Te Deum: The Church and MusicBy Paul WestermeyerDiscussion Questions by Micah Hunter

Chapter 1: The Study of Church Music1. Westermeyer states: “What makes church music complex is the

number of disciplines it calls into play.” Explain what he means by this statement. Which of these disciplines have you not considered before as being integral to church music?

2. What does Westermeyer mean when he says: “The study of church music ought to introduce the dimensions of the topic. It will not solve all the problems, but it does have the advantage of getting the players in the same ballpark?”

3. What are the four reasons for studying church music that Westermeyer gives in this chapter?

4. What is the hazard that the fourth of these reasons may promote? How will you avoid it as you progress through this study?

Chapter 2: Prolegomena1. Why must the “intrinsic” nature of music to our humanity be

understood in order to study church music from the beginning? In what ways does our modern culture promote the notion that music is “extrinsic” to our humanity?

2. Explain how the use of music in the festivals of ancient Israel was fundamentally different in orientation from the use of music in other ancient cultures & religions.

3. Describe the general organization that J.S. Bach considered to be the “foundation of church music.”

4. Briefly describe the three musical textures.5. List and describe three common systems of pitch organization other

than the modern Western system of major and minor tonality. 6. What does Westermeyer mean when he says that ancient music was

“folk-like in character?”7. Why does oral transmission of musical tradition preclude any radical

break with the past?8. Did music begin with singing, drumming, blowing, or plucking?9. Briefly explain Curt Sachs’ terms: logogenic, pathogenic, and

melogenic.10. List and briefly describe the three “musical forms for worship”

outlined by Abraham Idelsohn.11. Why does antiphonal singing suggest “a choir distinct from the

people?”12. Please explain synonymous, antithetical, and synthetic

parallelism in the book of Psalms, and give an example of each.

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13. In corporate worship, why do “singing words and the verbal forms they imply take priority over instruments and instrumental forms?”

14. List and describe at least three ancient Hebrew musical instruments.

Chapter 3: Psalms1. Support Westermeyer’s statement: “the Psalms are the womb of

church music.” What does this mean?2. Westermeyer claims “the question why [the church has used the

Psalms so much] is complicated and eludes simple answers, but it calls into play concerns that lie at the heart of our study.” Briefly, what are these concerns?

3. Discuss this sentence: “It also suggests why superficial music simply cannot bear the weight of such a potent and significant song.” What does this mean? Do you agree?

4. List and describe Westermeyer’s five good reasons for singing in Christian worship.

5. Why must any discussion of the music of the church include the Psalms?

6. How is music “world-making?”7. Westermeyer distinguishes the “true church musician” from the

“musician who happens to be working in the church.” How does he distinguish these two musicians? What does he mean when he says “the true church musician lives there too?”

8. How can overemphasis on Christianity’s “priestly” and/or “prophetic” aspects affect its worship and its music? Can you think of examples of these different emphases and the effects they have had?

9. Explain how “musicians and the song of the Christian church resist these polarities.”

10. Why is it dangerous to extend “an arbitrary Hegelian formula of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis” into our interpretation of the Old Testament? Why will it not work?

11. In this discussion of the prophetic and priestly offices complementing eachother, why are psalmists “required for the whole picture?”

12. Why do Protestants tend to err on the prophetic side? Catholics the priestly?

13. Why does Westermeyer say that church musicians have been largely protected from this division? Do you agree?

14. As thoroughly as you must, explain what Westermeyer means by “the Old Testament sings. So does the New.” Be sure to connect your explanation to Christ.

Chapter 4: Canticles

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1. Why is I Corinthians 13:1 not to be interpreted as a restriction on music? I believe there is a better reason than what Westermeyer provides, and it has to do with what Paul is saying and the context in which he is saying it.

2. Why is the literature of the Old Testament far more varied and diffuse than that of the New Testament?

3. Broadly speaking, what are the two sorts of documents contained in the New Testament?

4. Give two reasons that “it is easy to overlook the musical practice which the New Testament church simply assumed.”

5. What does Westermeyer mean when he says “we have to supply the assumptions” when reading the New Testament?

6. Who led the music in the worship of the Jewish temple in first-century Jerusalem? Would this worship have included Christians?

