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Christian music

Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around the world. Church music, hymnals, gospel and worship music are a part of Christian media, and also include contemporary Christian music which itself supports numerous Christian styles of music, including hip hop, rock, contemporary worship, and urban contemporary gospel.

Like other forms of music the creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of Christian music varies according to culture and social context. Christian music is composed and performed for many purposes, ranging from aesthetic pleasure, religious or ceremonial purposes, or with a positive message as an entertainment product for the marketplace.

Worship services

 
A church choir singing

Among the most prevalent uses of Christian music are in church worship or other gatherings. Most Christian music involves singing, whether by the whole congregation (assembly), or by a specialized subgroup—such as a soloist, duet, trio, quartet, madrigal, choir, or worship bandor both. It is frequently accompanied by instruments, but some denominations such as some Exclusive Brethren, the Churches of Christ, the Primitive Baptists and the Free Church of Scotland prefer unaccompanied or a cappella singing. Other denominations such as Baptists, Methodists, and Presbyterians sing along side some form on accompaniments. Some groups, such as the Bruderhof, sing songs both with religious and non-religious meanings and words.[1] For them, the act of singing is important. One of the earliest forms of worship music in the church was the Gregorian chant. Pope Gregory I, while not the inventor of chant, was acknowledged as the first person to order such music in the church, hinting the name "Gregorian" chant. The chant reform took place around 590–604 CE (reign of Pope Gregory I) (Kamien, pg. 65–67). The Gregorian chant was known for its very monophonic sound. Believing that complexity had a tendency to create cacophony, which ruined the music, Gregory I kept things very simple with the chant.[2]

Instrumental accompaniment

 
A page (leaf 12 recto) from Beethoven's manuscript. Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide church,[3] and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages. This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music, and its many derivatives. The Baroque style, which encompassed music, art, and architecture, was particularly encouraged by the post-Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional, intended to stimulate religious fervor.[4]

In the West, the majority of Christian denominations use instruments such as an organ, piano, electronic keyboard, guitar, or other accompaniment, and occasionally by a band or orchestra, to accompany the singing. But some churches have historically not used instruments, citing their absence from the New Testament. During the last century or so several of these groups have revised this stance.

The singing of the Eastern Orthodox is also generally unaccompanied, though in the United States organs are sometimes used as a result of Western influence.

Instrumental music

Some worship music may be unsung, simply instrumental. During the Baroque period in Europe, the chorale prelude (for organ) was widely used, generally composed by using a popular hymn tune thematically, and a wide corpus of other solo organ music began to develop across Europe. Some of the most well-known exponents of such organ compositions include Johann Sebastian Bach, Dieterich Buxtehude, George Frideric Handel, François Couperin, César Franck and Charles-Marie Widor to name a few. Up to the present time, various composers have written instrumental (often organ) music as acts of worship, including well known organ repertoire by composers like Olivier Messiaen, Louis Vierne, Maurice Duruflé, and Jean Langlais.

The church sonata (for orchestra and chamber group) and other sacred instrumental musical forms also developed from the Baroque period onwards.

Types of Christian music

Chants

A chant is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures, often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases, such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant. Chant may be considered speech, music, or a heightened or stylized form of speech. In the later Middle Ages some religious chant evolved into song (forming one of the roots of later Western music).[5]

Mostly used in Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox churches. Some examples of chants are:

Metrical Psalters

A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation: a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry, meant to be sung as hymns in a church. Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonisations. The composition of metrical psalters was a large enterprise of the Protestant Reformation, especially in its Calvinist manifestation.

Mostly used in reformed churches, and anabaptists. Some examples of psalters are:

  • Genevan Psalter
  • German Psalter "des Königlichen Propheten David"
  • Dutch Psalter

Hymns

A Reformation approach, the normative principle of worship, produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing. Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer, but as the author of hymns including "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ" ("Praise be to You, Jesus Christ"), and many others. Luther and his followers often used their hymns, or chorales, to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers. The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum. Mostly used by Protestant churches, principally Lutheran, Methodist, and Hussite traditions, but in some areas also by Roman Catholic and Anabaptists. Some examples of famous hymnals are:

Contemporary Christian music

From the latter half of the 20th century to the present day in Western Christendom—especially in the United States and in other countries with evangelical churches—various genres of music originally often related to pop rock, have been created under the label of Contemporary Christian Music ("CCM") for home-listening and concert use. It can be divided into several genres and subgenres, although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle, sometimes open to individual interpretation, and occasionally controversial. These genres (sometimes referred to as "style") like other forms of music may be distinguished by the techniques, the styles, the context and the themes, or geographical origin. Specific subgenres of CCM may include (but are not limited to): Christian country music, Christian pop, Christian rock, Christian metal, Christian hardcore, Christian punk, Christian alternative rock, Christian R&B, Christian electronic dance music and Christian hip hop.

