Peter Horton paints a detailed picture of the life and career of this remarkable man whose output includes such favourites as 'Blessed be the God and Father' and 'The wilderness'. Born into one of England's best-known families, Samuel Sebastian Wesley (1810-76) was not only the foremost organist and church musician of his generation, but a vigorous campaigner for higher standards in cathedral music. He was also a troubled, difficult character, and accounts of his abrasive personality or anecdotes about his fishing exploits have tended to obscure his very real achievements as a composer. Peter Horton has drawn on a wide range of source material to produce a detailed account of Wesley's life and career as he moved from cathedral to cathedral in search of an unattainable ideal, his youthful idealism gradually giving way to the cynicism and disillusion familiar to those who encountered him late in life. He also examines his development as a composer and presents a study of his complete output (including the many non-church works) against the background of his restless career and in a wider European context. The book is illustrated by a generous selection of musical examples and plates, and includes the most detailed list of works to appear in print.

Available in the EU from Excelsis at: https://www.xl6.com/articles/9781783688227-central-and-eastern-european-bible-commentary The Central and Eastern European Bible Commentary is a groundbreaking, multi-year work and the first full-Bible commentary to come out of Central and Eastern Europe. The aim of this resource is to provide a contemporary, contextually relevant, church-based commentary written exclusively by biblical scholars from the region. Rooted in scholarship, while also written in clear and accessible language, this commentary will appeal to Christians everywhere. This resource will help pastors, preachers, teachers and lay leaders to interpret and apply biblical truths in the rapidly-changing contexts of their lives and faith communities. Features: Central and Eastern European contextual theological applications of biblical teaching Over 100 articles addressing issues pertaining to our life as Christians in the twenty-first century Clear, accessible language which will appeal to Christians everywhere

George Herbert (1593-1633), the celebrated devotional poet, and his brother Lord Herbert of Cherbury (1583-1648), often described as the father of English deism, are rarely considered together. This collection explores connections between the full range of the brothers’ writings and activities, despite the apparent differences both in what they wrote and in how they lived their lives. More specifically, the volume demonstrates that despite these differences, each conceived of their extended republic of letters as militating against a violent and exclusive catholicity; theirs was a communion in which contention (or disputation) served to develop more dynamic forms of comprehensiveness. The literary, philosophical and musical production of the Herbert brothers appears here in its full European context, connected as they were with the Sidney clan and its investment in international Protestantism. The disciplinary boundaries between poetry, philosophy, politics and theology in modern universities are a stark contrast to the deep interconnectedness of these pursuits in the seventeenth century. Crossing disciplinary and territorial borders, contributors discuss a variety of texts and media, including poetry, musical practices, autobiography, letters, council literature, orations, philosophy, history and nascent religious anthropology, all serving as agents of the circulation and construction of transregionally inspired and collective responses to human conflict and violence. We see as never before the profound connections, face-to-face as well as textual, linking early modern British literary culture with the continent.

Emphasizes the English hymn as a literary entity within denominational and historical contexts. The author sets forth a number of definitions for hymnody and congregational song, and then examines the development of the various forms in England and the United States. With a listing of works for further reading, an index to all hymns discussed, and chronology. ...valuable both for the historical information it provides and for its appreciative evaluation of the religious treasures enshrined in English-language hymns. --ADRIS NEWSLETTER