7. Roughly describe the synagogue worship of first-century Jews and its relationship to the development of early Christian worship practice.

8. Broadly speaking, which two strains of musical practice converged to lead to the development of what we know as Gregorian chant? What caused this convergence?

9. What three elements are common to all known descriptions of Christian worship before the early 3rd century? What sources do scholars look to in order to find these descriptions?

10. Briefly describe the development of the Mass. What basic elements combined to form the mass? How did this happen?

11. How is the mass the “fundamental liturgical context in which the music of the church developed?”

12. The Mass is a service of “word and table” designed for the entire worshipping community to participate together. What other Christian service developed at the same time? How was it different from the Mass?

13. Westermeyer states “the person of Christ paradoxically both particularized and universalized everything.” Explain what this means.

14. What does the term “canticle” mean? How is it used in this book?

15. How are canticles similar in content to Psalms?16. Why is this similarity significant after Jesus Christ enters the

picture?17. What is an “infancy canticle?”18. Please list the four infancy canticles by their common Latin

titles. For each one, provide the full Latin text AND either a word for word translation from the Latin OR the English text of the biblical reference. In either case, please list the Scripture reference from which the canticle comes. Finally, please find a recording of a musical setting of each infancy canticle AND provide either the

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discography information OR the URL of the online recording. (The idea is that I want to be able to find what you are recommending.)

19. Worthy is Christ is a canticle drawn from several passages from Revelation. Please provide the full English text of this canticle, and indicate which Scripture passages are referenced in each line. Please provide bibliographic information OR a URL for online sources that you use. Please find a recording of a musical setting of this canticle that you enjoy, and provide discography information or URL.

20. Explain why the Te Deum is not strictly a canticle. Explain why the Te Deum may properly be called a canticle.

21. Provide the full Latin text of the Te Deum. Provide a literal English translation as well. Find two recordings of different musical settings of this canticle, complete with discography or URL. Please compare and contrast the two recordings in terms of style, clarity of text, and overall effect. (I recommend John Rutter’s Te Deum, and George Frederic Handel’s Dettingen Te Deum. They are very different and both outstanding.)

22. Please list 5 other New Testament texts that were likely formulated to be sung. Choose ONE of these texts and compose a melody to sing the text. Try to keep the melody simple enough for you to write it down accurately as part of your assignment.

23. What two questions led to the development of the church’s Christology?

24. What question led to the development of the church’s ecclesiology?

25. What branch of theology grew out of the church’s judgments about Christ in relation to time?

26. Broadly, how are Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology “inextricably concerned with music?”

27. How might overemphasis on Christ’s humanity influence the church’s music? Overemphasis on his divinity?

28. How might the orthodox position (Christ is both fully God and fully human) be reflected in the church’s music?

29. What is the problem in viewing Christ as merely an example to be followed? As merely a Savior? As merely a conqueror? How might these theological problems present themselves in musical practice?

30. Why is it necessary to hold all three views of what Christ did in tension with one another? How might this balance be reflected musically?

31. Westermeyer states: “Few communities manage to hold together the fullness of the theological affirmations much less the fullness of the musical ones.” Do you agree? Can you think of an example you’ve experienced or that you know of where this has been true?

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32. Please describe the three basic ecclesiological positions that Westermeyer outlines. Why is it necessary to hold the third or “middle” one? What are some musical ramifications of each position?

33. Do you think that you personally tend to emphasize the already at the expense of the not yet, or the not yet at the expense of the already? Why is it important to hold the already and the not yet in tension with one another?

34. Dr. Westermeyer has outlined several common emphases in the theological branches of Christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology. In each case, he has claimed that the best option is to somehow hold the totality or the polarity in tension. There is a danger of misunderstanding this position as simply “anything goes,” or as relativism of some kind. This is not Westermeyer’s position. Believing Christ to be all of the above – example, savior, and conqueror – is not contradictory, but biblical and true. Believing the Church to be both followers of Christ and the body of Christ on earth is not relativist, as these two identities are not mutually exclusive, but profoundly true. Believing that the reality of Christ’s rule is both already true and real and here, and yet in some sense has not yet been fully realized is not wishful thinking or “having it both ways,” but is accurately reflective of what we see in God’s Word and in our experience of life in this world. Please describe which part of this discussion (Christ as all of the above, Church as both/and, Time as already and not yet) you have found most difficult to accept or wrap your mind around. Why was this difficult for you? How has your thinking been challenged?

