1.
Church music
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Church music is music written for performance in church, or any musical setting of ecclesiastical liturgy, or music set to words expressing propositions of a sacred nature, such as a hymn. Christianity began as a small, persecuted Jewish sect, the only record of communal song in the Gospels is the last meeting of the disciples before the Crucifixion. Outside the Gospels, there is a reference to St. Paul encouraging the Ephesians and Colossians to use psalms, hymns, antiphonal psalmody is the singing or musical playing of psalms by alternating groups of performers. The peculiar mirror structure of the Hebrew psalms makes it likely that the method originated in the services of the ancient Israelites. According to the historian Socrates of Constantinople, its introduction into Christian worship was due to Ignatius of Antioch, the use of instruments in early Christian music seems to have been frowned upon. In the late 4th or early 5th century St. Jerome wrote that a Christian maiden ought not even to know what a lyre or flute is like, or to what use it is put. The introduction of church music is traditionally believed to date from the time of the papacy of Pope Vitalian in the 7th century. Gregorian chant is the tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical chant of Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass. This musical form originated in Monastic life, in singing the Divine Service nine times a day at the proper hours was upheld according to the Rule of Saint Benedict. Singing psalms made up a part of the life in a monastic community, while a smaller group. In its long history Gregorian Chant has been subjected to many gradual changes and this practice continued into the lifetime of François Couperin, whose Organ Masses were meant to be performed with alternating homophonic Chant. Although it had fallen into disuse after the Baroque period, Chant experienced a revival in the 19th century in the Roman Catholic Church. The mass is a form of music that sets out the parts of the Eucharistic liturgy to music, for example, there are many Masses written in English for the Church of England. Music is an part of mass, it accompanies various rituals acts. Many Masses, especially later ones, were never intended to be performed during the celebration of an actual mass, generally, for a composition to be a full Mass, it must contain the following invariable five sections, which together constitute the Ordinary of the Mass. Kyrie Gloria Credo, the Nicene Creed Sanctus, the part of which, beginning with the word Benedictus, was often sung separately after the consecration. Agnus Dei The Requiem Mass is a version of the ordinary mass. Musical settings of the Requiem mass have a tradition in Western music
2.
Madrigal
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A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied, the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six and it is quite distinct from the Italian Trecento madrigal of the late 13th and 14th centuries, with which it shares only the name. Madrigals originated in Italy during the 1520s, unlike many strophic forms of the time, most madrigals were through-composed. In the madrigal, the composer attempted to express the emotion contained in each line, a frottola generally would consist of music set to stanzas of text, while madrigals were through-composed. However, some of the poems were used for both frottola and madrigals. The poetry of Petrarch in particular shows up in a variety of genres. In Italy, the madrigal was the most important secular form of music of its time, the madrigal reached its formal and historical zenith by the second half of the 16th century. English and German composers, too, took up the madrigal in its heyday, after the 1630s, the madrigal began to merge with the cantata and the dialogue. With the rise of opera in the early 17th century, the aria gradually displaced the madrigal, in the early 16th century, several humanistic trends converged which allowed the madrigal to form. First, there was a reawakened interest in use of Italian as a vernacular language, third, printed secular music had become widely available in Italy due to the recent invention of moveable type and the printing press. The music being written and sung, principally the frottola but also the ballata, canzonetta, and mascherata, was light and these popular music styles used repetition and soprano-dominated chordal textures, styles considerably more simple than those used by most of the resident composers of the Franco-Flemish school. Literary tastes were changing, and the more serious verse of Bembo and his school needed a means of expression more flexible and open than was available in the frottola. The first madrigals were written in Florence, either by native Florentines or by Franco-Flemish musicians in the employment of the Medici family, the madrigal did not replace the frottola right away, during the transitional decade of the 1520s, both frottole and madrigals were written and published. The first book of madrigals labeled as such was the Madrigali de diversi musici, libro de la Serena of Philippe Verdelot. Verdelot, a French composer, had written the pieces in the late 1520s and he included music by both Sebastiano and Costanzo Festa, as well as Maistre Jhan of Ferrara, in addition to his own music. They sold so well that Adrian Willaert made arrangements of some of works for single voice. Verdelot published madrigals for five and six voices as well, with the collection for six voices appearing in 1541, particularly popular was the first collection of madrigals by Jacques Arcadelt. Originally published in Venice, in 1539, it was reprinted throughout Europe for many years after, becoming the most often reprinted madrigal book of the entire era
3.
Singing
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Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality, rhythm, and a variety of vocal techniques. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist, Singers perform music that can be sung with or without accompaniment by musical instruments. Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians, such as a choir of singers or a band of instrumentalists, Singers may perform as soloists, or accompanied by anything from a single instrument up to a symphony orchestra or big band. Singing can be formal or informal, arranged or improvised and it may be done as a form of religious devotion, as a hobby, as a source of pleasure, comfort, or ritual, as part of music education, or as a profession. Excellence in singing requires time, dedication, instruction, and regular practice, if practice is done on a regular basis then the sounds can become more clear and strong. Professional singers usually build their careers around one specific genre, such as classical or rock. They typically take voice training provided by teachers or vocal coaches throughout their careers. Though these four mechanisms function independently, they are coordinated in the establishment of a vocal technique and are made to interact upon one another. During passive breathing, air is inhaled with the diaphragm while exhalation occurs without any effort, exhalation may be aided by the abdominal, internal intercostal and lower pelvis/pelvic muscles. Inhalation is aided by use of external intercostals, scalenes and sternocleidomastoid muscles, the pitch is altered with the vocal cords. With the lips closed, this is called humming, humans have vocal folds which can loosen, tighten, or change their thickness, and over which breath can be transferred at varying pressures. The shape of the chest and neck, the position of the tongue, any one of these actions results in a change in pitch, volume, timbre, or tone of the sound produced. Sound also resonates within different parts of the body and an individuals size, Singers can also learn to project sound in certain ways so that it resonates better within their vocal tract. This is known as vocal resonation, another major influence on vocal sound and production is the function of the larynx which people can manipulate in different ways to produce different sounds. These different kinds of function are described as different kinds of vocal registers. The primary method for singers to accomplish this is through the use of the Singers Formant and it has also been shown that a more powerful voice may be achieved with a fatter and fluid-like vocal fold mucosa. The more pliable the mucosa, the more efficient the transfer of energy from the airflow to the vocal folds, Vocal registration refers to the system of vocal registers within the voice. A register in the voice is a series of tones, produced in the same vibratory pattern of the vocal folds
4.
Beatboxing
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Beatboxing is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines using ones mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. It may also involve vocal imitation of turntablism, and other musical instruments, beatboxing today is connected with hip-hop culture, often referred to as the fifth element of hip-hop, although it is not limited to hip-hop music. The term beatboxing is sometimes used to refer to vocal percussion in general, examples include the Appalachian technique of eefing and the blues song Bye bye bird by Sonny Boy Williamson II. Many well-known performers used vocal percussion occasionally, even though this was not directly connected to the tradition that came to be known as beatboxing. Paul McCartneys That Would Be Something includes vocal percussion, pink Floyds Pow R. Toc H. also includes vocal percussion performed by the groups lead vocalist Syd Barrett. Jazz singers Bobby Mcferrin and Al Jarreau were very known for their vocal styles and techniques which have had great impact on techniques beatboxers use today. The term beatboxing is derived from the mimicry of the first generation of drum machines, Human beatboxing in hip-hop originated in the 1980s. Its early pioneers include Doug E. Wise inspired a new fan base of human beatboxers with his human turntable technique. The Internet has played a part in the popularity of modern beatboxing. Alex Tew started the first online community of beatboxers in 2000 under the banner of HUMANBEATBOX. COM, in 2001, Gavin Tyte, a member of this community created the worlds first tutorials and video tutorials on beatboxing. In 2003, the community held the worlds first Human Beatbox Convention in London featuring beatbox artists from all over the world, beatboxings current popularity is due in part to releases from artists such as Rahzel, RoxorLoops, Reeps One, and Alem. Sometimes, modern beatboxers will use their hand or another part of their body to extend the spectrum of sound effects and rhythm. Some have developed a technique that involves blowing and sucking air around their fingers to produce a realistic record scratching noise. Another hand technique includes the throat tap which involves the beatboxer tapping their fingers against their throat as they sing or hum. Today there is an increase in the variety in which we see beatboxing throughout musical culture, people have gone as far as adding beatboxing in with different instruments to create a completely different sound unlike any other. Artist Greg Patillo goes as far as adding in beatboxing while playing the flute to very iconic songs, Beatbox has become modernized and has even been seen in popular movies such as Pitch Perfect and Pitch Perfect 2. Beatbox Battle Network was founded in summer 2002 in Berlin, Germany as a non profit organization with the focus to support the global beatboxing community. It is specialized on culture marketing, live broadcasting and artist management, bBB3TV also known as Beatbox Battle Television produces the Beatbox Beatbox World Championship
5.
