Series of books published by Peter Lang and edited
by June Boyce-Tillman
The series of books (published by Peter Lang) Music and Spirituality (general editor: June Boyce-Tillman) explores the relationships between spirituality and music in a variety of traditions and contexts including those in which human beings have performed music with spiritual intention or effect. It addresses the plurality of modern society in the areas of musical style and philosophical and religious beliefs, and gives respect to different positions regarding the place of music both in worship and in the wider society.
The series will include historical, anthropological, musicological, ethnomusicological, theological and philosophical dimensions and encourages multi-disciplinary and cross-disciplinary contributions.
It looks for well-researched studies with new and open approaches to spirituality and music and encourages interesting innovative case-studies. Books within the series are subject to peer review and will include single and co-authored monographs as well as edited collections including conference proceedings. The use of musical material in either written or recorded form as part of submissions is welcome.
Many of the chapters are based on papers given at conferences such as the SAME conferences (Spirituality and Music Education) at the Nordoff Robbins Centreand Winchester University in 2016 and 2017.
in tune with heaven or not: women in christian liturgical music
By the Rev Professor, June Boyce-Tillman
This book examines how the values associated with Wisdom theology can be used to examine women’s contribution to Christian liturgical music, concentrating on the English speaking world and Europe. It starts with a chapter bringing together Wisdom theology with feminist musicology. It uses this to analyse vignettes of women in liturgical music in mainstream Christian history of Europe. The analysis concentrates on such values as community-building, nurturing, musical processes comparing orality and literacy, embodiment, intuition, and public and private spaces.
This enables the development of a Wisdom theology of liturgical music, linking it with women’s liturgy and lives. This book is an attempt to tell the untold stories of women in the musical history of the church history and I hope that for readers it will be a source of strategies of resistance, inspiration and hope.
Experiencing Music – Restoring the Spiritual: Music as Wellbeing
By the Rev Professor, June Boyce-Tillman
This book concerns an examination of the totality of the musical experience with a view to restoring the soul within it. It starts with an analysis of the strands in the landscape of contemporary spirituality. It examines the descriptors spiritual but not religious, and spiritual and religious, looking, in particular, at the place of faith narratives in various spiritualities. These strands are linked with the domains of the musicking experience – Materials, Expression, Construction and Values. The book sets out a model of the spiritual experience as a negotiated relationship between the musicker and the music. It looks in detail at various models of musicking drawn from music therapy, ethnomusicology, musicology and cultural studies. It examines the relationship between Christianity and music as well as examiningsome practical projects showing the effect of various Value systems in musicking.
A River rather than a road: The Community Choir as Spiritual experience
By Sarah Morgan and June Boyce-Tillman
This book is an exploration of English community choirs, their music and their leadership from a very personal perspective, which brings together Sarah Morgan’s background as a folk musician, her career in training and facilitation, and her developing understanding of the world of the choir. Much of this book was originally submitted for a Professional Doctorate at the University of Winchester. Sadly, before completing the degree Sarah died. She was awarded the qualification posthumously. The literature upon which this book draws is hugely diverse, drawing on musicology, music therapy, community arts, spirituality, philosophy, theology, sociology and education. It is a cross-disciplinary or trans-disciplinary book and looks at the phenomenon of the community choir through a number of lenses associated with spirituality, in a way that draws on the methodology of crystallization. So this is a review of Sarah Morgan’s work in many fields, leading to her achievement of the position of a highly regarded performer, choir leader, arranger and trainer. It is the story of a journey that I hope will inform other people’s journeys in this area.
They Bear Acquaintance – African American Spirituals and the Camp Meetings
By Nancy L. Graham
This book examines how the values associated with Wisdom theology can be used to examine women’s contribution to Christian liturgical music, concentrating on the English speaking world and Europe. It starts with a chapter bringing together Wisdom theology with feminist musicology. It uses this to analyse vignettes of women in liturgical music in mainstream Christian history of Europe. The analysis concentrates on such values as community-building, nurturing, musical processes comparing orality and literacy, embodiment, intuition, and public and private spaces.
This enables the development of a Wisdom theology of liturgical music, linking it with women’s liturgy and lives. This book is an attempt to tell the untold stories of women in the musical history of the church history and I hope that for readers it will be a source of strategies of resistance, inspiration and hope.