35. How is the tension of the already and not yet present in the Church’s music?

Chapter 5: With One Voice1. “The Christian Church was born in song…” Explain this statement.

What facts from history and scripture make it true?2. Give some examples of chants that Westermeyer calls “ordinary” and

“proper.” What is the main distinguishing textual characteristic that separates them? What is the main distinguishing musical characteristic that probably separated them?

3. Please briefly distinguish responsorial, direct, and antiphonal performance practice.

4. What is the ecclesiological theme that runs throughout the musical observations given from Clement of Rome (c. 95), Ignatius of Antioch (c. 35-107), and Clement of Alexandria (c. 150-215)? Explain how this theme illustrates, as Westermeyer puts it, “a proleptic reality at work here, an eschatological already and not yet held in incarnational tension that is expressed musically.”

5. What is the Didache?

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6. Briefly describe the following beliefs that came out of early Christianity: Montanism, Gnosticism, Marcionism, Arianism.

7. What action did the Council of Nicaea (325) take to defend the church against Arianism? (You may need to look outside the book.)

8. Give at least three reasons (one historical, one musical, one theological) that many early church leaders began a polemic against using musical instruments in worship. Please cite Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Basil, and Chrysostom in your answer.

9. Do you believe that Westermeyer’s repeated reference of I Corinthians 13 as an example of the New Testament being standoffish toward instruments in worship is accurate? Why or why not?

10. Explain how both the Alexandrian (allegorical) and Antiochian (literal) schools of biblical interpretation found a way to interpret favorable Old Testament allusions to musical instruments in worship in such a way that still condemned such usage for the church. You may use Psalm 150 as an example.

11. Read footnote 78. Have you noticed any of the weaknesses that Williamson points out in Westermeyer’s presentation so far? What does Westermeyer’s inclusion of this footnote tell you about him? Does it change the way you approach this book at all?

Chapter 6: Diffusion 1. Create a timeline from the first century through about the fifth

century. On the timeline, include people and trends that had an effect on the participation of women in Christian worship – particularly in their singing.

2. Westermeyer notes the strong correlation between the use of boys as “lectors” (those who read Scripture aloud in the assembly) and the beginning of the position of the “cantor” (the person who prompts and leads the assembly’s song). Please consider reading Timothy Page’s book, The Christian West and its Singers: The First Thousand Years for a detailed and thoroughly documented presentation of this relationship. Why does Westermeyer conclude that the office of cantor was not distinct until the fourth and fifth centuries?

3. What document from roughly what time period is the earliest known specification of the “cantor” as a canonical office?

4. What musical force began to overtake the roll of the cantor in the 4th-5th centuries? Speculate as to what circumstances may have contributed to this. (There isn’t a direct answer in the book; speculate about what you know of this period in history and the culture surrounding it. Why might choirs have become more feasible at this time?)

5. To what does Westermeyer attribute the tunnel-vision-like concern of the early church about sexual morality and moderation? (He does not say this is wrong…)

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6. According to Westermeyer, “no matter how acculturated or enculturated the church may have been, its center was certainly clear.” What was this center? How can the church today keep this central focus in its own musical discourse?

7. Compare and contrast the views of Ambrose of Milan, Pambo (whether real or attributed!), and Augustine of Hippo regarding music. How do these three positions relate directly to the questions raised in the modern practice of church music? What can modern church musicians learn from the hard thinking that has already been done by the Church Fathers?

Chapter 7: Chant1. Why can the common use of the term “Gregorian chant” be

misleading?2. What are some of the difficulties scholars encounter in studying early

chant?3. Categorize the following types of chant as either Eastern or Western:

Byzantine, Syrian, Old Roman, Gallican, Coptic, Georgian, Armenian, Mozarabic, Ethiopian, Slavonic, Russian, Gregorian, Ambrosian (Milanese). Of these, which one was the chief representative of the East? The West?

