1st Edition

Contemporary Worship Music and Everyday Musical Lives

By Mark Porter Copyright 2017
    206 Pages
    by Routledge

    206 Pages
    by Routledge

    Whilst Contemporary Worship Music arose out of a desire to relate the music of the church to the music of everyday life, this function can quickly be called into question by the diversity of musical lives present in contemporary society. Mark Porter examines the relationship between individuals’ musical lives away from a Contemporary Worship Music environment and their diverse experiences of music within it, presenting important insights into the complex and sometimes contradictory relationships between congregants’ musical lives within and outside of religious worship. Through detailed ethnographic investigation Porter challenges common evangelical ideals of musical neutrality, suggesting the importance of considering musical tastes and preferences through an ethical lens. He employs cosmopolitanism as an interpretative framework for understanding the dynamics of diverse musical communities, positioning it as a stronger alternative to common assimilationist and multiculturalist models.

    Acknowledgments

    Introduction – The Quest to Understand Diverse Musical Experiences

    Chapter 1: Setting the Scene

    Chapter 2: Music, Attachment, Ethics and Community

    Chapter 3: Bridging Worlds Through Common Modes of Being in Music

    Chapter 4: Boundaries – Communal and Private, Spiritual and Secular

    Chapter 5: At the Edges – Value Transfer, Judgments, Discontent

    Chapter 6: Alternative Musical Spaces

    Conclusion

    Appendix A: Morning Service Repertoire List – January 2012

    Appendix B: Worship Team Agreement 2013/14

    Bibliography

    Index

    Biography

    Mark Porter

    [Applying rhe discipline of enthnomusicology to issues of faith and practice] is an important question to explore, and Porter approaches it with great subtlety. David Martin, Church Times Review