Hymnology Bibliography

Paul Westermeyer. Te Deum: The Church and Music. Minneapolis: The Fortress Press, 1998

For the "person in the pew," music, whether it be congregational hymns, choral anthems, instrumental preludes, or music of the liturgical rites, is inherent to the fabric of Christian liturgy. Although varying widely due to a worship space's environment and acoustics, the liturgical day and its biblical readings and the variety of forces employed, the centrality of church music appears to be self-evident.

Since the earliest days of religious antiquity, however, the role of music also has been subject to serious discussion and considerable debate. In Te Deum, Paul Westermeyer explores these theological and liturgical conversations by focusing on the story of the church's music from its Old Testament roots into the early church, and onward through various reformations, evangelistic movements, singing schools, revivals, and present-day megachurches.

Designed especially for students and teachers of liturgy and church music as well as clergy, musicians, lay readers, and libraries, Te Deum: The Church and Music stands in partnership with other texts on the topic, serving as a textbook, a reference, a history, and an essay.

Chapters from Table of Contents:

1. The Study of Church Music

OLD TESTAMENT

2. Prolegomena
3. Psalms

NEW TESTAMENT

4. Canticles

THE FIRST CENTURIES

5. With One Voice
6. Diffusion

BEFORE AND AFTER CHARLEMAGNE

7. Chant
8. Choirs and Thought
9. Life and Song

REFORMATION CURRENTS

10. Sound, Silence, and Strictures
11. A Wide Spectrum
12. Controversies Over Psalm Singing

AFTER THE REFORMATION

13. English Hymns
14. Music

BEFORE AND AFTER THE FRENCH AND AMERICAN REVOLUTIONS

15. American Developments
16. Revivalism, Liturgical Renewal, and Spirituals
17. Recurrent American Themes and Richer Textures

NOW

18. Postscript

Chronology
Bibliography
General Index
Biblical References