4. The modes of Gregorian chant are simply called “modes.” What are the modes of Byzantine chant called?

5. Create a chart that displays the Greek name, number, final, and dominant, range of every mode that Westermeyer discusses. You may use the following as a starting point:

Mode Number Final (tonic)

Dominant (reciting/chanting tone)

Range

Dorian I D A D-DHypodorianPhrygianHypophrygianLydianHypolydianMixolydianHypomixolydian

6. What is the difference between an “equalist” approach to chant rhythmic values and a “mensuralist” approach?

7. How might choices regarding interpretation of rhythm and melody in chant reflect prophetic or priestly theological orientations?

8. Distinguish syllabic, neumatic, and melismatic text setting in chant.

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9. Who was responsible for taking Latin hymnody out of “infancy to enter [the stage of] early maturity?”

10. Why, even after Ambrose, did hymnody stagnate in the West? (Psalmody was flourishing, however.)

11. Ambrose is often called the “father of church song.” What actual historical contributions make him worthy of this title?

12. Gregory the Great is often called the “father of chant.” What actual historical contributions make him worthy of this title?

13. Compare and contrast the Mass and the Offices.14. Compare and contrast the content of the ordinary and the

content of the propers.15. Which five texts constitute the Mass Ordinary?16. What are the 8 monastic Offices? In which two may the laity

participate?17. Which book serves as the primary resource of texts and chants

for the Mass? For the Offices?18. What five influences does Westermeyer list that contributed to

excluding the congregation from musical participation? Was the congregation ever silenced?

19. What good motivation often supports a shift in church music toward trained musicians? What good motivation often supports a shift in church music toward congregational participation? How are both of these motivations evident in musical developments of the medieval period? How are both of these motivations evident in your church or churches you have seen?

20. Think back to Chapter 4 and look over your answers to its questions. What theological emphases are evident in the unbalanced musical result of the medieval period? In what ways did “a healthy tension” come apart?

Chapter 8: Choirs and Thought 1. What is the “remarkable development” in music that came as a direct

result of the congregation’s role in worship being diminished?2. Why does David Cherwien describe organum as “another way of

singing in unison?”3. What are two significant distinctions between 9th and 10th century

organum and St. Martial/Notre Dame Style organum?4. Name two composers (and their dates) that are considered

representative of the Ars Antiqua. 5. Name three composers (and their dates) that are considered

representative of the Ars Nova.6. Who coined the term ars nova? Why is this term misleading? How is

it also helpful?7. Who was Luther’s favorite composer? What reason does Westermeyer

give for Luther’s admiration? Are there any composers that you would describe the way that Luther described this composer?

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8. List the four elements of Quentin Faulkner’s “medieval speculative musical system.”

9. What were the three categories of music named by Boethius? Describe each of them briefly.

10. Why was music included in the medieval quadrivium along with arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy?

11. What about this medieval system of thought regarding music do you find appealing? Why?

12. What about this medieval system of thought regarding music do you find troublesome or wrong or questionable? Why?

13. In medieval Christian culture, why was the musicus more highly regarded than the singer or “musician?”

14. Describe the ideal progression in medieval church music from musica instrumentalis to musica mundana to “unity and mystical ecstasy.” What group was left out of this experience? Against what dangers should this historical reality warn us today?

15. If it is possible to separate knowledge and emotion in music, which of the two was the greater focus of medieval music? How is this different than the norm today?

16. What was probably the first musical instrument to gain wide acceptance in Christian worship in the West? Why might this be so? When did it start to happen?

Chapter 9: Life and Song1. Why do you speculate the roughly 1000 years of history known as the

“dark ages” are often glossed over in church history (by both Protestants and Catholics)? What are some valuable historical developments that are missed if this mistake is made?

2. What characterizes a “Low Mass?”3. In what ways was the singing of the people curtailed in the Medieval

period?4. Describe the content of the “Prone” part of the Mass. How did this

help to re-engage the people in worship? 5. Even if an individual worshiper does not sing at church (and it is not

likely that they were ever entirely excluded), how might that person still be affected by the music that is used in worship?

