Hymnology Bibliography

Edward Foley, editor. Foundations of Christian Music: The Music of Pre-Constantinian Christianity. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1996.

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.

Edward Foley, Capuchin, is professor of liturgy and music at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

Chapters from Table of Contents:

1. The Auditory Environment

2. The Temple of Herod

3. Synagogues of the First Century C.E.

4. Borrowed Spaces and Emerging Christianity (First century C.E.)

5. The Era of the House Church (Second and Third Centuries C.E.)