Christian music
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Christian music is
Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance and even the definition of Christian music varies according to culture and social context. Christian music is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes or with a positive message as an entertainment product for the marketplace.
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Worship services
Among the most prevalent uses of Christian music are in church worship or other gatherings. Most Christian music involves singing, whether by the whole congregation (assembly), or by a specialized subgroup—such as a soloist, duet, trio, quartet, madrigal,
Instrumental accompaniment
In the West, the majority of Christian denominations use instruments such as an organ, piano, electronic keyboard, guitar, or other accompaniment, and occasionally by a band or orchestra, to accompany the singing. But some churches have historically not used instruments, citing their absence from the New Testament. During the last century or so several of these groups have revised this stance.
The singing of the
Instrumental music
Some worship music may be unsung, simply instrumental. During the Baroque period in Europe, the chorale prelude (for organ) was widely used, generally composed by using a popular hymn tune thematically, and a wide corpus of other solo organ music began to develop across Europe. Some of the most well-known exponents of such organ compositions include Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin, César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor to name a few. Up to the present time, various composers have written instrumental (often organ) music as acts of worship, including well known organ repertoire by composers like Olivier Messiaen, Louis Vierne, Maurice Duruflé, and Jean Langlais.
The
Types of Christian music
Chants
A chant is the iterative speaking or
Mostly used in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. Some examples of chants are:
- Ambrosian chant
- Anglican chant
- Armenian chant
- Celtic chant
- Ethiopian chant
- Galician chant
- Gregorian chant
- Kievan chant
- Mozarabic chant
- Old Roman chant
- Syriac chant
Metrical Psalters
A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonisations. The composition of metrical psalters was a large enterprise of the Protestant Reformation, especially in its Calvinist manifestation.
Mostly used in reformed churches, and anabaptists. Some examples of psalters are:
- Genevan Psalter
- German Psalter "des Königlichen Propheten David"
- Dutch Psalter
Hymns
A Reformation approach, the normative principle of worship, produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of hymns including "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ"), and many others. Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers. The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum. Mostly used by Protestant churches, principally Lutheran, Methodist, and Hussite traditions, but in some areas also by Roman Catholic and Anabaptists. Some examples of famous hymnals are:
- Ausbund, oldest Anabaptist hymnal
- Baptist Hymnal
- Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch, the first hymnal in German speaking churches
- Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland
- Jistebnice hymn book, Czech hymnal from around 1430
Contemporary Christian music
From the latter half of the 20th century to the present day in Western Christendom—especially in the United States and in other countries with evangelical churches—various genres of music originally often related to
In the 1980s and 1990s, contemporary Christian music played a significant role in
Other languages
Similar developments took place in other language, for example the German Neues Geistliches Lied and Korean Contemporary Christian music.
Industry
Christian music is supported by a segment of the general
Media
Today, Christian music is available through most available media. Christian music is broadcast over the radio, television, or the Internet. Christian Albums and video recordings (
Christian Musicals is another growing area, especially with the help of the internet. Church drama groups frequently enjoy performing musical dramas which can be downloaded on-line for free use.[10]
There are Christian tv shows and movies. One example of a Christian tv show is the drama series called The Chosen, and children's shows such as VeggieTales. There is a whole series of Christian movies by the Kendrick Brothers production company, who have created movies such as Fireproof, Overcomer, and Courageous.
Music festivals and conferences
In the US several Christian
The
New Zealand's
England's
Concerts
Like any musical group or act, many Christian musical artists perform concerts in
See also
- Byzantine music
- Christian radio
- Gospel music
- History of music in the biblical period
- Hymn
- Liturgical music
- Mass (music)
- Religious music
- Worship presentation program
References
- ^ "Bruderhof Communities". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
- ^ Kamien, Roger. Music: An Appreciation. 9th ed. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.
- ^ Hall, p. 100.
- ^ Murray, p. 45.
- ISBN 9780697293794.
- ^ Suzel Ana Reily, Jonathan M. Dueck, The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities, Oxford University Press, USA, 2016, p. 443
- ^ Mathew Guest, Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture: A Congregational Study in Innovation, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2007, p. 42
- ^ George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 629
- ^ Steve Turner (2008-02-27). "Obituary: Larry Norman | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
- ^ "Christian Musicals". Gospel Musicals. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
- ^ "Big Church Day Out". Big Church Day Out. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
Further reading
- Boyer, Horace Clarence, How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Elliott and Clark, 1995, ISBN 0-252-06877-7.
- ISBN 1-900516-00-4
- Albert E Brumley & Sons, The Best of Albert E Brumley, Gospel Songs, 1966, ISBN na-paperback Amazing Grace
- Darden, Robert, People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 0-8264-1752-3.
- ISBN 0-87910-034-6.
- ISBN 0-19-515272-7.
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- Enciclopedia Cecilia (in Spanish) Includes a Catholic Encyclopedia about music, wiki-style
- Palackal, Joseph, Syriac Chant Traditions in South India Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
- Wilson-Dickson, Andrew (2003). The Story of Christian Music: An Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music in Worship. Oxford: Lion. ISBN 978-0-7459-5119-5.
External links
- Christian music at Curlie
- "Free and open academic meta-engine of latin manuscripts and music sheets" (in Latin, English, French, and Spanish).
- Billboard Praise and Worship Charts
- Billboard Christian Airplay Charts
- The music of God
- ^ "Top Christian Worship Songs this Week | PraiseCharts". www.praisecharts.com. Retrieved 2023-09-20.