6. What musical concerns did John of Salisbury, Aelred, Jacob of Liége, and Pope John XXII have? Do you recognize any of these concerns today?

7. In the section of this chapter titled “In the Midst of Earthly Life,” Westermeyer provides a short list of late Medieval and early Renaissance developments. In reading this list, what do you find interesting or surprising. Why do you think it struck you this way?

8. Briefly summarize the difference in approach to worship and prayer practiced at the monasteries of Cluny and Cîtreaux. How did these

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differences in approach manifest themselves in the worship practices (including music) of these communities?

9. What is a cantio? 10. What is a carol? 11. What characteristic of carols hints that they may have been

used as processionals?12. Why is it important to have a sense of people’s singing “around”

worship? How does this help our perspective?

Chapter 10: Sound, Silence, and Strictures1. After reading about Luther’s, Zwingli’s, and Calvin’s theologies and

their manifestations in the church’s music, please explain what you see as strengths and weaknesses of each approach.

2. How might an informed and thoughtful music leader bear out these strengths in his/her ministry while guarding against the weaknesses?

3. Describe the care with which Luther prepared the music of the German mass. What special steps did he take?

4. Again, who was Luther’s favorite composer?5. Briefly describe why Luther had such a high view of music (a

“theology of music”). There are at least four reasons. How is this different than the “musica speculative of the Pythagorean school?”

6. Westermeyer states: “To miss Luther’s catholic ecclesiology of music is to misunderstand Luther. He was evangelical, to be sure, but he was also catholic. And sound was central to both positions.” What does this statement mean?

7. What is a “contrafacta?”8. Westermeyer cites Erik Routley to establish that Luther did not rely

on popular music for his hymns, instead relating him more closely to the tradition of the German Minnesinger. Explain the distinction being drawn between “popular” and “popular.”

9. What two systems has the church basically used to discipline its reading so that a single person doesn’t simply choose his or her favorite themes week after week? What are they called and what do they mean?

10. What are the three points of Zwingli’s theology of music? Do you agree or disagree with each one? Why or why not?

11. What do you see as the largest similarity between the theologies of music of Luther and Calvin? The biggest difference?

12. For Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin, Westermeyer has tied their theology of music to their Eucharistic theology? Do you think this is helpful? Consider your own Eucharistic theology. Is it more in line with Luther, Zwingli, or Calvin? Does your theology of music fall similarly?

13. What is misleading about the statement: “Calvin stunted musical development by only allowing metrical, unison Psalms in church?” Why is this not completely accurate?

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14. Who was the first to publish a hymnal with the melody in the soprano voice? When was it published?

Chapter 11: A Wider Spectrum1. Explain the following terms: Counter-Reformation, Council of Trent.2. What similarities do you see between Trent’s provisions for church

music and those of Calvin and Luther?3. According to Westermeyer, why did “people several generations later

[not] forget the flap and come back together?4. What provisions did the Council of Trent make for the inclusion of

polyphony? What were some of the musical results?5. Briefly describe 2 or 3 of the difficulties the Roman Catholic church

faced in attempting to unify its musical voice in the 16th century.6. What is a Missa brevis? (Hint: It is only mentioned in the chapter; you

may need to look it up. There are at least two definitions of this form that you should be aware of.)

7. What is a “parody mass?” Where was it commonly practiced?8. Why is Anglicanism commonly dismissed among other Protestants

without appreciation for its “central spirit?”9. According to Westermeyer, what document serves as “the legacy of

the Anglican Reformation?” (Some might also argue that the King James Bible belongs in this category!) Why does he assign it such a high position of influence?

10. Briefly describe Thomas Cranmer’s role in the Anglican Reformation.

11. In what year was the Book of Common Prayer first published? In what year was it first musically notated? Think about this. Why do you think this is significant? What does it tell us about the natures of Christianity, prayer, worship, and song?

12. Roman Catholics have “masses” and “motets” as their polyphonic musical forms. What were the Anglican equivalents? Which two composers “stand at the head of both streams?”

13. What changes in the Anglican service were made during Oliver Cromwell’s stint as Lord Protector?

14. What book provided material for the English-speaking church to sing the Psalms for over 300 years? When was it first published, and who wrote it?

