The Bible in Music

A Dictionary of Songs, Works, and More

Siobhán Dowling Long and John F.A. Sawyer

There have been numerous publications in the last decades on the Bible in literature, film, and art. But until now, no reference work has yet appeared on the Bible as it appears in Western music. In The Bible in Music: A Dictionary of Songs, Works, and More, scholars Siobhán Dowling Long and John F. A. Sawyer correct this gap in Biblical reference literature, providing for the first time a convenient guide to musical interpretations of the Bible. Alongside examples of classical music from the Middle Ages through modern times, Dowling Long and Sawyer also bring attention to the Bible’s impact on popular culture with numerous entries on hymns, spirituals, musicals, film music, and contemporary popular music.

Each entry contains essential information about the original context of the work (date, composer, etc.) and, where relevant, its afterlife in literature, film, politics, and liturgy. It includes an index of biblical references and an index of biblical names, as well as a detailed timeline that brings to the fore key events, works, and publications, placing them in their historical context. There is also a bibliography, a glossary of technical terms, and an index of artists, authors, and composers.

The Bible in Music will fascinate anyone familiar with the Bible, but it is also designed to encourage choirs, musicians, musicologists, lecturers, teachers, and students of music and religious education to discover and perform some less well-known pieces, as well as helping them to listen to familiar music with a fresh awareness of what it is about.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 374 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-8108-8451-9 • Hardback • September 2015 • $137.00 • (£105.00)

978-1-5381-1455-1 • Paperback • February 2018 • $75.00 • (£58.00)

978-0-8108-8452-6 • eBook • September 2015 • $71.00 • (£55.00)

Subjects: Music / Reference, Music / Religious / Christian, Religion / Christianity / General, Religion / Reference

The Bible in Music

A Dictionary of Songs, Works, and More

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

There have been numerous publications in the last decades on the Bible in literature, film, and art. But until now, no reference work has yet appeared on the Bible as it appears in Western music. In The Bible in Music: A Dictionary of Songs, Works, and More, scholars Siobhán Dowling Long and John F. A. Sawyer correct this gap in Biblical reference literature, providing for the first time a convenient guide to musical interpretations of the Bible. Alongside examples of classical music from the Middle Ages through modern times, Dowling Long and Sawyer also bring attention to the Bible’s impact on popular culture with numerous entries on hymns, spirituals, musicals, film music, and contemporary popular music.

Each entry contains essential information about the original context of the work (date, composer, etc.) and, where relevant, its afterlife in literature, film, politics, and liturgy. It includes an index of biblical references and an index of biblical names, as well as a detailed timeline that brings to the fore key events, works, and publications, placing them in their historical context. There is also a bibliography, a glossary of technical terms, and an index of artists, authors, and composers.

The Bible in Music will fascinate anyone familiar with the Bible, but it is also designed to encourage choirs, musicians, musicologists, lecturers, teachers, and students of music and religious education to discover and perform some less well-known pieces, as well as helping them to listen to familiar music with a fresh awareness of what it is about.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 374 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-8108-8451-9 • Hardback • September 2015 • $137.00 • (£105.00)

978-1-5381-1455-1 • Paperback • February 2018 • $75.00 • (£58.00)

978-0-8108-8452-6 • eBook • September 2015 • $71.00 • (£55.00)

Subjects: Music / Reference, Music / Religious / Christian, Religion / Christianity / General, Religion / Reference

Author

Siobhán Dowling Long is an Irish musicologist and musician, known primarily for her work on the reception of the Bible in music. A contributor to scholarly journals and edited collections she is the author of The Sacrifice of Isaac: The Reception of a Biblical Story in Music (2013). She lectures in University College Cork, and lives close to Blarney Castle with her husband Fiachra, son Cillian and daughter Bláthnaid.

John F.A. Sawyer is a Scottish biblical scholar, best known for his pioneering works on reception history including The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the History of Christianity (1996) and A Concise Dictionary of the Bible and its Reception (2009). He is also editor of the Blackwell Handbook of the Bible and Culture (2006) and co-editor of the Blackwell Bible Commentary Series. He is now retired and lives with his wife Jean on the North East Coast of England within easy reach of New College Edinburgh where he is an Honorary Fellow.

Table of Contents

Acronyms and Abbreviations
Chronology
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Dictionary
Bibliography
Glossary of Technical Terms
Index of Authors, Composers and Musicians
Index of Biblical Names
Index of Biblical References

Reviews

This volume by Long and Sawyer presents annotated descriptions of classical (oratorios, operas, sonatas) and non-classical (musicals, hymns, spirituals, pop, rock music) music. . . .In this first publication to annotate descriptions of vocal and instrumental pieces with Biblical associations, the compilers paid special attention to works by women composers. . . .The dictionary, arranged alphabetically by title or first line, uses German, Latin, French, Italian, or Hebrew titles. Entries include title, date, composer, and a description to help readers locate music that references specific texts or topics. . . .The chronology presents key events, works, and publications, while the glossary lists basic terms and some world-music terminology. The ‘Index of Biblical Names and Subjects’ and ‘Index to Biblical References’ (including the Apocrypha) prove quite useful. . . .Choir directors and vocal students will appreciate the descriptions presented. Summing Up: Recommended. Students at all levels; professionals/practitioners; general readers.
— Choice Reviews

There is a small but growing number of recent books on the connection between religion and music. . . .The veteran biblical scholar John Sawyer and the Irish musicologist Siobha´n Dowling Long have now added to this literature with their very helpful new dictionary. . . .This is a dictionary to browse and enjoy. Its index of biblical references, for example, allows the reader to compare the ways that particular texts have been interpreted in different compositions. As befits a dictionary its entries are in alphabetical order so it is sometimes also rewarding to look at adjacent entries on a common theme but from very different historical eras. The two authors’ style of writing is accessible with technical terms explained carefully. This is emphatically a book written for a wide readership. . . .[T]his dictionary will sit in a prominent position on my shelves waiting to be consulted again and again.
— Theology

The Bible in Music: A Dictionary of Songs, Works and More is a handy reference work for both library and desk research and good for any musicologist involved in working with faith communities.
— Reference Reviews

The volume is so rich and offers so much that is of tremendous value – especially to a professor who is teaching on the intersection of the Bible and music – that I can recommend it as not merely worthwhile but essential to anyone interested in this subject area.
— Review of Biblical Literature