Barbershop music
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The melody is not usually sung by the tenor or baritone, except for an infrequent note or two to avoid awkward voice leading, in tags or codas, or when some appropriate embellishment can be created. One characteristic feature of harmony is the use of what is known as snakes and swipes. This is when a chord is altered by a change in one or more non-melodic voices, occasional passages may be sung by fewer than four voice parts. Female barbershop quartets are sometimes referred to as Sweet Adelines quartets, slower barbershop songs, especially ballads, often eschew a continuous beat, and notes are often held ad libitum. Barbershop singing is performed both by mens and womens groups, the elements of the style and the names of the voice parts are the same for both. Both of these characteristics are important in many styles of singing, for example, favored chords in the jazz style are characterized by intervals which dont audibly ring, such as diminished or augmented fifths. The effect is only on certain kinds of chords, and only when all voices are equally rich in harmonics. It is not heard in chords sounded on modern keyboard instruments, however, In practice, it seems that most leads rely on an approximation of an equal-tempered scale for the melody, to which the other voices adjust vertically in just intonation. What is prized is not so much the overtone itself, but a sound whose achievement is most easily recognized by the presence of the overtone. The precise synchrony of the waveforms of the four voices simultaneously creates the perception of a voice while at the same time melding the four voices into a unified sound. The ringing chord is different in sound from an ordinary musical chord e. g. as sounded on a tempered-scale keyboard instrument. Most elements of the revivalist style are related to the desire to produce these ringing chords, Barbershop arrangements stress chords and chord progressions that favor ringing, at the expense of suspended and diminished chords and other harmonic vocabulary of the ragtime and jazz forms. The dominant seventh-type chord is so important to barbershop harmony that it is called the barbershop seventh, BHS arrangers believe that a song should contain dominant seventh chords anywhere from 35 to 60 percent of the time to sound barbershop. Historically barbershoppers may have used the word minor chord in a way that is confusing to those with musical training, averill notes the hints of rapture, quasi-religion and erotic passion in the language used by barbershoppers to describe the emotional effect. He quotes Jim Ewin as reporting a tingling of the spine, the raising of the hairs on the back of the neck, the fifth note has almost mysterious propensities. Its the consummation devoutly wished by those of us who love Barbershop harmony, if you ask us to explain why we love it so, we are hard put to answer, thats where our faith takes over. Averill notes too the use of the language of addiction, theres this great big chord that gets people hooked, an early manual was entitled A Handbook for Adeline Addicts. He notes too that barbershoppers almost never speak of singing a chord, but almost always draw on a discourse of physical work and exertion, thus, they hit, chop, ring, crack, swipe, Vocal harmony is interpreted as an embodied musicking
6.
Collegiate a cappella
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The groups are typically composed of and operated and directed by students. In the context of collegiate a cappella, the term a cappella typically also refers to the music performed by pop-centric student singing groups. Consequently, an ensemble that sings unaccompanied classical music may not be considered an a cappella group, a cappella music as a form joined this early form with a later Puritan style, known as shape-note singing, which further extended into the American Gospel tradition. Further permutations leaked into the American pop landscape, today, by some accounts, there exist as many as “twelve hundred collegiate a cappella groups in the United States alone. ”It is not known exactly when or where collegiate a cappella began. The RPI Glee Club of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, established in 1873, was one of the earliest known collegiate a cappella groups, such names, normally intended for comedic effect, have come to define in some part the irreverent attitude found in modern collegiate a cappella. In recent years, online a cappella communities have burgeoned, allowing for greater discourse involving the shaping of modern a cappella music, among the most prominent online a cappella presences are The A Cappella Blog, Varsity Vocals, and CASA. According to The A Cappella Blog’s information section, “The A Cappella Blog was founded in January 2007, since that time, the site has reviewed over 40 International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella competitions. In addition, the site has featured interviews with over 50 a cappella groups and major figures in the a cappella community, including Ben Folds, Jerry Lawson, and Straight No Chaser. The A Cappella Blog has also published guest posts by a cappella luminaries such as Mickey Rapkin, Deke Sharon, Amanda Newman and Bill Hare. ”Similarly, according to their website, “owned and operated by Varsity Vocals, the competitions receive applications each fall. For groups accepted to the tournament, ICCA shows are held in three rounds – Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals, roughly, Quarterfinals are held in January and February, Semifinals in March, and Finals in April in New York City. ICHSA shows are held in Semifinal and Final rounds throughout the spring, culminating with Finals in April in New York City. ”College a cappella has grown rapidly since 1980. Deke Sharon, a member of the Tufts a cappella group The Beelzebubs, today, even some glee clubs have a largely pop-music repertoire supplemented only in small part by the traditional genres. Differences in musical styles and individual group preferences result in a diversity of music arrangements. Live performances of collegiate a cappella may incorporate choreographed movements, an arch sing is a casual, public performance, often held in an archway for reasons of acoustics and shelter from the weather. Typically, one or more a cappella groups will perform for a small audience, the term is also sometimes used to describe similar casual, outdoor performances not held under arches. Whereas groups at schools with older campuses find themselves with arches and naturally acoustically accentuated spaces in which to perform, most collegiate a cappella groups, whether all-male, all-female, or mixed, share similar traits. The groups often benefit from the talent of non-music majors who have significant experience with music, choral singing, participation in such groups provides both a social and creative outlet for students who are pursuing other academic fields. Groups are generally self-sustaining and often run by students
7.
Musical instrument
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A musical instrument is an instrument created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument, the history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have used for ritual, such as a trumpet to signal success on the hunt. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment, Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications. The date and origin of the first device considered an instrument is disputed. The oldest object that some refer to as a musical instrument. Some consensus dates early flutes to about 37,000 years ago, many early musical instruments were made from animal skins, bone, wood, and other non-durable materials. Musical instruments developed independently in many populated regions of the world, however, contact among civilizations caused rapid spread and adaptation of most instruments in places far from their origin. By the Middle Ages, instruments from Mesopotamia were in maritime Southeast Asia, development in the Americas occurred at a slower pace, but cultures of North, Central, and South America shared musical instruments. By 1400, musical instrument development slowed in areas and was dominated by the Occident. Musical instrument classification is a discipline in its own right, Instruments can be classified by their effective range, their material composition, their size, etc. However, the most common method, Hornbostel-Sachs, uses the means by which they produce sound. The academic study of instruments is called organology. Once humans moved from making sounds with their bodies—for example, by using objects to create music from sounds. Primitive instruments were designed to emulate natural sounds, and their purpose was ritual rather than entertainment. The concept of melody and the pursuit of musical composition were unknown to early players of musical instruments. A player sounding a flute to signal the start of a hunt does so without thought of the notion of making music. Musical instruments are constructed in an array of styles and shapes
8.
Accompaniment
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Accompaniment is the musical parts which provide the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of music, in homophonic music, the main accompaniment approach used in popular music, a clear vocal melody is supported by subordinate chords. In popular music and traditional music, the accompaniment parts typically provide the beat for the music, the accompaniment for a vocal melody or instrumental solo can be played by a single musician playing an instrument such as piano, pipe organ, or guitar. A solo singer can accompany herself by playing guitar or piano while she sings, and in rare cases. With choral music, the accompaniment to a vocal solo can be provided by other singers in the choir, accompaniment parts range from so simple that a beginner can play them to so complex that only an advanced player or singer can perform them. An accompanist is a musician who plays an accompaniment part, accompanists often play keyboard instruments (e. g. piano, pipe organ, synthesizer or, in folk music and traditional styles, a guitar. A number of classical pianists have found success as accompanists rather than soloists, arguably the best known example is Gerald Moore, the accompaniment instrumentalists and/or singers can be provided with a fully notated accompaniment part written or printed on sheet music. This is the norm in Classical music and in most large ensemble writing, chord-playing musicians can improvise chords, fill-in melodic lines and solos from the chord chart. It is rare for chords to be written out in music notation in pop. Some guitarists, bassists and other stringed instrumentalists read accompaniment parts using tabulature, drummers can play accompaniment by following the lead sheet, a sheet music part in music notation, or by playing by ear. In some cases, an arranger or composer may give a bassist a bass part that is written out in music notation. Comping Counter-melody Figure Figured bass Guitar picking Hauptstimme Strum The dictionary definition of accompaniment at Wiktionary
9.