15. What two streams does Routley describe “on the way to the complete Sternhold-Hopkins Psalter of 1562?”

16. Please give the numerical definitions of the following meters and provide the name of a hymn from your hymnal that fits each meter: (Use the metrical index in your church hymnal to help you.)

a. Common Meterb. Double Common Meterc. Short Meterd. Long Meter

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17. How did Anglican publishing practice reflect a healthy universality to Christian faith?

18. Describe the three forms of Anglican worship isolated by Westermeyer.

19. What is the primary point of distinction in ecclesiology between churches of the Radical Reformation and the remainder of Christianity (Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and non-Separatist Reformed). What was the primary difference in practice?

20. What is one of the dangers of following the Radical Reformation approach to ecclesiology? How can one who holds such a view guard against this danger?

21. “The various positions about music in worship that come into view here were not matters of taste or semantics viewed superficially. They reflected critical confessional differences that grew out of what various groups thought about the church, its relation to the world, the Bible, Christ, God, and the faithfulness of God.” Can you describe at 3-5 different examples of churches or groups that have distinct ecclesiological differences that align with different approaches to music in worship? They can be from history, from modern times, from your own experience, or a mixture.

22. Who performed the first “rebaptism?” Where and when did this occur?

23. What was this man’s view of music in worship?24. Why do you think the Anabaptist tradition did not follow Grebel

in terms of music? 25. What is the Ausbund? How is it used in worship today?

Chapter 12: Controversies Over Psalm Singing1. Create a timeline from 1500 to 1700. On it, show (roughly to scale)

every English Psalter that Westermeyer lists in the first section of this chapter.

2. What situation caused the Puritan movement to begin in England? 3. What is the difference between Separatist Puritans and Non-

Separatist Puritans? 4. In what way did the Westminster Directory for the Publique Worship

of God of 1644 attempt to reconcile the Separatists and Non-Separatists with the mainstream Church of England?

5. What sort of singing was included in every Puritan order of service that Westermeyer mentions?

6. Why did Henry Barrowe and Robert Browne oppose the singing of metrical Psalms? Do you think his concern is justified? (Check out footnote 34 for a fuller [and more entertaining] explanation of Browne’s position.)

7. What sort of singing did John Smyth (a Separatist/early Baptist) allow in worship? Did this singing actually happen?

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8. Please list and briefly explain John Cotton’s four categories summarizing the central issues pertaining to Psalm-singing in the 17th century English church.

9. What is the difference between Particular Baptists and General Baptists?

10. Who is credited at having introduced hymn-singing (alongside Psalm-singing) into the worship of the Baptists?

11. Do you think that Quakers fall within the bounds of orthodoxy? Why or why not? Describe with some examples how the practice of Quakers in worship and in everyday life reflects their theology.

12. Westermeyer observes: “Vigilance is necessary not only for the song itself, but for the birthrights of all the singers.” Explain what he means by this.

13. How do modern Christians “practice congregational silent singing” (a misinterpretation of Col 3:16) today, even if they don’t claim to?

14. Why does Westermeyer say that “our danger may actually be closer to the Middle Ages than it is to the seventeenth century?”

15. “The musician turns out to be invisible in a way the preacher and preside are not.” Explain.

16. Be sure to read all of footnote 91. Do you believe that there should be a recognized musical “office” in the church? If so, do you believe it should be an office requiring ordination? Why or why not? (It’s okay if you’re not sure, but discuss the issue anyway. Doing so will put you in a rare position among church musicians today.)

17. Why is it impossible to be consistent if you oppose “set forms” in worship?

18. Read footnote 93 and the paragraph it comes from. Does it surprise you that there are real people out there who take words this seriously? Do you think it is good at times to be this critical? Why or why not?

19. Westermeyer quotes Karl Barth: “What we can and must say quite confidently is that the community which does not sing is not the community.” Yay or nay? Why?

20. Westermeyer gives three observations about what Christians may learn from Quaker worship. For each one, explain what elements or practices of Quaker worship provide the instruction:

a. It is not the presence or absence of externals that protect against formalism or guarantee depth of meaning.

b. To dispense with all outward forms is to dispense with the fundamentals of Christianity.

c. Silence is necessary and good.

