The Temple, the Church Fathers and Early Western Chant (Collected Studies, CS609)

The articles here deal with liturgical music. Two topics receive special attention: the curiously negative role that musical instruments play in ancient cult music and the development of ecclesiastical song in early Christianity. The first series of articles treats classical Greek ethical notions of instruments, the status of instruments in Temple and Synagogue, and the absence of instruments from early Christian and medieval church music. The next parts trace the psalmody and hymnody of the Christian tradition, from its roots in Judaism to the origins of Gregorian chant in 7th-century Rome. Throughout, the writings of the Christian Church fathers such as Augustine, Ambrose, Basil and John Chrysostom underpin the author’s analysis and presentation. This book is a collection of articles examining liturgical music from classical Greece and ancient Israel to late 15th-century Flanders and Spain. The focus is on two main topics: the negative role of instruments in ancient cult music; and the development of ecclesiastical song in early Christianity. Presented in this book are 16 articles written by the author over a period of 30 years. They span two millenia in their coverage, ranging from classical Greece and ancient Israel to the late 15th-century Flanders and Spain. Liturgical music in some form or another is the theme that binds them together, and two topics in particular are focused on: the negative role that instruments play in ancient cult music; and the development of ecclesiastical song in early Christianity. For the negative role of instruments, a series of articles treats classical Greek ethical notions of instruments, the status of instruments in temple and synagogue and the absence of instruments from early Christian and medieval Church music. The second focus - that of the development of ecclesiastical song - is dealt with in several studies that trace the psalmody and hymnody of the Christian tradition from its roots in Judaism to the origins of Gregorian chant in 7th-century Rome. The articles rely strongly on the writings of the Christian Church Fathers, such as Augustine, Basil and John Crystostom. Cover Half Title Series Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Introduction I Jubal vel Pythagoras: quis sit inventor musicae? The a Cappella Question II The Rejection of the Aulos in Classical Greece III The Exclusion of Musical Instruments from the Ancient Synagogue IV The Meaning of the Patristic Polemic against Musical Instruments V Musical Instruments in Medieval Psalm Commentaries and Psalters VI The Tenth Century Organ at Winchester VII A Cappella Doctrine versus Practice: A Necessary Distinction The Psalmody of Jewish and Christian Antiquity VIII On the Question of Psalmody in the Ancient Synagogue IX The Fourth Century Origin of the Gradual X Review of Aimée Georges Martimort, Les lectures liturgique et leurs livres (Turnhout: Brepols, 1992) XI Desert Monasticism and the Later Fourth-Century Psalmodic Movement XII Preface to the Study of the Alleluia Toward Early Western Chant XIII Properization: The Roman Mass XIV Lector Chant versus Schola Chant: A Question of Historical Plausibility XV Antoine Chavasse and the Dating of Early Chant Iconography XVI The Fifteen Temple Steps and the Gradual Psalms Index James Mckinnon. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.