[DOC] Sweet Dreams: The World of Patsy Cline (Music in American Life) by From University of Illinois Press in Arts-Photography

Description

Music as Prayer explores the spiritual and theological character of church music. Author Thomas H. Troeger--a theologian; preacher; poet and flutist-traces how making and listening to music can be an act of prayer; a way of sensing the irrepressible resilience of the divine vitalities; in down-to-earth language that everyone can enjoy. The book employs a wide range of perspectives: from scientific observations about the effect of music on the brain; to the insights of early church fathers about the place of music in worship; to the compositions of great composers and their reflections upon their art; to the Bible and theologians; to organists; choir directors and instrumentalists; to hymnists and poets. Listening to the wisdom of these varied tribes; Troeger finds them to be a cloud of witnesses; a choir giving testimony to how music puts the human heart in touch with the spirit in times of sorrow and seeking; in times of joy and gratitude.The book is addressed to listeners and performers alike; instrumentalists and singers; clergy and seminarians; worship committees and congregation members; scholars and teachers of liturgy and sacred music. It helps musicians and clergy to develop a mutual understanding of the theological and spiritual dimensions of their collaborative work. As a whole; the book celebrates the ministry of making music that awakens people to those gifts of the spirit that sustain hope; promote healing; and enliven a visionary faith in the possibility of a transformed world.