Cantata
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A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sacred cantata, several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas. Johann Sebastian Bach composed cycles of cantatas for the occasions of the liturgical year. The term originated in the early 17th century simultaneously with opera, prior to that, all cultured music was vocal. With the rise of music the term appeared, while the instrumental art became sufficiently developed to be embodied in sonatas. From the beginning of the 17th century until late in the 18th, a cantata consisted first of a declamatory narrative or scene in recitative, held together by a primitive aria repeated at intervals. Fine examples may be found in the music of Giacomo Carissimi. With the rise of the da capo aria, the became a group of two or three arias joined by recitative. George Frideric Handels numerous Italian duets and trios are examples on a large scale. His Latin motet Silete Venti, for solo, shows the use of this form in church music. This is equally evident whether we examine the church cantatas of Bach, of which nearly 200 are extant. Cantatas were in demand for the services of the Lutheran church. Many secular cantatas were composed for events in the nobility and they were so similar in form to the sacred ones that many of them were parodied to sacred cantatas, for example in Bachs Christmas Oratorio. The term cantata came to be applied almost exclusively to choral works, Anton Bruckner composed several Name-day cantatas, a Festive Cantata and two secular cantatas. Brucknerss Psalm 146 is also in cantata form, mendelssohns Symphony Cantata, the Lobgesang, is a hybrid work, partly in the oratorio style. Robert Schumann wrote the cantata Paradise and the Peri, the full lyric possibilities of a string of choral songs were realized by Johannes Brahms in his Rinaldo, that—like the Walpurgisnacht—was set to a text by Goethe. The competition for the French Prix de Rome prescribed that each candidate submit a cantata, hector Berlioz failed in three attempts before finally winning in 1830 with Sardanapale. While almost all of the Prix de Rome cantatas have long since been forgotten, cantatas, both of the chamber variety and on a grand scale, were composed after 1900 as well
10.
Renaissance music
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Renaissance music is vocal and instrumental music written and performed in Europe during the Renaissance era. From this changing society emerged a common, unifying musical language, in particular the style of the Franco-Flemish school. The invention of the press in 1440 made it cheaper and easier to distribute music and musical theory texts on a wider geographic scale. Prior to the invention of printing, songs and music that were written down and music theory texts had to be hand-copied, demand for music as entertainment and as a leisure activity for educated amateurs increased with the emergence of a bourgeois class. These musicians were sought throughout Europe, particularly in Italy, where churches and aristocratic courts hired them as composers, performers. This reversed the situation from a hundred years earlier, opera, a dramatic staged genre in which singers are accompanied by instruments, arose at this time in Florence. Opera was developed as an attempt to resurrect the music of ancient Greece. Music was increasingly freed from constraints, and more variety was permitted in range, rhythm, harmony, form. In the Renaissance, music became a vehicle for personal expression, composers found ways to make vocal music more expressive of the texts they were setting. Secular music absorbed techniques from sacred music, and vice versa, popular secular forms such as the chanson and madrigal spread throughout Europe. Courts employed virtuoso performers, both singers and instrumentalists, Music also became more self-sufficient with its availability in printed form, existing for its own sake. Precursor versions of familiar modern instruments developed into new forms during the Renaissance. These instruments were modified to responding to the evolution of musical ideas, Early forms of modern woodwind and brass instruments like the bassoon and trombone also appeared, extending the range of sonic color and increasing the sound of instrumental ensembles. From the Renaissance era, notated secular and sacred music survives in quantity, including vocal and instrumental works, an enormous diversity of musical styles and genres flourished during the Renaissance. These can be heard on recordings made in the 20th and 21st century, including masses, motets, madrigals, chansons, accompanied songs, instrumental dances, beginning in the late 20th century, numerous early music ensembles were formed. One of the most pronounced features of early Renaissance European art music was the reliance on the interval of the third. Polyphony – the use of multiple, independent melodic lines, performed simultaneously – became increasingly elaborate throughout the 14th century, the beginning of the 15th century showed simplification, with the composers often striving for smoothness in the melodic parts. The modal characteristics of Renaissance music began to break down towards the end of the period with the use of root motions of fifths or fourths
11.
Polyphony
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Within the context of the Western musical tradition, the term polyphony is usually used to refer to music of the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Baroque forms such as fugue, which might be called polyphonic, are usually described instead as contrapuntal. In all cases the conception was probably what Margaret Bent calls dyadic counterpoint, with part being written generally against one other part. The term polyphony is also used more broadly, to describe any musical texture that is not monophonic. Such a perspective considers homophony as a sub-type of polyphony, traditional polyphony has a wide, if uneven, distribution among the peoples of the world. Most polyphonic regions of the world are in sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and it is believed that the origins of polyphony in traditional music vastly predate the emergence of polyphony in European professional music. Currently there are two approaches to the problem of the origins of vocal polyphony, the Cultural Model. Although the exact origins of polyphony in the Western church traditions are unknown,900, are usually considered the oldest extant written examples of polyphony. These treatises provided examples of two-voice note-against-note embellishments of chants using parallel octaves, fifths, rather than being fixed works, they indicated ways of improvising polyphony during performance. 1000, is the oldest extant example of notated polyphony for chant performance, European polyphony rose out of melismatic organum, the earliest harmonization of the chant. Twelfth-century composers, such as Léonin and Pérotin developed the organum that was introduced centuries earlier, the lyrics of love poems might be sung above sacred texts in the form of a trope, or the sacred text might be placed within a familiar secular melody. The oldest surviving piece of music is the English rota Sumer is icumen in. These musical innovations appeared in a context of societal change. After the first millennium, European monks decided to start translating the works of Greek philosophers into the vernacular, Western Europeans were aware of Plato, Socrates, and Hippocrates during the Middle Ages. However they had largely lost touch with the content of their surviving works because the use of Greek as a language was restricted to the lands of the Eastern Roman Empire. Once these ancient works started being translated thus becoming accessible, the philosophies had a impact on the mind of Western Europe. This sparked a number of innovations in medicine, science, art, European polyphony rose prior to, and during the period of the Western Schism. Avignon, the seat of the antipopes, was a center of secular music-making
12.
Baroque (music)
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Baroque music is a style of Western art music composed from approximately 1600 to 1750. This era followed the Renaissance music era, and was followed in turn by the Classical era, Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed, and listened to. The Baroque period saw the creation of tonality, an approach to writing music in which a song or piece is written in a particular key, during the Baroque era, professional musicians were expected to be accomplished improvisers of both solo melodic lines and accompaniment parts. A characteristic Baroque form was the dance suite, while the pieces in a dance suite were inspired by actual dance music, dance suites were designed for listening, not for accompanying dancers. During the period, composers and performers used more elaborate ornamentation, made changes in musical notation. Many musical terms and concepts from this era, such as toccata, fugue, dense, complex polyphonic music, in which multiple independent melody lines were performed simultaneously, was an important part of many Baroque choral and instrumental works. The word baroque comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning misshapen pearl, the term Baroque is generally used by music historians to describe a broad range of styles from a wide geographic region, mostly in Europe, composed over a period of approximately 150 years. The systematic application by historians of the baroque to music of this period is a relatively recent development. In 1919, Curt Sachs became the first to apply the five characteristics of Heinrich Wölfflins theory of the Baroque systematically to music, all of these efforts resulted in appreciable disagreement about time boundaries of the period, especially concerning when it began. In English the term acquired currency only in the 1940s, in the writings of Bukofzer, nevertheless, the term has become widely used and accepted for this broad range of music. It may be helpful to distinguish the Baroque from both the preceding and following periods of musical history, the Baroque period is divided into three major phases, early, middle, and late. Although they overlap in time, they are dated from 1580 to 1630, from 1630 to 1680. In reference to music, they based their ideals on a perception of Classical musical drama that valued discourse, the early realizations of these ideas, including Jacopo Peris Dafne and LEuridice, marked the beginning of opera, which were a catalyst for Baroque music. Concerning music theory, the widespread use of figured bass represents the developing importance of harmony as the linear underpinnings of polyphony. Harmony is the end result of counterpoint, and figured bass is a representation of those harmonies commonly employed in musical performance. With figured bass, numbers, accidentals or symbols were placed above the bassline that was read by keyboard instrument players such as players or pipe organists. The numbers, accidentals or symbols indicated to the player what intervals she should play above each bass note. The keyboard player would improvise a chord voicing for each bass note and this led to the idea that certain sequences of chords, rather than just notes, could provide a sense of closure at the end of a piece—one of the fundamental ideas that became known as tonality
13.
