Twentieth Century Church Music by Erik Routley

'At the beginning of 1901, Sir Arthur Sullivan had just died and Sir John Stainer was still alive. Each had made his mark in the history of church music--but it is doubtful that either could have foreseen the major revolution in all thinking about the arts in the churches that the twentieth century was to bring. Dr. Routley, with the aid of many musical illustrations, tells the story of church music during this important period. He brings the reader in at the point where Victorian convention still reigned in its massive conservatism and tradition of good craftsmanship and shows how this was followed by a period of reaction under Vaughan Williams. Subsequent periods of increasingly rapid oscillation between reaction and counter-reaction led to church music of the most advanced kind and, eventually, to the new experiments in 'church-pop'. The relationship between these movements and the social upheaval of our century are clearly brought out, and certain peripheral matters--such as the development of organ playing and building, and the development of hymnody--are given their due place in the scheme. In this book 'church music' is interpreted chiefly as being hymns, psalms, anthems and cantatas, although some reference is made to works on a larger scale. Additionally, Twentieth Century Church Music presents the first full-length of the 'popular' experiments in church music during recent years.'--Dust jacket. This 1964 Herbert Jenkins Hardback is in fair condition. Dust jacket has aged, with some noticable spotting. Otherwise good condition.

SKU: 1555859 Note: Any image shown is from a stock photo and is not the actual book.

Location: Music