There have been numerous publications in the last decades on the Bible in literature, film, and art. But until now, no reference work has yet appeared on the Bible as it appears in Western music. In The Bible in Music: A Dictionary of Songs, Works, and More, scholars Siobhán Dowling Long and John F. A. Sawyer correct this gap in Biblical reference literature, providing for the first time a convenient guide to musical interpretations of the Bible. Alongside examples of classical music from the Middle Ages through modern times, Dowling Long and Sawyer also bring attention to the Bible’s impact on popular culture with numerous entries on hymns, spirituals, musicals, film music, and contemporary popular music. Each entry contains essential information about the original context of the work (date, composer, etc.) and, where relevant, its afterlife in literature, film, politics, and liturgy. It includes an index of biblical references and an index of biblical names, as well as a detailed timeline that brings to the fore key events, works, and publications, placing them in their historical context. There is also a bibliography, a glossary of technical terms, and an index of artists, authors, and composers. The Bible in Music will fascinate anyone familiar with the Bible, but it is also designed to encourage choirs, musicians, musicologists, lecturers, teachers, and students of music and religious education to discover and perform some less well-known pieces, as well as helping them to listen to familiar music with a fresh awareness of what it is about.

This book explores the relationship between the Bible and the world of music, an association that is recorded from ancient times in the Old Testament, and one that has continued to characterize the cultural self-expression of Western Civilization ever since. The study surveys the emergence of this close relationship in the era following the end of the Roman Empire and through the Middle Ages, taking particular note of the role of Gregorian chant, folk music and the popularity of mystery, morality and passion plays in reflection of the Sacred Scripture and its themes during those times. With the emergence of polyphony and the advent of the Reformation in the sixteenth century, the interaction between the Bible and music increased dramatically, culminating in the evolution of opera and oratorio as specific genres during the Renaissance and the Early Baroque period. Both these genres have proved essential to the interplay between sacred revelation and the various types of music that have come to determine cultural expression in the history of Europe. The book initially provides an overview of how the various themes and types of Biblical literature have been explored in the story of Western music. It then looks closely at the role of oratorio and opera over four centuries, considering the most famous and striking examples and considering how the music has responded in different ages to the sacred text and narrative. The last chapter examines how biblical theology has been used to dramatic purpose in a particular operatic genre – that of French Grand Opera. The academic apparatus includes an iconography, a detailed bibliography and an index of biblical and musical references, themes and subjects.

The story of the Bible as told through music, Bible & Music is a ground-breaking conceptual study about the influence of the Bible on the history of Western music; the history of music as seen from the perspectives of the Bible. The focus is on diverse treatments of biblical subjects and characters in various genres, styles and cultural contexts, arranged according to the order of books of the Old Testament (except for Psalms which will be treated in a later volume). Scriptural themes are approached in their cultural reception in relation to composer, historical period, social context, genre, performing medium and style as they contribute to give expression, meaning and "Voice" to the biblical "Word'. Each chapter explores a specific composition or compositions drawn from the worlds of traditional, folk, liturgical, popular, classical and contemporary music. Extensive lists of musical works, bibliographies, biblical references to music and appendixes on musical instruments in the Bible, along with a comprehensive index make this work a handy reference tool [Publisher description].

An exploration of muscial expression in scripture and church hymnody. In this book Rev. Herbert Lockyer Jr. presents the songs, musical methods, and instruments employed by the people of God. His insights into biblical theology include musical analogies and cover the many functions of musical expression. The author also reviews the music of the church from the New Testament through the Reformation. Includes illustrations of the musical instruments mentioned in the Bible and descriptions of their sounds and uses in worship.