Wiser Than Despair : The Evolution of Ideas in the Relationship of Music and the Christian Church

Faulkner, Quentin

ISBN 10: 0313296456 / ISBN 13: 9780313296451

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA, 1996

About this Item

Former library copy. Pages intact with minimal writing/highlighting. The binding may be loose and creased. Dust jackets/supplements are not included. Includes library markings. Stock photo provided. Product includes identifying sticker. Better World Books: Buy Books. Do Good.

Seller Inventory # 53616679-6

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Wiser Than Despair : The Evolution of Ideas in the Relationship of Music and the Christian Church
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
• Publication Date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0313296456
• ISBN 13: 9780313296451
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Good
• Weight: 1.032 pounds

About this title

Synopsis

This book addresses a highly complex and elusive matter: why the Christian Church was able to contribute so generously to music from its earliest days through the 18th century and why it has suffered since that time from a creeping artistic paralysis. Modern attitudes and assumptions often find the values and accomplishments of the Christian worldview enigmatic, even repellant, and church music has come to be one of the primary areas in which the tension between conflicting worldviews continues to be worked out on a daily basis. This thoughtful work investigates the historical interaction of theology, philosophy and music, and will be of interest to church musicians, theologians, music historians and cultural anthropologists.

In its concluding chapter this work explores a number of basic questions: In what sense, if any, can the arts (and then the fine arts) be considered profoundly significant for modern society? Is there a meaningful role for artists of genius and total commitment? Do the arts (and then the fine arts) have any profound significance for the Church in the modern world? Of what significance, if any, to the Church in the modern world are the great Christian artistic accomplishments of the past? This exploration is by means of excerpts from historical sources, quotations from modern authors, and commentary on both. It calls upon historical, philosophical, theological, liturgical, anthropological, and musical sources and concepts in an attempt to develop a comprehensive understanding of musical developments that have served the Christian church for centuries and that have also provided a rich heritage of art music.

About the Author

QUENTIN FAULKNER is Steinhart Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He teaches organ and has developed a unique series of courses in church music. Dr. Faulkner's articles on various aspects of church music have appeared in The American Organist, The Diapason, The Christian Ministry, and Liturgy.