Called Christian pop or gospel in a generalized form, this is a relatively new musical movement and has now evolved into a large number of musical genres by region that comes in a Christian context. This movement appeared as a form of evangelization for the young but the genre is best known and seen in the Evangelical or Protestant proselytizing movements, often using rhythms similar to those in secular music.

CCM is not a musical genre like the other genres. When a song is identified as "Christian" it takes into account the lyrics and the songwriters and performers, rather than musical style. Therefore, one can say that CCM is diverse and there are Christian songs that are sung to the rhythm of salsa, reggae, rock, folk, hip-hop or rap, ballads, pop, country, singer-songwriters and even extreme music such as punk or heavy metal.

In the 1980s and 1990s, contemporary Christian music played a significant role in Evangelical Christian worship.[6][7] A great variety of musical styles has developed traditional praise.[8]

Other languages

Similar developments took place in other language, for example the German Neues Geistliches Lied and Korean Contemporary Christian music.

Industry

Christian music is supported by a segment of the general music industry which evolved as a parallel structure to the same. Beginning in the 1970s and developing out of the Jesus movement, the Christian music industry subsequently developed into a near-billion dollar enterprise. By the 1990s the genre had eclipsed classical, jazz, and new-age music, and artists began gaining acceptance in the general market. There are several programs of schooling that have been created to create new christian artists such as Hillsong College in Norwest, Australia, and Visible Christian College in Memphis, TN U.S.A. Hillsong United is the band out of Hillsong college and they took the worship music scene by storm in 2016 with the song "What a Beautiful Name" which won the GMA Dove song of the year in 2017. Other famous artists include Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, Amy Grant, and Skillet.

Media

Today, Christian music is available through most available media. Christian music is broadcast over the radio, television, or the Internet. Christian Albums and video recordings (CD, LP, digital download, DVD, etc.) have been increasingly more popular and have continued to increase in sales.[9]

Christian Musicals is another growing area, especially with the help of the internet. Church drama groups frequently enjoy performing musical dramas which can be downloaded on-line for free use.[10]

There are Christian tv shows and movies. One example of a Christian tv show is the drama series called The Chosen, and children's shows such as VeggieTales. There is a whole series of Christian movies by the Kendrick Brothers production company, who have created movies such as Fireproof, Overcomer, and Courageous.

Music festivals and conferences

In the US several Christian music festivals have been organized. They are common in the summertime and draw many different people, specifically those from organized groups such as church youth groups and campus groups. In addition to music festivals like those that are part of the Christian Festival Association, there are also many Christian conferences which focus more on speakers, but usually also have musical performances, especially for a Worship service.

The Ichthus Music Festival started in 1970. Today festivals are held annually around the world, and may draw upwards of 100,000 people.[citation needed]

New Zealand's Parachute Music Festival, the largest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere, began in 1989 and is held annually at Mystery Creek Events Centre outside the city of Hamilton.

England's Big Church Day Out Festival began in 2009 and has annual attendance of approximately 20,000.[11]

Concerts

Like any musical group or act, many Christian musical artists perform concerts in concert halls, bars & clubs, or outdoor venues, as well as in church-related venues. Sometimes it may be for pure entertainment, other times with the intention of witnessing (evangelizing by bearing witness of one's faith), and other times may be part worship as well.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Bruderhof Communities". SoundCloud. Retrieved 2018-05-31.
  2. ^ Kamien, Roger. Music: An Appreciation. 9th ed. New York, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Print.
  3. ^ Hall, p. 100.
  4. ^ Murray, p. 45.
  5. ^ Stolba, K. Marie (1994). The Development of Western Music: A History (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill. p. 734. ISBN 9780697293794.
  6. ^ Suzel Ana Reily, Jonathan M. Dueck, The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities, Oxford University Press, USA, 2016, p. 443
  7. ^ Mathew Guest, Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture: A Congregational Study in Innovation, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2007, p. 42
  8. ^ George Thomas Kurian, Mark A. Lamport, Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States, Volume 5, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2016, p. 629
  9. ^ Steve Turner (2008-02-27). "Obituary: Larry Norman | Music". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2011-09-27.
  10. ^ . Gospel Musicals. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
  11. ^ . Big Church Day Out. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.