Alla breve
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Alla breve is a musical meter notated by the time signature symbol, which is the equivalent of 22. The term is Italian for in the style of the breve, alla breve is a simple-duple meter with a half-note pulse. The note denomination which represents one beat in is the minim or half-note, there are two of these per bar, so that the time signature 22 may be interpreted as two minim beats per bar. In Italian, breve means short, and alla breve is also known as cut time or cut common time, in contemporary usage ala breve suggests a fairly quick tempo. Thus, it is used frequently for military marches, from about 1600 to 1900 its usage with regard to tempo varied, so it cannot always be taken to mean a quick tempo. The reason for the usage of alla breve is to allow the musician to read notes of short duration more cleanly with fewer beats. Prior to 1600 the term alla breve derives from the system of mensural or proportional notation in which values were related by the ratio 2,1. In this context it means that the tactus or metrical pulse is switched from its place on the whole note to the double whole note. Early music notation was developed by religious orders, which has resulted in religious associations in notation. The most obvious is that music in time was called tempus perfectum, deriving its name from the Holy Trinity and represented by the perfect circle. Music in duple time was called tempus imperfectum. Its symbol was the circle, which is still used — although it has evolved to mean 44, or common time. When cut through by a line, it means 22 — cut common. It sometimes had other functions, including non-mensural ones, the following is an example with the same rhythm notated in 22 and in 44, Randel, Don Michael. Harvard dictionary of music, fourth edition, cambridge, Massachusetts, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd edition, the Contemporary Keyboardist, Hal Leonard Corporation, ISBN 0-634-01091-3
14.
Anasheed
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A nasheed is a work of vocal music that is either sung a cappella or accompanied by percussion instruments such as the daf. This is because many Muslim scholars state that Islam prohibits the use of musical instruments except for some basic percussion, anasheed are popular throughout the Islamic world. The material and lyrics of a nasheed usually make reference to Islamic beliefs, history, some Ulama argue that the use of musical instruments is implicitly prohibited in the Ahadith. The founders of all four of the major madhabs – schools of thought in Islam – as well as other prominent scholars, have debated the legitimacy. Another Islamic scholar, Ibn Taymiyyah, once said that music is like alcohol to the soul, a majority of Muslim scholars traditionally have held that at least some music with some of its instruments are Haraam, sinful by the hadith, as well as by tradition. There are, of course, those who reject such claims, citing revealed scriptures, earlier prophets, and the example of Mohammed in the appreciation of the musical arts. Allah will destroy them during the night and will let the mountain fall on them, however, the isnad of this hadith includes Hisham ibn Ammar, who is not considered trustworthy. A new generation of nasheed artists use a variety of musical instruments in their art. Many new nasheed artists are non-Arabs and sing in different languages, some nasheed bands are Native Deen, Outlandish and Raihan. Arabic nasheed artists – or Munshids – include Abu Mazen, Abu Rateb, Abu Al joud, thibon, Jean-Jacques, Inshad, in Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture, An Encyclopedia of the Prophet of God, Edited by C. Fitzpatrick and A. Walker, Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO,2014, Vol. I, pp. 294–298
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Gregorian chant
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Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic, unaccompanied sacred song of the western Roman Catholic Church. Gregorian chant developed mainly in western and central Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries, although popular legend credits Pope St. Gregory the Great with inventing Gregorian chant, scholars believe that it arose from a later Carolingian synthesis of Roman chant and Gallican chant. Gregorian chants were organized initially into four, then eight, the scale patterns are organized against a background pattern formed of conjunct and disjunct tetrachords, producing a larger pitch system called the gamut. The chants can be sung by using six-note patterns called hexachords, Gregorian melodies are traditionally written using neumes, an early form of musical notation from which the modern four-line and five-line staff developed. Multi-voice elaborations of Gregorian chant, known as organum, were a stage in the development of Western polyphony. Gregorian chant was sung by choirs of men and boys in churches. It is the music of the Roman Rite, performed in the Mass, although Gregorian chant is no longer obligatory, the Roman Catholic Church still officially considers it the music most suitable for worship. During the 20th century, Gregorian chant underwent a musicological and popular resurgence, singing has been part of the Christian liturgy since the earliest days of the Church. Until the mid-1990s, it was accepted that the psalmody of ancient Jewish worship significantly influenced and contributed to early Christian ritual. However, early Christian rites did incorporate elements of Jewish worship that survived in later chant tradition, canonical hours have their roots in Jewish prayer hours. Amen and alleluia come from Hebrew, and the threefold sanctus derives from the threefold kadosh of the Kedushah, the New Testament mentions singing hymns during the Last Supper, When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives Matthew 26.30. The 3rd-century Greek Oxyrhynchus hymn survived with musical notation, but the connection between this hymn and the plainchant tradition is uncertain, musical elements that would later be used in the Roman Rite began to appear in the 3rd century. The Apostolic Tradition, attributed to the theologian Hippolytus, attests the singing of Hallel psalms with Alleluia as the refrain in early Christian agape feasts, around 375, antiphonal psalmody became popular in the Christian East, in 386, St. Ambrose introduced this practice to the West. In the fifth century, a school, the Schola Cantorum, was founded at Rome to provide training in church musicianship. Scholars are still debating how plainchant developed during the 5th through the 9th centuries, around 410, St. Augustine described the responsorial singing of a Gradual psalm at Mass. 520, Benedict of Nursia established what is called the rule of St. Benedict, around 678, Roman chant was taught at York. Distinctive regional traditions of Western plainchant arose during this period, notably in the British Isles, Spain, Gaul and these traditions may have evolved from a hypothetical year-round repertory of 5th-century plainchant after the western Roman Empire collapsed. John the Deacon, biographer of Pope Gregory I, modestly claimed that the saint compiled a patchwork antiphonary, unsurprisingly and he reorganized the Schola Cantorum and established a more uniform standard in church services, gathering chants from among the regional traditions as widely as he could manage
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Baroque music
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Baroque music is a style of Western art music composed from approximately 1600 to 1750. This era followed the Renaissance music era, and was followed in turn by the Classical era, Baroque music forms a major portion of the classical music canon, being widely studied, performed, and listened to. The Baroque period saw the creation of tonality, an approach to writing music in which a song or piece is written in a particular key, during the Baroque era, professional musicians were expected to be accomplished improvisers of both solo melodic lines and accompaniment parts. A characteristic Baroque form was the dance suite, while the pieces in a dance suite were inspired by actual dance music, dance suites were designed for listening, not for accompanying dancers. During the period, composers and performers used more elaborate ornamentation, made changes in musical notation. Many musical terms and concepts from this era, such as toccata, fugue, dense, complex polyphonic music, in which multiple independent melody lines were performed simultaneously, was an important part of many Baroque choral and instrumental works. The word baroque comes from the Portuguese word barroco, meaning misshapen pearl, the term Baroque is generally used by music historians to describe a broad range of styles from a wide geographic region, mostly in Europe, composed over a period of approximately 150 years. The systematic application by historians of the baroque to music of this period is a relatively recent development. In 1919, Curt Sachs became the first to apply the five characteristics of Heinrich Wölfflins theory of the Baroque systematically to music, all of these efforts resulted in appreciable disagreement about time boundaries of the period, especially concerning when it began. In English the term acquired currency only in the 1940s, in the writings of Bukofzer, nevertheless, the term has become widely used and accepted for this broad range of music. It may be helpful to distinguish the Baroque from both the preceding and following periods of musical history, the Baroque period is divided into three major phases, early, middle, and late. Although they overlap in time, they are dated from 1580 to 1630, from 1630 to 1680. In reference to music, they based their ideals on a perception of Classical musical drama that valued discourse, the early realizations of these ideas, including Jacopo Peris Dafne and LEuridice, marked the beginning of opera, which were a catalyst for Baroque music. Concerning music theory, the widespread use of figured bass represents the developing importance of harmony as the linear underpinnings of polyphony. Harmony is the end result of counterpoint, and figured bass is a representation of those harmonies commonly employed in musical performance. With figured bass, numbers, accidentals or symbols were placed above the bassline that was read by keyboard instrument players such as players or pipe organists. The numbers, accidentals or symbols indicated to the player what intervals she should play above each bass note. The keyboard player would improvise a chord voicing for each bass note and this led to the idea that certain sequences of chords, rather than just notes, could provide a sense of closure at the end of a piece—one of the fundamental ideas that became known as tonality
17.
