In "Music in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity"; John Arthur Smith presents the first full-length study of music among the ancient Israelites; the ancient Jews and the early Christians in the Mediterranean lands during the period from 1000 BCE to 400 CE. He considers the physical; religious and social setting of the music; and how the music was performed. The extent to which early Christian music may have retained elements of the musical tradition of Judaism is also considered. After reviewing the subjects historical setting; and describing the main sources; the author discusses music at the Jerusalem Temple and in a variety of spheres of Jewish life away from it. His subsequent discussion of early Christian music covers music in private devotion; monasticism; the Eucharist; and gnostic literature. He concludes with an examination of the question of the relationship between Jewish and early Christian music; and a consideration of the musical environments that are likely to have influenced the formation of the earliest Christian chant. The scant remains of notated music from the period are discussed and placed in their respective contexts.The numerous sources that are the foundation of the book are evaluated objectively and critically in the light of modern scholarship. Due attention is given to where their limitations lie; and to what they cannot tell us as well as to what they can. The book serves as a reliable introduction as well as being an invaluable guide through one of the most complex periods of music history.
#388624 in eBooks 2013-09-11 2013-09-11File Name: B007JWZ32W
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Collective Unconsious - Family StyleBy chriftorCompelling dynamic of larger than life (literally) familial rooting and blooming that serves to explore the genetic/evolutionary strain of a particular familys mental muscle memory. Loaded with symbolism. verging on overload. Spiritual. mystical. and very. very human story about a boy finding his place in several worlds at once through love. conversations with spectres. and. of course. conflict with authority. I learned of the book through Carl Jungs references.20 of 21 people found the following review helpful. A mystery of interior space.By A. C. Walter"The White Dominican" shows Gustav Meyrink indulging his talent for arcane abstraction. tracing the mysteries of the souls interior space.The story follows Christopher Dovecote on his way to a pre-ordained destiny of final enlightenment. Christopher is rescued as a boy from an orphanage by Baron Bartholomew von Jocher when the Baron learns Christopher is a natural mystic. able to take his body into the country of dreams as he sleeps.The Baron is a Freemason and a free-thinker. He lets Christopher develop along his own path. offering only the occasional piece of advice voiced as Taoist paradox.As Christopher matures. he finds and looses love. faces the dark side of himself. and finally learns that his soul has a secret history and a destiny to fulfill which is beyond anything he could ever have imagined."The White Dominican". though fairly a short novel. is not an easy read the first time through. It is not at all about linear plot or even about character development. Meyrink said he wrote his novels "according to the laws of magic"--and this one perhaps most of all. The beginning of the novel shows the strong influence of Dickens (whom Meyrink translated into German). but after the first few chapters Meyrink has built the story into something entirely unique.