Further reading

  • Boyer, Horace Clarence, How Sweet the Sound: The Golden Age of Gospel Elliott and Clark, 1995, ISBN 0-252-06877-7.
  • Broughton, Viv, Too Close To Heaven – The Illustrated History of Gospel Music, Midnight Books, 1996, ISBN 1-900516-00-4
  • Albert E Brumley & Sons, The Best of Albert E Brumley, Gospel Songs, 1966, ISBN na-paperback Amazing Grace
  • Darden, Robert, People Get Ready: A New History of Black Gospel Music Continuum International Publishing Group, 2005, ISBN 0-8264-1752-3.
  • Heilbut, Tony, The Gospel Sound: Good News and Bad Times Limelight Editions, 1997, ISBN 0-87910-034-6.
  • Zolten, Jerry, Great God A' Mighty!:The Dixie Hummingbirds – Celebrating The Rise of Soul Gospel Music, Oxford University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-19-515272-7.
  • Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Ecclesiastical Music" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
  • Enciclopedia Cecilia (in Spanish) Includes a Catholic Encyclopedia about music, wiki-style
  • Palackal, Joseph, Syriac Chant Traditions in South India 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
  • Wilson-Dickson, Andrew (2003). The Story of Christian Music: An Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music in Worship. Oxford: Lion. ISBN 978-0-7459-5119-5.

External links

  • Christian music at Curlie
  • "Free and open academic meta-engine of latin manuscripts and music sheets" (in Latin, English, French, and Spanish).
  • Billboard Praise and Worship Charts
  • Billboard Christian Airplay Charts
  • The music of God