Josquin des Prez
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Josquin des Prez, often referred to simply as Josquin, was a French composer of the Renaissance. His motet Illibata Dei virgo nutrix includes an acrostic of his name and he was the most famous European composer between Guillaume Dufay and Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, and is usually considered to be the central figure of the Franco-Flemish School. Josquin is widely considered by scholars to be the first master of the high Renaissance style of polyphonic vocal music that was emerging during his lifetime. During the 16th century, Josquin gradually acquired the reputation as the greatest composer of the age, his mastery of technique and he was so admired that many anonymous compositions were attributed to him by copyists, probably to increase their sales. The lives of dozens of less revered Renaissance composers are better documented than that of Josquin, Josquin wrote both sacred and secular music, and in all of the significant vocal forms of the age, including masses, motets, chansons and frottole. During the 16th century, he was praised for both his supreme melodic gift and his use of technical devices. Heinrich Glarean wrote in 1547 that Josquin was not only a magnificent virtuoso but capable of being a mocker, little is known for certain of Josquins early life. Much is inferential and speculative, though numerous clues have emerged from his works and the writings of contemporary composers, theorists, and writers of the next several generations. Josquin was long mistaken for a man with a name, Josquin de Kessalia, born around the year 1440. More recent scholarship has shown that Josquin des Prez was born around 1450 or a few years later, around 1466, perhaps on the death of his father, Josquin was named by his uncle and aunt, Gille Lebloitte dit Desprez and Jacque Banestonne, as their heir. Their will gives Josquins actual surname as Lebloitte, according to Matthews and Merkley, des Prez was a nickname. Doubt has been cast on the accuracy of Hémerés account, however, both Jean Mouton and Loyset Compère were buried there and it is certainly possible that Josquin acquired his later connections with the French royal chapel through early experiences at Saint-Quentin. The first definite record of his employment is dated 19 April 1477 and he remained there at least until 1478. One of Josquins early motets, Misericordias Domini in aeternum cantabo, suggests a connection with Louis XI. In either 1483 or 1484, Josquin is known to have been in the service of the Sforza family in Milan and he was in Milan again in 1489, after a possible period of travel, but he left that year. From 1489 to 1495, Josquin was a member of the choir, first under Pope Innocent VIII. He may have gone there as part of an exchange with Gaspar van Weerbeke. While there, he may have been the one who carved his name into the wall of the Sistine Chapel, a JOSQUINJ was recently revealed by workers restoring the chapel
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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
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Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian Renaissance composer of sacred music and the best-known 16th-century representative of the Roman School of musical composition. He had a influence on the development of church music. Palestrina was born in the town of Palestrina, near Rome, documents suggest that he first visited Rome in 1537, when he is listed as a chorister at the Santa Maria Maggiore basilica. He studied with Robin Mallapert and Firmin Lebel and he spent most of his career in the city. Italy itself had yet to produce anyone of comparable fame or skill in polyphony, from 1544 to 1551, Palestrina was the organist of the Cathedral of St. Agapito, the principal church of his native city. This book of Masses was the first by a composer, since in the Italian states of Palestrinas day, most composers of sacred music were from the Low Countries, France, Portugal. In fact the book was modeled on one by Cristóbal de Morales, during the next decade, Palestrina held positions similar to his Julian Chapel appointment at other chapels and churches in Rome, notably St John Lateran, and St Mary Major. In 1571 he returned to the Julian Chapel and remained at St Peters for the rest of his life, the decade of the 1570s was difficult for him personally, he lost his brother, two of his sons, and his wife in three separate outbreaks of the plague. He seems to have considered becoming a priest at this time, but instead he remarried and this finally gave him financial independence and he was able to compose prolifically until his death. He died in Rome of pleurisy in 1594, as was usual, Palestrina was buried on the same day he died, in a plain coffin with a lead plate on which was inscribed Libera me Domine. A five-part psalm for three choirs was sung at the funeral, Palestrinas funeral was held at St. Peters, and he was buried beneath the floor of the basilica. His tomb was covered by new construction and attempts to locate the site have been unsuccessful. Palestrina left hundreds of compositions, including 105 masses,68 offertories, at least 140 madrigals, in addition, there are at least 72 hymns,35 magnificats,11 litanies, and four or five sets of lamentations. The Gloria melody from a Palestrina magnificat is widely used today in the hymn tune. He published just two collections of madrigals with profane texts, one in 1555 and another in 1586, the other two collections were spiritual madrigals, a genre beloved by the proponents of the Counter-Reformation. Palestrinas masses show how his style developed over time. His Missa sine nomine seems to have been attractive to Johann Sebastian Bach. Most of Palestrinas masses appeared in thirteen volumes printed between 1554 and 1601, the last seven published after his death, one of his most important works, the Missa Papae Marcelli, has been historically associated with erroneous information involving the Council of Trent
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Johann Sebastian Bach
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Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. Bachs compositions include the Brandenburg Concertos, the Goldberg Variations, the Mass in B minor and his music is revered for its technical command, artistic beauty, and intellectual depth. He is now regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time. Bach was born in Eisenach, in the duchy of Saxe-Eisenach and his father Johann Ambrosius Bach was the director of the town musicians, and all of his uncles were professional musicians. His father probably taught him to play the violin and harpsichord, apparently at his own initiative, Bach attended St. Michaels School in Lüneburg for two years. He received the title of Royal Court Composer from Augustus III in 1736, Bachs health and vision declined in 1749, and he died on 28 July 1750. Johann Sebastian Bach was born in Eisenach, the capital of the duchy of Saxe-Eisenach, in present-day Germany and he was the son of Johann Ambrosius Bach, the director of the town musicians, and Maria Elisabeth Lämmerhirt. He was the eighth and youngest child of Johann Ambrosius, who taught him violin. His uncles were all musicians, whose posts included church organists, court chamber musicians. One uncle, Johann Christoph Bach, introduced him to the organ, Bachs mother died in 1694, and his father died eight months later. The 10-year-old Bach moved in with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach, there he studied, performed, and copied music, including his own brothers, despite being forbidden to do so because scores were so valuable and private and blank ledger paper of that type was costly. He received valuable teaching from his brother, who instructed him on the clavichord, also during this time he was taught theology, Latin, Greek, French and Italian at the local gymnasium. By 3 April 1700 Bach and his schoolfriend Georg Erdmann–who was two years Bachs elder–were enrolled in the prestigious St. Michaels School in Lüneburg, some two weeks travel north of Ohrdruf and their journey was probably undertaken mostly on foot. His two years there were critical in exposing Bach to a range of European culture. In addition to singing in the choir, he played the Schools three-manual organ and he came into contact with sons of aristocrats from northern Germany, sent to the highly selective school to prepare for careers in other disciplines. While in Lüneburg, Bach had access to St. Johns Church and possibly used the famous organ from 1553. His role there is unclear, but it probably included menial, non-musical duties, despite strong family connections and a musically enthusiastic employer, tension built up between Bach and the authorities after several years in the post. Bach was dissatisfied with the standard of singers in the choir and he called one of them a Zippel Fagottist
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Mass in B minor
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The Mass in B minor by Johann Sebastian Bach is a musical setting of the complete Ordinary of the Latin Mass. The work was one of Bachs last compositions, not completed until 1749, much of the Mass gave new form to vocal music that Bach had composed throughout his career, dating back to 1714, but extensively revised. To complete the work, in the late 1740s Bach composed new sections of the Credo such as Et incarnatus est and it was unusual for composers working in the Lutheran tradition to compose a Missa tota and Bachs motivations remain a matter of scholarly debate. The Mass was never performed in its entirety during Bachs lifetime, since the nineteenth century it has been widely hailed as one of the greatest compositions in musical history, and today it is frequently performed and recorded. Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach archived this work as the Great Catholic Mass, on 1 February 1733, Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and Elector of Saxony, died. Five months of mourning followed, during all public music-making was suspended. Bach used the opportunity to work on the composition of a Missa and his aim was to dedicate the work to the new sovereign Augustus III, a Catholic, with the hope of obtaining the title Electoral Saxon Court Composer”. The petition did not meet immediate success, but Bach eventually got his title. In the last years of his life, Bach expanded the Missa into a setting of the Latin Ordinary. It is not known what prompted this creative effort, however, the building was not completed until 1751 and Bachs death in July 1750 prevented his Mass from being submitted for use at the dedication. Instead, Johann Adolph Hasses Mass in D minor was performed, the chronology of the Mass in B minor has attracted extensive scholarly attention. Recent literature suggests, In 1724, Bach composed a Sanctus for six parts for use in the Christmas service. Bach revised it when he reused it in the Mass, changing its initial meter from ₵ to C and it is possible that the Kyrie was meant as mourning music for Augustus II, and the Gloria as celebratory of the accession of Augustus III. Bach re-used two movements from the Gloria in a cantata for Christmas Day, gregory Butler argues that at the same service, Bach also used the 1724 Sanctus, and that this revisiting of the 1733 Missa suggested further development to the composer. In the last three years or so of his life, Bach wrote/assembled the Symbolum Nicenum and the remainder of the work, many scholars, including Christoph Wolff, believe he did so in 1748–49. This dating in part reflects the scholarship of Yoshitake Kobayashi, who dates the Symbolum Nicenum section to August –October 1748 based on Bachs increasingly stiff, Wolff among others argues that the Et incarnatus est movement was Bachs last significant composition. The words had been included in the duet, but then Bach decided to treat them as a separate movement for the choir, giving the words extra weight. C. P. E. Bach later reported that he performed this Magnificat in 1749 in Leipzig at a Marian festival, during the lifetime of his now-deceased father
