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Author Stowe, David W. (David Ware), author.

Title How sweet the sound : music in the spiritual lives of Americans / David W. Stowe
Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, 2004

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Description 1 online resource (viii, 335 pages)
Series ACLS Humanities E-Book
Contents O for a thousand tongues to sing -- Singing independence -- Marching to Zion -- Holding the fort -- Dances with ghosts -- Onward Buddhist soldiers -- Yossele, Yossele! -- Come Sunday -- From Ephrata (F-Ra-Ta) to Arkestra -- The nation with the soul of a church -- Coltrane and beyond
Summary "How Sweet the Sound traces the evolution of sacred music from colonial times to the present, from the Puritans to Sun Ra, and shows how these cultural encounters have produced a rich harvest of song and faith." "Pursuing the intimate relationship between music and spirituality in America, Stowe focuses on the central creative moments in the unfolding life of sacred song. He fills his pages with the religious music of Indians, Shakers, Mormons, Moravians, African-Americans, Jews, Buddhists, and others. Juxtaposing music cultures across region, ethnicity, and time, he suggests the range and cross-fertilization of religious beliefs and musical practices that have formed the spiritual customs of the United States, producing a multireligious, multicultural brew."
"Stowe traces the evolution of sacred music from hymns to hip-hop, finding Christian psalms deeply accented by the traditions of Judaism, and Native American and Buddhist customs influenced by Protestant Christianity. He shows how the creativity and malleability of sacred music can explain the proliferation of various forms of faith and the high rates of participation they've sustained. Its evolution truly parallels the evolution of American pluralism."--Jacket
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index
Notes Online resource; title from PDF title page (ACLS Humanities, viewed September 26, 2014)
Subject Sacred songs -- United States -- History and criticism
Church music -- United States
Music -- Religious aspects.
Church music
Music -- Religious aspects
Sacred songs
United States
Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2003067543
ISBN 9780674012905
0674012909