christian, music, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, june, 200. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Christian music news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith Common themes of Christian music include praise worship penitence and lament and its forms vary widely around the world Church music hymnals gospel and worship music are a part of Christian media and also include contemporary Christian music which itself supports numerous Christian styles of music including hip hop rock contemporary worship and urban contemporary gospel Like other forms of music the creation performance significance and even the definition of Christian music varies according to culture and social context Christian music is composed and performed for many purposes ranging from aesthetic pleasure religious or ceremonial purposes or with a positive message as an entertainment product for the marketplace Contents 1 Worship services 1 1 Instrumental accompaniment 1 2 Instrumental music 2 Types of Christian music 2 1 Chants 2 2 Metrical Psalters 2 3 Hymns 2 4 Contemporary Christian music 2 4 1 Other languages 2 4 2 Industry 2 4 3 Media 2 4 4 Music festivals and conferences 2 4 5 Concerts 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksWorship services EditMain article Church music A church choir singing Among the most prevalent uses of Christian music are in church worship or other gatherings Most Christian music involves singing whether by the whole congregation assembly or by a specialized subgroup such as a soloist duet trio quartet madrigal choir or worship band or both It is frequently accompanied by instruments but some denominations such as some Exclusive Brethren the Churches of Christ the Primitive Baptists and the Free Church of Scotland prefer unaccompanied or a cappella singing Other denominations such as Baptists Methodists and Presbyterians sing along side some form on accompaniments Some groups such as the Bruderhof sing songs both with religious and non religious meanings and words 1 For them the act of singing is important One of the earliest forms of worship music in the church was the Gregorian chant Pope Gregory I while not the inventor of chant was acknowledged as the first person to order such music in the church hinting the name Gregorian chant The chant reform took place around 590 604 CE reign of Pope Gregory I Kamien pg 65 67 The Gregorian chant was known for its very monophonic sound Believing that complexity had a tendency to create cacophony which ruined the music Gregory I kept things very simple with the chant 2 Instrumental accompaniment Edit A page leaf 12 recto from Beethoven s manuscript Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation in order to standardize liturgy throughout the worldwide church 3 and an enormous body of religious music has been composed for it through the ages This led directly to the emergence and development of European classical music and its many derivatives The Baroque style which encompassed music art and architecture was particularly encouraged by the post Reformation Catholic Church as such forms offered a means of religious expression that was stirring and emotional intended to stimulate religious fervor 4 In the West the majority of Christian denominations use instruments such as an organ piano electronic keyboard guitar or other accompaniment and occasionally by a band or orchestra to accompany the singing But some churches have historically not used instruments citing their absence from the New Testament During the last century or so several of these groups have revised this stance The singing of the Eastern Orthodox is also generally unaccompanied though in the United States organs are sometimes used as a result of Western influence Instrumental music Edit Some worship music may be unsung simply instrumental During the Baroque period in Europe the chorale prelude for organ was widely used generally composed by using a popular hymn tune thematically and a wide corpus of other solo organ music began to develop across Europe Some of the most well known exponents of such organ compositions include Johann Sebastian Bach Dieterich Buxtehude George Frideric Handel Francois Couperin Cesar Franck and Charles Marie Widor to name a few Up to the present time various composers have written instrumental often organ music as acts of worship including well known organ repertoire by composers like Olivier Messiaen Louis Vierne Maurice Durufle and Jean Langlais The church sonata for orchestra and chamber group and other sacred instrumental musical forms also developed from the Baroque period onwards Types of Christian music EditChants Edit A chant is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes to highly complex musical structures often including a great deal of repetition of musical subphrases such as Great Responsories and Offertories of Gregorian chant Chant may be considered speech music or a heightened or stylized form of speech In the later Middle Ages some religious chant evolved into song forming one of the roots of later Western music 5 Mostly used in Anglican Catholic and Orthodox churches Some examples of chants are Ambrosian chant Anglican chant Armenian chant Celtic chant Ethiopian chant Galician chant Gregorian chant Kievan chant Mozarabic chant Old Roman chant Syriac chantMetrical Psalters Edit A metrical psalter is a kind of Bible translation a book containing a metrical translation of all or part of the Book of Psalms in vernacular poetry meant to be sung as hymns in a church Some metrical psalters include melodies or even harmonisations The composition of metrical psalters was a large enterprise of the Protestant Reformation especially in its Calvinist manifestation Mostly used in reformed churches and anabaptists Some examples of psalters are Genevan Psalter German Psalter des Koniglichen Propheten David Dutch PsalterHymns Edit A Reformation approach the normative principle of worship produced a burst of hymn writing and congregational singing Martin Luther is notable not only as a reformer but as the author of hymns including Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott A Mighty Fortress Is Our God Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ Praise be to You Jesus Christ and many others Luther and his followers often used their hymns or chorales to teach tenets of the faith to worshipers The first Protestant hymnal was published in Bohemia in 1532 by the Unitas Fratrum Mostly used by Protestant churches principally Lutheran Methodist and Hussite traditions but in some areas also by Roman Catholic and Anabaptists Some examples of famous hymnals are Ausbund oldest Anabaptist hymnal Baptist Hymnal Evangelisches Kirchengesangbuch the first hymnal in German speaking churches Hymnbooks of the Church of Scotland Jistebnice hymn book Czech hymnal from around 1430Contemporary Christian music Edit Main article Contemporary Christian music From the latter half of the 20th century to the present day in Western Christendom especially in the United States and in other countries with evangelical churches various genres of music originally often related to pop rock have been created under the label of Contemporary Christian Music CCM for home listening and concert use It can be divided into several genres and subgenres although the dividing lines and relationships between music genres are often subtle sometimes open to individual interpretation and occasionally controversial These genres sometimes referred to as style