Christian Music: A Global History

by Tim Dowley

Tim Dowley's popular history of Christian music is the first to encompass all eras, regions, and varieties of this rich and vast treasure. From its Jewish origins, through medieval chant and hymns, to gospel and rock, Christian music around the world is harmonized beautifully in this colorfully illustrated survey. Dowley travels beneath the plurality of forms and styles to pose questions about the meaning of diverse traditions. His skillful narrative and fascinating insights from specialists combine for a truly global history of Christianity's musical culture.

Genres: Music, History, Christianity

263 pages, Hardcover

First published May 30, 2008

About the author

Tim Dowley (Ph.D. in church history, University of Manchester) has been at the forefront of writing and editing for a new generation of resources on biblical studies and church history.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am teaching a church class about history and styles of hymns - using this as a reference book.

[Ben Trigg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful, broad overview, reaching as far back as is historically possible to give a complete picture of the history of Christian music. What it lacks is any substantive commentary on the history, with only little inferences drawn here and there from critiques on especially modern Christian music styles and contributions. Sometimes feels a little stultified for its bent towards facts, dates and names; but it remains a useful reference book nonetheless, and certainly a testament to the extraordinary breadth of music produced by the church from the time of its birth – eye-opening enough for any layperson who hasn’t fully grasped the magnitude of what has gone before.

[Seth Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prob more like a 3 1/2 stars. Good general overview but can get lost in the biographical weeds and ends rather abruptly.