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Claudio Monteverdi
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Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi was an Italian composer, gambist, singer, and Catholic priest. Monteverdi is considered a transitional figure between the Renaissance and the Baroque periods of music history. Monteverdi wrote one of the earliest operas, LOrfeo, which is the earliest surviving opera still regularly performed, Claudio Monteverdi was born in 1567 in Cremona, Duchy of Milan. His father was Baldassare Monteverdi, a doctor, apothecary and amateur surgeon and he was the oldest of five children. During his childhood, he was taught by MarcAntonio Ingegneri, the maestro di cappella at the Cathedral of Cremona, the Maestro’s job was to conduct important worship services in accordance with the liturgy of the Catholic Church. Monteverdi learned about music as a member of the cathedral choir and he also studied at the University of Cremona. His first music was written for publication, including some motets and sacred madrigals, in 1582 and 1583. His first five publications were, Sacrae cantiunculae,1582, Madrigali Spirituali,1583, Canzonette a tre voci,1584, and the five-part madrigals Book I,1587, and Book II,1590. He worked at the court of Vincenzo I of Gonzaga in Mantua as a vocalist and viol player, in 1602, he was working as the court conductor and Vincenzo appointed him master of music on the death of Benedetto Pallavicino. In 1599 Monteverdi married the court singer Claudia Cattaneo, who died in September 1607 and they had two sons and a daughter. Another daughter died shortly after birth, in 1610 he moved to Rome, arriving in secret, hoping to present his music to Pope Paul V. His Vespers were printed the year, but his planned meeting with the Pope never took place. In 1612 Vincenzo died and was succeeded by his eldest son Francesco, heavily in debt, due to the profligacy of his father, Francesco sacked Monteverdi and he spent a year in Mantua without any paid employment. His 1607 opera LOrfeo was dedicated to Francesco, the title page of the opera bears the dedication Al serenissimo signor D. Francesco Gonzaga, Prencipe di Mantoua, & di Monferato, &c. By 1613, he had moved to San Marco in Venice where and he quickly restored the musical standard of both the choir and the instrumentalists. The musical standard had declined due to the mismanagement of his predecessor. The managers of the basilica were relieved to have such a musician in charge. In 1632, he became a priest, Lincoronazione especially is considered a culminating point of Monteverdis work
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Passion of Jesus
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Those parts of the four Gospels that describe these events, as well as the non-canonical Gospel of Peter, are known as the Passion narratives. In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church, the Passion is commemorated in Holy Week, beginning on Friday of Sorrows, the Palm Sunday and culminating on his death on Good Friday. The word passion has taken on a more general application and now may also apply to accounts of the suffering and death of Christian martyrs. The accounts of the Passion are found in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke. Three of these, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, known as the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John accounts varies slightly. The events include, The conspiracy against Jesus by the Jewish Sanhedrin priests, triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his anger and outburst at the Cleansing of the Temple A meal a few days before Passover. He says that for this she always be remembered. In Jerusalem, the Last Supper shared by Jesus and his disciples, Jesus gives final instructions, predicts his betrayal, and tells them all to remember him. On the path to Gethsemane after the meal, Jesus tells them they will all fall away that night, after Peter protests he will not, Jesus says Peter will deny him three times before the cock crows. Gethsemane, later that night, Jesus prays, meanwhile, the disciples rest, during the arrest in Gethsemane, someone takes a sword and cuts off the ear of the high priests servant, Malchus. The high priests palace, later that night, According to Matthews Gospel, the court then spat in his face and struck him with their fists. They then send him to Pontius Pilate, According to the synoptic gospels, the high priest who examines Jesus is Caiaphas, in John, Jesus is also interrogated by Annas, Caiaiphas father-in-law. The courtyard outside the high palace, the same time. Peter has followed Jesus and joined the mob awaiting Jesus’ fate, they suspect he is a sympathizer, suddenly, the cock crows and Peter remembers what Jesus had said. Pilate, the Roman governor, examines Jesus, decides he is innocent, the Jewish leaders and the crowd demand Jesus’ death, Pilate gives them the choice of saving Barabbas, in response to the screaming mob Pilate sends Jesus out to be crucified. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Judas, the betrayer, is filled with remorse, when the high priests say that that is his affair, Judas throws the money into the temple, goes off, and hangs himself. Golgotha, a hill outside Jerusalem, later morning through mid afternoon, the Gospel of Luke states that Pilate sends Jesus to be judged by Herod Antipas because as a Galilean he is under his jurisdiction. Herod is excited at first to see Jesus and hopes Jesus will perform a miracle for him, he asks Jesus several questions, Herod then mocks him and sends him back to Pilate after giving him an elegant robe to wear
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Matthew the Apostle
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Matthew the Apostle was, according to the Christian Bible, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to Christian tradition, one of the four Evangelists. Matthew may have collected taxes from the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas, Matthew is also listed among the twelve, but without identification of his background, in Mark 3,18, Luke 6,15 and Acts 1,13. Matthew was a 1st-century Galilean, the son of Alpheus, as a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic and Greek. His fellow Jews would have despised him for what was seen as collaborating with the Roman occupation force, after his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners and this prompted Jesus to answer, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The New Testament records that as a disciple, he followed Jesus, and was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection, afterwards, the disciples withdrew to an upper room in Jerusalem. The disciples remained in and about Jerusalem and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, in the Babylonian Talmud Mattai is one of five disciples of Jeshu. Later Church fathers such as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria claim that Matthew preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in Judea, ancient writers are not agreed as to what these other countries are. The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church each hold the tradition that Matthew died as a martyr, the Gospel of Matthew is anonymous, the author is not named within the text, and the superscription according to Matthew was added some time in the second century. The consensus is that Papias does not describe the Gospel of Matthew as we know it, in the 3rd-century Jewish–Christian gospels attributed to Matthew were used by Jewish–Christian groups such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Fragments of these survive in quotations by Jerome, Epiphanius. Most academic study follows the distinction of Gospel of the Nazarenes, Gospel of the Ebionites, critical commentators generally regard these texts as having been composed in Greek and related to Greek Matthew. A minority of commentators consider them to be fragments of a lost Aramaic or Hebrew language original, the Infancy Gospel of Matthew is a 7th-century compilation of three other texts, the Protevangelium of James, the Flight into Egypt, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Origen said the first Gospel was written by Matthew and this Gospel was composed in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and translated into Greek, but the Greek copy was lost. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea, the Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome which he used in his work. Matthews Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles, however, this has been challenged by modern biblical scholars such as Bart Ehrman and James R. Edwards. This Gospel has been preserved in the writings of the Church Fathers. Epiphanius does not make his own the claim about a Gospel of the Hebrews written by Matthew, Matthew is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches
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Luke the Evangelist
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Luke the Evangelist is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical Gospels. The New Testament mentions Luke briefly a few times, and the Pauline epistle to the Colossians refers to him as a doctor, Christians since the faiths early years have regarded him as a saint. He is believed to have been a martyr, reportedly as having been hanged in an olive tree, though some believe otherwise. Many scholars believe that Luke was a Greek physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch in Ancient Syria, though other scholars. Bart Koet for instance considered it as widely accepted that the theology of Luke–Acts points to a gentile Christian writing for a gentile audience, gregory Sterling though, claims that he was either a Hellenistic Jew or a god-fearer. His earliest notice is in Pauls Epistle to Philemon—Philemon 1,24 and he is also mentioned in Colossians 4,14 and 2Timothy 4,11, two works commonly ascribed to Paul. He had become a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his martyrdom, having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at the age of 84 years. If one accepts that Luke was in fact the author of the Gospel bearing his name and also the Acts of the Apostles, the we section of Acts continues until the group leaves Philippi, when his writing goes back to the third person. This change happens again when the returns to Philippi. There are three we sections in Acts, all following this rule, Luke never stated, however, that he lived in Troas, and this is the only evidence that he did. The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, a quote in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians differentiates between Luke and other colleagues of the circumcision. 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark,11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God,14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. This comment has traditionally caused commentators to conclude that Luke was a Gentile, if this were true, it would make Luke the only writer of the New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. However, that is not the only possibility, although Luke is considered likely to be a Gentile Christian, some scholars believe him to be a Hellenized Jew. The phrase could just as easily be used to differentiate between those Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism and those who did not. Lukes presence in Rome with the Apostle Paul near the end of Pauls life was attested by 2 Timothy 4,11, Only Luke is with me. In the last chapter of the Book of Acts, widely attributed to Luke, we find several accounts in the first person also affirming Lukes presence in Rome including Acts 28,16, And when we came to Rome