like other forms of music may be distinguished by the techniques the styles the context and the themes or geographical origin Specific subgenres of CCM may include but are not limited to Christian country music Christian pop Christian rock Christian metal Christian hardcore Christian punk Christian alternative rock Christian R amp B Christian electronic dance music and Christian hip hop Called Christian pop or gospel in a generalized form this is a relatively new musical movement and has now evolved into a large number of musical genres by region that comes in a Christian context This movement appeared as a form of evangelization for the young but the genre is best known and seen in the Evangelical or Protestant proselytizing movements often using rhythms similar to those in secular music CCM is not a musical genre like the other genres When a song is identified as Christian it takes into account the lyrics and the songwriters and performers rather than musical style Therefore one can say that CCM is diverse and there are Christian songs that are sung to the rhythm of salsa reggae rock folk hip hop or rap ballads pop country singer songwriters and even extreme music such as punk or heavy metal In the 1980s and 1990s contemporary Christian music played a significant role in Evangelical Christian worship 6 7 A great variety of musical styles has developed traditional praise 8 Other languages Edit Similar developments took place in other language for example the German Neues Geistliches Lied and Korean Contemporary Christian music Industry Edit Main article Christian music industry Christian music is supported by a segment of the general music industry which evolved as a parallel structure to the same Beginning in the 1970s and developing out of the Jesus movement the Christian music industry subsequently developed into a near billion dollar enterprise By the 1990s the genre had eclipsed classical jazz and new age music and artists began gaining acceptance in the general market There are several programs of schooling that have been created to create new christian artists such as Hillsong College in Norwest Australia and Visible Christian College in Memphis TN U S A Hillsong United is the band out of Hillsong college and they took the worship music scene by storm in 2016 with the song What a Beautiful Name which won the GMA Dove song of the year in 2017 Other famous artists include Chris Tomlin Casting Crowns Amy Grant and Skillet Media Edit Main article Christian media Today Christian music is available through most available media Christian music is broadcast over the radio television or the Internet Christian Albums and video recordings CD LP digital download DVD etc have been increasingly more popular and have continued to increase in sales 9 Christian Musicals is another growing area especially with the help of the internet Church drama groups frequently enjoy performing musical dramas which can be downloaded on line for free use 10 There are Christian tv shows and movies One example of a Christian tv show is the drama series called The Chosen and children s shows such as VeggieTales There is a whole series of Christian movies by the Kendrick Brothers production company who have created movies such as Fireproof Overcomer and Courageous Music festivals and conferences Edit Main article Christian music festival In the US several Christian music festivals have been organized They are common in the summertime and draw many different people specifically those from organized groups such as church youth groups and campus groups In addition to music festivals like those that are part of the Christian Festival Association there are also many Christian conferences which focus more on speakers but usually also have musical performances especially for a Worship service The Ichthus Music Festival started in 1970 Today festivals are held annually around the world and may draw upwards of 100 000 people citation needed New Zealand s Parachute Music Festival the largest Christian music festival in the Southern Hemisphere began in 1989 and is held annually at Mystery Creek Events Centre outside the city of Hamilton England s Big Church Day Out Festival began in 2009 and has annual attendance of approximately 20 000 11 Concerts Edit Like any musical group or act many Christian musical artists perform concerts in concert halls bars amp clubs or outdoor venues as well as in church related venues Sometimes it may be for pure entertainment other times with the intention of witnessing evangelizing by bearing witness of one s faith and other times may be part worship as well See also Edit Christianity portalByzantine music Christian radio Gospel music History of music in the biblical period Hymn Liturgical music Mass music Religious music Worship presentation programReferences Edit Bruderhof Communities SoundCloud Retrieved 2018 05 31 Kamien Roger Music An Appreciation 9th ed New York New York McGraw Hill 2008 Print Hall p 100 Murray p 45 Stolba K Marie 1994 The Development of Western Music A History 2nd ed McGraw Hill p 734 ISBN 9780697293794 Suzel Ana Reily Jonathan M Dueck The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities Oxford University Press USA 2016 p 443 Mathew Guest Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture A Congregational Study in Innovation Wipf and Stock Publishers USA 2007 p 42 George Thomas Kurian Mark A Lamport Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States Volume 5 Rowman amp Littlefield USA 2016 p 629 Steve Turner 2008 02 27 Obituary Larry Norman Music The Guardian London Retrieved 2011 09 27 Christian Musicals Gospel Musicals Archived from the original on 12 September 2017 Retrieved 29 September 2012 Big Church Day Out Big Church Day Out Archived from the original on 15 August 2012 Retrieved 17 August 2012 Further reading EditBoyer Horace Clarence How Sweet the Sound The Golden Age of Gospel Elliott and Clark 1995 ISBN 0 252 06877 7 Broughton Viv Too Close To Heaven The Illustrated History of Gospel Music Midnight Books 1996 ISBN 1 900516 00 4 Albert E Brumley amp Sons The Best of Albert E Brumley Gospel Songs 1966 ISBN na paperback Amazing Grace Darden Robert People Get Ready A New History of Black Gospel Music Continuum International Publishing Group 2005 ISBN 0 8264 1752 3 Heilbut Tony The Gospel Sound Good News and Bad Times Limelight Editions 1997 ISBN 0 87910 034 6 Zolten Jerry Great God A Mighty The Dixie Hummingbirds Celebrating The Rise of Soul Gospel Music Oxford University Press 2003 ISBN 0 19 515272 7 Herbermann Charles ed 1913 Ecclesiastical Music Catholic Encyclopedia New York Robert Appleton Company Enciclopedia Cecilia in Spanish Includes a Catholic Encyclopedia about music wiki style Palackal Joseph Syriac Chant Traditions in South India Archived 2012 02 08 at the Wayback Machine Wilson Dickson Andrew 2003 The Story of Christian Music An Illustrated Guide to All the Major Traditions of Music in Worship Oxford Lion ISBN 978 0 7459 5119 5 External links Edit Wikiquote has quotations related to Christian music Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christian music Christian music at Curlie Free and open academic meta engine of latin manuscripts and music sheets in Latin English French and Spanish Billboard Praise and Worship Charts Billboard Christian Airplay Charts The music of God Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Christian music amp oldid 1149848749, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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