Church Music Through the Lens of Performance

<p>This book is an investigation into church music through the lens of performance theory both as a discipline and as a theoretical framework. Scholars who address religious music making in general and Christian church music in particular use performance in a variety of ways creating confusion around the term. A systematized performance vocabulary for the study of church music can support interdisciplinary investigations of Christian congregational music making in today’s complex interconnected world.</p><p>From the perspective of performance theory all those involved in church musicking are performing be it from platform or pew. The book employs a hybrid methodology that combines ethnographic research and theory from ritual studies ethnomusicology theology and church music scholarship to establish performance studies as a possible next step in church music studies. It demonstrates the feasibility of studying church music as performance by analyzing ethnographic case studies using a developmental framework based on the concepts of ritual embodiment and play/change.</p><p>This book offers a fresh perspective on Christian congregational music making. It will therefore be a key reference work for scholars working in Congregational Music Studies Ethnomusicology Ritual Studies and Performance Studies as well as practitioners interested in examining their own church music practices.</p>