Martin V. Clarke – författare

This book focuses on arguably the best-known Christian hymn worldwide. From the slave trade to the civil rights movement and from obscurity in its country of origin to global recognition, the origins, history, influence, and legacy of “Amazing Grace” are uniquely complex. The volume brings together historians, theologians, literary scholars, and musicologists to shed new light on the ways in which the hymn’s lyrics, familiar musical setting and its performance by leading vocalists contribute to its enduring popularity and the meanings and value ascribed to it by diverse communities across time and place. The chapters explore the literary and religious qualities of the text, its relationship with the ubiquitous NEW BRITAIN melody, its adoption and adaptation by famous singers and in Christian churches from South America to Asia. The contributors highlight significant facets of the hymn’s origins and legacy, while the collection as a whole provides a focused emphasis on the importance of historical, literary, theological, and musical approaches in understanding the ways in which Christian congregational music acquires meaning and influences thought and practice in local and global contexts.

This book focuses on arguably the best-known Christian hymn worldwide. From the slave trade to the civil rights movement and from obscurity in its country of origin to global recognition, the origins, history, influence, and legacy of “Amazing Grace” are uniquely complex. The volume brings together historians, theologians, literary scholars, and musicologists to shed new light on the ways in which the hymn’s lyrics, familiar musical setting and its performance by leading vocalists contribute to its enduring popularity and the meanings and value ascribed to it by diverse communities across time and place. The chapters explore the literary and religious qualities of the text, its relationship with the ubiquitous NEW BRITAIN melody, its adoption and adaptation by famous singers and in Christian churches from South America to Asia. The contributors highlight significant facets of the hymn’s origins and legacy, while the collection as a whole provides a focused emphasis on the importance of historical, literary, theological, and musical approaches in understanding the ways in which Christian congregational music acquires meaning and influences thought and practice in local and global contexts.

Hymnody is widely recognised as a central tenet of Methodism’s theological, doctrinal, spiritual, and liturgical identity. Theologically and doctrinally, the content of the hymns has traditionally been a primary vehicle for expressing Methodism’s emphasis on salvation for all, social holiness, and personal commitment, while particular hymns and the communal act of participating in hymn singing have been key elements in the spiritual lives of Methodists.

An important contribution to the history of Methodism, British Methodist Hymnody argues that the significance of hymnody in British Methodism is best understood as a combination of its official status, spiritual expression, popular appeal, and practical application. Seeking to consider what, when, how, and why Methodists sing, British Methodist Hymnody examines the history, perception, and practice of hymnody from Methodism’s small-scale eighteenth-century origins to its place as a worldwide denomination today.

Hymnody is widely recognised as a central tenet of Methodism’s theological, doctrinal, spiritual, and liturgical identity. Theologically and doctrinally, the content of the hymns has traditionally been a primary vehicle for expressing Methodism’s emphasis on salvation for all, social holiness, and personal commitment, while particular hymns and the communal act of participating in hymn singing have been key elements in the spiritual lives of Methodists.

An important contribution to the history of Methodism, British Methodist Hymnody argues that the significance of hymnody in British Methodism is best understood as a combination of its official status, spiritual expression, popular appeal, and practical application. Seeking to consider what, when, how, and why Methodists sing, British Methodist Hymnody examines the history, perception, and practice of hymnody from Methodism’s small-scale eighteenth-century origins to its place as a worldwide denomination today.