Spirituality and Music Education – Perspectives from Three Continents
Edited by June Boyce-Tillman
Queering Freedom – Music, Identity and Spirituality: Anthology from North America, UK
Edited by Karin Hendricks and June Boyce-Tillman
This volume is intended to challenge the status quo of music learning and experience by intersecting various musical topics with discussions of spirituality and queer studies. Spanning from the theoretical to the personal, the chapter authors utilize a variety of approaches to query how music makers might blend spirituality’s healing and wholeness with queer theory’s radical liberation. It represents an eclectic mix of historical, ethnomusicological, case study, narrative, ethnodramatic, philosophical, theological, and theoretical contributions. The volume reaches an international audience, with invited authors from around the world who represent the voices and perspectives of over ten countries. The authors engage with policy, practice, and performance to critically address contemporary and historical music practices. Through its broad and varied writing styles and representations, the collection aims to shift perspectives of possibility and invite readers to envision a fresh, organic, and more holistic musical experience.
Freedom Song: Faith, Abuse, Music and Spirituality: A Lived Experience of Celebration
By the Rev Professor June Boyce-Tillmand
Rivers of Sacred Sound
Chant by Solveig McIntosh
Environment Matters Why Human Song Sounds: The Way It Does
by Lynn Whidden and Paul Shore
This sets out an environmental account of song and music that embeds it squarely in its physical environments based on human sensitivity to the sounds around them. It raises many questions and hopefully will stimulate worthwhile research into human roots in our sound environment. Other areas of research, such as economics are now including environmental contributions, why not music? It identifies three sound environments called habitats: outdoors, built, and electronic. These three habitats are viewed as a tool with which to deepen the understanding of the infinite genres of human song and the environments in which they have been born. Each habitat is viewed as an archetype which embraces a predominant mode of sound generation. Early on humans created songs outdoors that are a fit with the natural environment; then music composed indoors became independent of outdoor sound; and then electronic songs were transmitted by electricity, and composed largely from electronic material. Whether the ambient sounds are outdoor, indoor or electronic the impact on human song is audible. Our premise is that human song is made up of sounds derived from our surrounding environment. We think we have made ourselves independent of the physical sound environment, that our songs are learned from other people, from print and from electronic copies. Our focus remains on consciously creating music with little recognition of the planet’s pervasive sound. There is differentiation and diversity, but no disconnect. Humans and their sonic products are part of their environments.
Enlivening faith : Music, Spirtuality and Christian Theology
Editor the Rev professor June Boyce-Tillman, Stephen Roberts and Jane Erricker
The connection of music to Christian spirituality has been there from the very beginning of the Christian tradition and has developed in different ways in a variety of cultures associated with various denominations as well as theological differences within denominations. Alongside this, the notion of spirituality within music has been generating increasing interest in the context of professional and academic discourses in Western music hand related fields. This has arisen in an increasingly secularized cultural context in which music is often considered as an important carrier for spiritual experiences. It is, however, an area besieged with problems such as the place of religion in the public square, including political, cultural, social, legal, educational, aesthetic, ethical, and religious tensions.
This anthology is designed to look at these issues through various lenses and from different perspectives. It has contributions which are theoretical but also case studies from various church contexts and education in various continents.. Most of the chapters are based on papers given at conferences at the Tavener Centre at the University of Winchester and the Nordoff Robbins Centre. It will include case study material, empirical studies, philosophical, theological and theoretical contributions that engage with policy and practice and meditations and reflections by practitioners.
Book in preparation
The Spirituality of the Music of John Tavener
Editors June Boyce-Tillman and Anne Mare Forbes
The music of John Tavener (1944 – 2013) has brought alive spirituality for many people. His own distinctive spirituality is the essence of his understanding of the nature and role of music. His spirituality is rooted firmly in the Christian tradition but during his lifetime he drew on a variety of spiritual traditions. His fundamental view of music was that it is concerned with heart’s ease. He challenged an increasingly secularized cultural context including its view of the place and role of music. This anthology is designed to look at the issue of Sir John’s spirituality through various lenses and from different perspectives with papers drawn primarily from the study days of the Tavener Centre at the University of Winchester. Contributions are from scholars, musicians, theologians, medical practitioners, informed listeners and practitioners in religious traditions. These include case study material, empirical studies, philosophical, theological and theoretical contributions and accounts from lived experience of spirituality generated by Sir John’s music.
The editors invite scholars, musicians, theologians, medical practitioners, informed listeners and practitioners in religious traditions to contribute proposals for chapters and shorter meditations that might address the questions listed below or any other areas deemed relevant to this study. These can include case study material, empirical studies, philosophical, theological and theoretical contributions and accounts from lived experience of spirituality generated by Sir John’s music. They can include descriptions of particular projects or events, which should be addressed from a critical standpoint.
This anthology is designed to look at the issue of Sir John’s spirituality through various lenses and from different perspectives with papers drawn primarily from the study days of the Tavener Centre at the University of Winchester