland.
Series: Two liturgical traditions ;; v. 3
Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
Published: 1992
Place of publication: Notre Dame
Language: eng
Number of pages: 352
Subjects: Church music.; Music -- Religious aspects -- Christianity.; Synagogue music -- History and criticism.; Jews -- Music -- History and criticism.
Description: 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 developments. Other essays explore liturgical music in contemporary North America by analyzing it against the backdrop of the continuous social change that characterizes our era.

In addition to thought-provoking essays, this volume boasts a unique feature: four composers, each representing a different religious perspective, were commissioned to write a musical setting for Psalm 136. Their compositions are presented here, along with their commentaries, which explain the musical decisions they made and how these decisions reflect contemporary compositional, liturgical, and social challenges.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Took its origin from a conference held in Oct. 1986 at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.