Chapter 13: English Hymns1. Who is known as the “father of English hymnody?”

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2. List the four collections of Watts’ hymns that were published in the eighteenth century.

3. State Watts’ five arguments for the composition and use of new Christian hymns. For each one, state whether you agree with the argument or not, and if you see a weakness, please identify it.

4. How did Watts ensure that his hymns could be sung to already-known tunes?

5. How did Watts ensure that the content of his hymns would not be distorted by the common practice of “lining out?”

6. Explain the meaning of Westermeyer’s comment that in the eighteenth century, “sacramental renewal…was a central component of the Wesleyan movement.”

7. Explain how the term “Methodist” originated.8. Of John and Charles Wesley (brothers), who was the “primary hymn-

writer?”9. Why did the Puritan perspective at work in America end up yielding a

perspective that was so focused on a “once for all” watershed moment of conversion? Why does Westermeyer refer to this as an “out-Wesleying” of the Wesleys?

10. Explain the difference between a Wesleyan view of congregational song and a Separatist Puritan view. What body of song will likely dominate in each perspective?

11. How did John Wesley address the issue of hymn-books being published with text only?

12. What concern laid behind Wesley’s adamant demand that no one change his tunes?

13. What did Wesley do to help insure that congregations were musically literate? Do you think there is place in the church for this today?

Chapter 14: Music1. Who is the best-known Moravian hymn-writer? How did he become

associated with the Moravians?2. Describe, using several examples, the reason that “individual piety”

was “paradigmatic of the period” (the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries).

3. How did the term “Pietist” originate?4. What were some of the activities that extreme Pietists opposed?5. Friederich Schleiermacher (1768-1834) is known as the “father of

liberal theology.” Which of his statements, cited by Westermeyer, encapsulates this identity?

6. Describe how the liberal view (Schleiermacher’s) “unconsciously removed” music from the church?

7. “The point is that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the heart was moved to such a central place that music’s historic anchors

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to the church and its worship – carrying praise, prayer, the story, and proclaiming the word – were obscured or removed.” Explain.

8. Describe how both Pietism and Orthodoxy can become unbalanced, leading to different forms of “works-righteousness.”

9. Give some examples of musical forms that are sacred in their heritage, though free-standing concert works.

10. What is an oratorio? What is the most well-known oratorio?11. Distinguish a “Mass” from a “Requiem.” 12. What events are included in a “Passion?” What key event is

technically not part of the “Passion?” 13. According to Westermeyer, who, “more than anyone else…

symbolizes music that grows out of, yet moves beyond worship?” Why does he make this claim?

Chapter 15: American Developments1. To what event does Roman Catholicism trace its American roots?2. What was the first book with music printed in the Americas? When

was it printed? What tradition of Christianity does it represent?3. To which branch of Christianity did the pilgrims who landed at

Plymouth, Mass in 1620 belong? 4. What musical volume resulted from the combined efforts of Puritan

Separatists and non-Separatists in America to be more literal in the translation of sung Psalms?

5. What problem were the American “singing schools” introduced to address?

6. Describe some of the ways that singing schools exerted a considerable influence on America’s musical and cultural life.

7. Choral societies originated with church choirs, and church choirs largely trace their beginnings in America to singing schools. How does this fact bear on musical development in America generally, not just in the church?

8. Who is arguably the most famous American composer of the Colonial Period (famous for his “fuging tunes)?”

9. What form of music does Westermeyer imply “may ironically be one of the lasting contributions of the United States to human civilization?” Why does he call this “ironic?”

10. How did teaching people to sing “by note” contribute to both uniformity and diversity in the music of the American church?

Chapter 16: Revivalism, Liturgical Renewal, and Spirituals1. Where were the two American centers of the Second Great

Awakening? Describe the differences between these two centers and the forms that their “awakenings” took. What do you think contributed to these differences?

2. Asahel Nettleton apply wisdom and discretion to the use of hymns in revivalism and evangelistic services?

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3. What were the primary differences between Nettleton’s Village Hymns for Social Worship and its tunebook, Zion’s Harp and Finney’s The Christian Lyre. What motivations and perspectives caused these differences?

