The Bible and Music

The Bible and Music 

James F. McGrath

Book Description: James F. McGrath’s The Bible and Music offers what no previous textbook on the subject has before. It provides an overview of the intersection of the Bible and music, from ancient Israelite music and the musical notation in ancient Hebrew manuscripts to the reception of the Bible in classical, rock, hip hop, country, and other genres, alongside embedded videos allowing readers to listen as they read. This textbook does all that and more and, as an open textbook, it costs nothing.

License

The Bible and Music by James F. McGrath is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Cover image: Psalter, Bodleian Library MS. Don. e. 248, fol. 20v by Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford is licensed under CC-BY-NC 4.0. Photo © Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.

Unless otherwise indicated, videos are embedded under the Standard YouTube License. See Media Bibliography for a complete list.

Primary Subject

Sacred and religious music

Additional Subject(s)

Bibles, Music

Publisher

PALNI Press

Publication Date

January 31, 2023

Ebook ISBN

978-1-956390-15-5

 

1. Publisher's Note

2. Preface

3. Introduction

4. I. History

5. 1. 1. Ancient Music behind and in the Bible

   2. 2. Chanting in Synagogues

   3. 3. Chanting in Churches

   4. 4. The Protestant Reformation and Metrical Psalms

   5. 5. Spirituals

   6. 6. Contemporary Christian Music

6. II. Texts

7. 1. 7. Creation

   2. 8. Psalms

   3. 9. Isaac and Family

   4. 10. Exodus

   5. 11. King David (and His Family, Friends, and Enemies)

   6. 12. Elijah

   7. 13. Romance in the Bible? Ruth and Boaz, Samson and Delilah

   8. 14. Song of Songs

   9. 15. Esther

   10. 16. Salome

   11. 17. The Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis

   12. 18. Our Father

   13. 19. Revelation

   14. 20. Alleluias and Allusions

   15. 21. Biblical Music without Words

   16. 22. Bringing Texts Together

8. III. People and Genres

9. 1. 23. Hildegard of Bingen

   2. 24. Salamone Rossi

   3. 25. Johann Sebastian Bach

   4. 26. Passions: Bach and Beyond

   5. 27. The Bible as Musical, Oratorio, and Opera

   6. 28. Handel’s Messiah

   7. 29. Lili Boulanger

   8. 30. Arnold Schoenberg

   9. 31. John Rutter

   10. 32. Christmas Carols

   11. 33. Arvo Pärt

   12. 34. Andrea Clearfield

   13. 35. Roxanna Panufnik

10. Conclusion

11. Appendix 1: Paths through This Book

12. Appendix 2: Making Music with Apps, Websites, and Software

13. Appendix 3: For Further Listening

14. General Bibliography

15. Media Bibliography

16. Contributors