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John the Evangelist
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John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, the Gospel of John refers to an otherwise unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved, who bore witness to and wrote the Gospels message. Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle, the Apostle John was a historical figure, one of the pillars of the Jerusalem church after Jesus death. He was one of the twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have lived into old age. John is associated with the city of Ephesus, where he is said to have lived, some believe that he was exiled to the Aegean island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However, this is a matter of debate, with some attributing the authorship of Revelation to another man, the authorship of the Johannine works has been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century AD. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, orthodox tradition attributes all the books to John the Apostle. In the 6th century, the Decretum Gelasianum argued that Second and Third John have an author known as John. Historical criticism rejects the view that John the Apostle authored any of these works, many modern scholars conclude that the apostle John wrote none of these works, although others, notably J. A. T. Robinson, F. F. Bruce, Leon Morris, and Martin Hengel hold the apostle to be behind at least some, there may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. Some scholars conclude the author of the epistles was different from that of the gospel, the gospel and epistles traditionally and plausibly came from Ephesus, c. 90-110, although some argue for an origin in Syria. In the case of Revelation, many scholars agree that it was written by a separate author, John of Patmos. In the Tridentine Calendar he was commemorated also on each of the days up to and including 3 January. This Octave was abolished by Pope Pius XII in 1955, the traditional liturgical color is white. John the Evangelist is usually depicted as a young man, in Christian art, John is symbolically represented by an eagle, one of the creatures envisioned by Ezekiel and in the Revelation to John. The use of the chalice as a symbol for John is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper, another explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James, My chalice indeed you shall drink. According to some authorities, this symbol was not adopted until the 13th century, the painting Saint John the Evangelist by Domenico Zampieri was auctioned in London in December 2009, for an estimated US$16.5 million
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Eastern Orthodox Church
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The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
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Nikolay Diletsky
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Nikolay Diletsky was a theorist and composer of Ukrainian nationality, active in Russia. He was widely influential in late 17th-century Russia with his treatise on composition, A Musical Grammar, little is known about Diletskys life. A remark by Ioannikii Trofimovich Korenev, a fellow theorist who describes him as a resident of Kiev, is considered evidence of Diletskys Ukrainian origins, korenevs statement is probably reliable, as he and Diletsky apparently were well acquainted. However, the date and even the year of birth are not known and he must have moved to Vilnius before 1675, because that year his Toga zlota was published there. The text is now lost, but it is known that it was written in Polish, after Vilnius, Diletsky lived in Smolensk, where in 1677 the first surviving version of his magnum opus, Grammatika musikiyskago peniya, was written. He then moved to Moscow, where the subsequent two versions of the work appeared in 1679 and 1681, nothing further is known about Diletskys life, and it is generally assumed that he died shortly afterwards. His date of birth is projected from this hypothesis, although several of his compositions survive, Diletskys fame rests chiefly on his composition treatise, Grammatika musikiyskago peniya, which was the first of its kind in Russia. The three surviving versions bear different names, but the content is roughly the same with some important differences, the treatise is in two parts. Grammatika musikiyskago peniya Idea grammatikii musikiyskoy Grammatika peniya musikiyskago 3 settings of the Divine Liturgy 2 sacred concertos Resurrection/Easter kanon, a Theoretical Work of Late Seventeenth-Century Muscovy, Nikolai Diletskiis Grammatika and the Earliest Circle of Fifths, JAMS, xviii, 305–31. Dytyniak Maria Ukrainian Composers – A Bio-bibliographic Guide – Research report No,14,1896, Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, Canada
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Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Rachmaninoff)
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Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, Op.31, is a musical work by Sergei Rachmaninoff, one of his two major unaccompanied choral works. The Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the worship service of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Rachmaninoff composed the work in July,1910 at his summer estate Ivanovka, writing to his friend Nikita Morozov, Rachmaninoff said of the work, I have been thinking about the Liturgy for a long time and for a long time I strove to write it. I started to work on it somehow by chance and then suddenly became fascinated with it, and then I finished it very quickly. Not for a time have I written anything with such pleasure. The work premiered November 25,1910 in Moscow, Russian Orthodox ecclesiastical authorities strongly objected to the works spirit of modernism and refused to sanction it for use during church services. Rachmaninoff did nothing to promote the work himself, and it fell into obscurity. A portion of the Liturgy was given in concert performance in New York on January 24,1914 by the choir of the Russian Cathedral of St. Nicholas. A new edition, reconstructed from surviving part books at an Orthodox monastery in the U. S. library of Congress, was published by Anthony Antolini in 1988. This reconstruction was the subject of a PBS documentary entitled Rediscovering Rachmaninoff, produced by KTEH television in San Jose, the Liturgy consists of twenty movements for unaccompanied mixed choir. Three contain solo passages, Movement 2 for alto, Movement 10 for Bass, two are scored for double choir
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Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (Leontovych)
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The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the musical setting of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom by Mykola Leontovych. Consistent with Orthodox tradition, in service is sung exclusively a cappella. It was first performed in the Mykolaiv Cathedral at the Kiev Pechersk Lavra on May 22,1919, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the most commonly performed liturgy in the Eastern Church. The liturgy was developed into a musical genre in the eastern tradition. Mykola Leontovych had a theological education from the theological seminary in Kamianets-Podilskiy. When the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church was established and recognized in 1918 and his musical output began to reflect this as he started to publish works of a religious nature such as На воскресіння Христа, Хваліте ім’я Господнє, and Світе тихий. Leontovych completed the liturgy in February 1919 and conducted the performance of the work on May 19 of the same year in the Mykolaiv Cathedral in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. The Mykolaiv Cathedral no longer exists, having been destroyed by the Bolsheviks, for this reason, the sacred music of Mykola Leontovych, including his liturgy, are not well known. Composed in the twentieth century, Leontovychs liturgy was an entirely new phenomenon in Ukrainian sacred music, in which the composer synthesized religious. Leontovych composed in his style, essentially synthesizing a folklore foundation with the models of the used in the Lavra. He incorporated the chant native to the Lavra, preserving its intonational uniformity, the piece is considered a milestone in the development of Ukrainian spiritual music. It is distinguished with its new style, which incorporated the Ukrainian language, as opposed to Church Slavonic, Leontovych continued the traditions of Maksym Berezovsky and Artem Vedel, bringing a lyricism to the genre. Nataliya Kostyuk, Ph. D. describes the piece to have a feeling of warmth and she also notes the many forms of sound, the clear chamberness, the sacral simplicity of a sermon, mystical contemplation, and festive calls. In almost all sections of the piece predominate clear, light tones, the liturgy consists of the following movements, The Revival Spiritual Choir recorded an album titled Mykola Leontovych. The Kiev Chamber Choir recorded the liturgy in 2005 in an album titled Mykola Leontovych. The Dumka National Academic Choir of Ukraine conducted by Dr. Yevhen Savchuk recorded the liturgy with soprano E. Voroshylova, tenor K. Kleyn, baritone I. Babyuk, bass V. Hryshchuk as a soloists. Many other groups have recorded albums about Ukrainian choral music that simply contain excerpts of the liturgy by Mykola Leontovych along with the music of many other composers. Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom
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Presbyterianism