4. Ironically, what was the driving motivation behind Lowell Mason’s push to have music education in the public schools?

5. Where, how, and with whom did the first “gospel songs” and “gospel hymns” originate?

6. Why did the English know some gospel hymns as “Sankeys?” 7. Who partnered with Ira Sankey in revivalist activities in Chicago and

England? What modern institution bears his name?8. What publisher became the largest nineteenth-century publisher of

gospel hymnody? Who is the most famous hymn-writer whose work they published?

9. Westermeyer says: “The music of gospel hymnody employed triplets and dotted rhythms, predictable, melodies and harmonies, major keys, mild chromaticism, and no dissonance or musical argument to create tension.” Can you think of some gospel hymns that fit this description? Would you add any other adjectives of your own to describe this style?

10. If the American/English “revivalist” brand of Christianity distanced itself (intentionally or unintentionally) musically from the Church’s history, the Liturgical Renewal movement sought to rehabilitate the bonds of the modern church with its history. Briefly, explain how each of the following attempted to do so, and state what some of the affects of their efforts have been:

a. Solesmesb. Pope Pius Xc. Mercersburgd. Lutheran Ligurgical Renewale. The Oxford Movementf. The Cambridge-Camden Societyg. Thomas Helmoreh. John Mason Neale

11. How did the compilation and editing process of Hymns Ancient and Modern “pave the way for the rich ecumenical mix of hymns that has been typical of most hymnals since then?” Why have its hymn-tune pairings been so widely accepted?

12. Beginning with the African-American Spiritual, describe what styles and influences impacted the development of “Black Gospel” music in the early twentieth century. What musical characteristics are common to these styles/genres?

13. Describe the difference between standard musical notation and “shape-note” notation.

14. Why were Shakers so named? What is the most famous tune their tradition produced?

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15. What is the biggest similarity between the Shakers and the Mormons? Do you believe that these groups belong under the broadest umbrella of Christianity? Why or why not?

Chapter 17: Recurrent American Themes and Richer Textures1. Lowell Mason’s work had many lasting effects. What was one of the

most positive long-term effects? A negative effect?2. What is one possible positive effect of the trend that Westermeyer

calls “elitism” characterized by Hastings’ Dissertation on Musical Taste? What is a negative effect?

3. How was Ralph Vaughan Williams’ view more balanced than Hastings’?

4. In the section called “Immediacy and Sustenance,” Westermeyer points to a deeply seeded issue particular to American Christianity – namely, making the “occasional normative.” Where have you seen this in your own experience? Why can it be harmful? How can you help to guard against this potential harm in your own church?

5. Westermeyer says “It is possible for oppressors to sing the music of the oppressed and be liberated. However, when whites have tried…to imitate black music as if it were normative for all people all the time, they have often denied their own ethnic roots in an inverse self-hatred and racism of its own. It has left them more guilty and more paralyzed…” Explain what you think this means, and whether you agree and why or why not.”

6. What are some of the most significant schools that developed in America related to choral singing and church music?

7. What are some of the most famous societies that developed in America related to singing and church music?

8. Summarize the “twentieth century development” that Westermeyer illustrates in Ives.

9. In what ways have twentieth century technological developments influenced church music. What are some benefits and some potential problems with these influences?

Chapter 18: Postscript1. Create two timelines, one entitled “20th Century Church History:

Ecumenical Cooperation,” the other entitled “20th Century Church History: Sectarian Conflict.” Place on each timeline events, people, and movements that are significant to each category.

2. Why has the modern church in America failed to recognize and defend “intrinsicalness” in its music? How can you help to combat this in your congregation?

3. Read the final paragraph of the book several times. Either choose a sentence or phrase from it that you find to be representative of the main point of the book, or construct a short sentence or phrase of

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your own which summarizes the same content. Write that statement down, and explain why you chose it.

4. What idea or perspective have you encountered as new to you in reading this book?

5. How has your thinking about church music changed as a result of reading this book?

6. In what areas have you felt affirmed and solidified as a result of reading this book?

7. What do you plan to change about your practice of music ministry as a result of this course?

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