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Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism which traces its origins to the British Isles, particularly Scotland. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the form of church government. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, Presbyterian church government was ensured in Scotland by the Acts of Union in 1707 which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians found in England can trace a Scottish connection, the Presbyterian denominations in Scotland hold to the theology of John Calvin and his immediate successors, although there are a range of theological views within contemporary Presbyterianism. The roots of Presbyterianism lie in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, most Reformed churches which trace their history back to Scotland are either presbyterian or congregationalist in government. In the twentieth century, some Presbyterians played an important role in the ecumenical movement, many Presbyterian denominations have found ways of working together with other Reformed denominations and Christians of other traditions, especially in the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Some Presbyterian churches have entered into unions with other churches, such as Congregationalists, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterian history is part of the history of Christianity, but the beginning of Presbyterianism as a distinct movement occurred during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As the Catholic Church resisted the reformers, several different theological movements splintered from the Church, the Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to England and Scotland. In August 1560 the Parliament of Scotland adopted the Scots Confession as the creed of the Scottish Kingdom, Presbyterians distinguish themselves from other denominations by doctrine, institutional organization and worship, often using a Book of Order to regulate common practice and order. The origins of the Presbyterian churches are in Calvinism, many branches of Presbyterianism are remnants of previous splits from larger groups. Presbyterians place great importance upon education and lifelong learning, Presbyterian government is by councils of elders. Teaching and ruling elders are ordained and convene in the lowest council known as a session or consistory responsible for the discipline, nurture, teaching elders have responsibility for teaching, worship, and performing sacraments. Pastors are called by individual congregations, a congregation issues a call for the pastors service, but this call must be ratified by the local presbytery. Ruling elders are usually laymen who are elected by the congregation and ordained to serve with the elders, assuming responsibility for nurture. Often, especially in larger congregations, the elders delegate the practicalities of buildings, finance and this group may variously be known as a Deacon Board, Board of Deacons Diaconate, or Deacons Court. These are sometimes known as presbyters to the full congregation, above the sessions exist presbyteries, which have area responsibilities. These are composed of teaching elders and ruling elders from each of the constituent congregations, the presbytery sends representatives to a broader regional or national assembly, generally known as the General Assembly, although an intermediate level of a synod sometimes exists. The Church of Scotland abolished the Synod in 1993, Presbyterian governance is practised by Presbyterian denominations and also by many other Reformed churches
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Primitive Baptists
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The adjective Primitive in the name conveys the sense of original. Primitive Baptist churches arose in the regions of the southeastern United States. African-American Primitive Baptist groups have considered a unique category of Primitive Baptist. Approximately 50,000 African Americans are affiliated with African-American Primitive Baptist churches as of 2005, approximately 64,000 people were affiliated with Primitive Baptist churches in the various other emergences of Primitive Baptists. Since arising in the 19th century, the influence of Primitive Baptists has waned as Missionary Baptists became the mainstream, despite not having emerged as a recognizable group until the early 19th century, Primitive Baptists trace their origins to the New Testament era, rather than to John Calvin. In fact, they oppose elements of Calvins theology, such as infant baptism, however, they are Calvinist in the sense of holding strongly to the Five Points of Calvinism and they explicitly reject Arminianism. They are also characterized by intense conservatism and they were encouraged in this direction by 19th century itinerant Christian universalist preachers of similar theological bent to Hosea Ballou and John Murray. Primitive Baptist practices that are distinguishable from those of other Baptists include a singing, family integrated worship. Primitive Baptists generally do not play musical instruments as part of their worship services and they believe that all church music should be a cappella because there is no New Testament command to play instruments, but only to sing. African-American Primitive Baptists may not share the general Primitive Baptist opposition to musical instruments, Primitive Baptists reject the idea of Sunday School, viewing it as unscriptural and interfering with the right of parents to give religious instruction to their children. Instead, children are expected to attend at least part of the church service, Primitive Baptists consider theological seminaries to have no warrant or sanction from the New Testament, nor in the example of Christ and the apostles. Primitive Baptists perform foot washing as a symbol of humility and service among the membership, the sexes are separated during the ritual where one person washes the feet of another. The practice is credited with increasing equality, as opposed to hierarchy, the Primitive or Old School Baptists. The Baptist River, Essays on Many Tributaries of a Diverse Tradition, strangers Below, Primitive Baptists and American Culture. The Making of the Primitive Baptists, A Cultural and Intellectual History of the Antimission Movement, the Antimission Movement in the Jacksonian South, A Study in Regional Folk Culture. Journal of Southern History Vol.36, No
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Plymouth Brethren
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The Plymouth Brethren are a conservative, low church, nonconformist, Evangelical Christian movement whose history can be traced to Dublin, Ireland in the late 1820s, originating from Anglicanism. Among other beliefs, the group emphasizes sola scriptura, the belief that the Bible is the authority for church doctrine and practice over. Brethren generally see themselves, not as a denomination, but as a network of like-minded independent churches, the Brethren would generally prefer that their gatherings be referred to as assemblies, rather than churches but, in the interests of simplicity, this article uses both terms interchangeably. An influential figure among the early Plymouth Brethren was John Nelson Darby, the movement refused to take any denominational name to itself, a stance that some still maintain. Brethren assemblies are divided into two branches, the Open Brethren and the Exclusive Brethren, following a schism that took place in 1848. Both of these branches are themselves divided into several smaller streams, with varying degrees of communication. The best-known and oldest distinction between Open and Exclusive assemblies is in the nature of relationships among their local churches, Open Brethren assemblies function as networks of like-minded independent local churches. Exclusive Brethren are generally connexional and so feel under obligation to recognise, disciplinary action normally involves denying the individual participation in the breaking of bread or Lords Table. Generally, this is a weekly, Sunday morning, hour-long service of prayer, singing, teaching, exclusion from it is a major issue. Discipline may also involve formal social ostracism or shunning to varying degrees, a numerically small movement known as the Needed Truth Brethren emerged from the Open Brethren around 1892, partly in an attempt to address the problem of making discipline more effective. Being accused of irregular or illegal financial dealings may also result in being put under discipline, in Exclusive meetings, a member under discipline in one assembly would not be accepted in another assembly, as the Assembly generally respects the decisions made by the other Assembly. Exclusive assemblies have developed into a number of different branches, when there is not universal agreement among the assemblies in a specific case of discipline, a particular act of discipline may not be recognised by all assemblies. Exclusive assemblies are also much more adherent to the shunning of the party, using as guidance instructions given in Leviticus 14. In extreme cases, members may be asked to shun or divorce members of their immediate families, another less clear difference between assemblies lies in their approaches to collaborating with other Christians. Many Open Brethren will hold Gospel meetings, youth events, or other activities in partnership with non-Brethren Evangelical Christian churches, more conservative Open Brethren—and perhaps the majority of Exclusive Brethren—tend not to support activities outside their own meetings. This group practices extreme separation and other Brethren groups generally accuse it of being a cult, most other Exclusive groups prefer not to be known by any name and are only given such designations by non-members. There are some movements with strong Brethren connections that are easy to classify. The ecclesiology, however, has more in common with that of the Exclusive Brethren, the term Exclusive is most commonly used in the media to describe one separatist group known by other groups as Taylor-Hales Brethren, who now call themselves the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church
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Churches of Christ
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Churches of Christ are autonomous Christian congregations associated with one another through common beliefs and practices. They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone in order to be the church described in the New Testament, Churches of Christ in the United States have heritage in the American Restoration Movement. This evangelistic and Bible-based effort began in places as several people sought a return to the original teachings. The Restoration ideal was also similar and somewhat connected to restoration efforts in Europe. They did not see themselves as establishing a new church, the names Church of Christ, Christian Church, and Disciples of Christ were adopted by the movement because they believed these terms to be biblical, rather than denominational. Religious Census of 1906, all associated with the Restoration Movement had been reported together by the Census Bureau. The congregations in the a cappella tradition are the subject of this article, both issues highlighted differences in the groups underlying approaches to Biblical interpretation. For the Christian Churches, any practice not expressly forbidden could be considered, though not officially recognized as distinct movements until 1906, the separation of the Churches of Christ and the Christian Churches had been taking place gradually for decades. The Restoration Movement was not a purely North American phenomenon, there are now Churches of Christ in Africa, Asia, Australia, South America, Central America, and Europe. Members of the church of Christ do not conceive of themselves as a new church started near the beginning of the 19th century, rather, the whole movement is designed to reproduce in contemporary times the church originally established on Pentecost, A. D.33. The strength of the lies in the restoration of Christs original church. D. They simply identify themselves as Christians, without using any other forms of religious or denominational identification and they believe that they are recreating the New Testament church as established by Christ. In American congregations the terms Communion or body and blood are used, the term Eucharist is rarely, if ever, used. All but a small segment of churches use unfermented grape juice instead of wine), and Practice of a cappella singing. In keeping with their history, the churches of Christ claim the New Testament as their rule of faith and practice in deciding matters of doctrine. They view the Old Testament as divinely inspired and historically accurate and they believe that the New Testament demonstrates how a person may become a Christian and how a church should be collectively organized and carry out its scriptural purposes. These churches comprise about 2,000,000 members in over 40,000 individual congregations worldwide, there are approximately 13,000 congregations in the United States. Overall U. S. membership was approximately 1.8 million in 1990 and 1.9 million in 2008, estimates of the proportion of the US adult population associated with the Churches of Christ vary from 0. 8% to 1. 5%
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