The Moravians, or Bohemian Brethren, early Protestants who settled in Pennsylvania and North Carolina in the eighteenth century, brought a musical repertoire that included hymns, sacred vocal works accompanied by chamber orchestra, and instrumental music by the best-known European composers of the day. Moravian composers -- mostly pastors and teachers trained in the styles and genres of the Haydn-Mozart era -- crafted thousands of compositions for worship, and copied and collected thousands of instrumental works for recreation and instruction.
The book's chapters examine sacred and secular works, both for instruments -- including piano solo -- and for voices. The Music of the Moravian Church demonstrates the varied roles that music played in one of America's most distinctive ethno-cultural populations, and presents many distinctive pieces that performers and audiences continue to find rewarding.
Contributors: Alice M. Caldwell, C. Daniel Crews, Lou Carol Fix, Pauline M. Fox, Albert H. Frank, Nola Reed Knouse, Laurence Libin, Paul M. Peucker, and Jewel A. Smith.
Nola Reed Knouse, director of the Moravian Music Foundation since 1994, is active as a flutist, composer, and arranger. She is the editor of The Collected Wind Music of David Moritz Michael.
Reviews
A valuable to anyone pursuing a deeper acquaintance with this unique--and uniquely American--tradition. . . . A thorough introduction to the various aspects of the topic. JOURNAL OF THE ASSOCIATION OF ANGLICAN MUSICIANS [Alan Lewis]Provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive treatment of music in the Moravian Church. . . . Well documented with chapter endnotes and amply illustrated with music examples, facsimiles from early sources, and photographs. . . . A veritable vade mecum for the subject. . . . There is a genuine need for this book. --MUSIC LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NOTES [John Druesedow]
Music plays a huge role in Moravian culture. . . . Those wishing to build an understanding of this music and musical culture will appreciate the first several essays . . . . A significant addition to the literature on Moravian music and culture (and, indeed, on church music more broadly.) . . . Summing Up: Recommended. All audiences, but particularly undergraduates and general readers. --CHOICE
This marvelous collection of essays presents a rich, provocative account of an underappreciated musical heritage. Its penetrating insights go well beyond Moravian culture. Indeed, this book should be required reading for any person, of any denomination, interested in the complex issue of music in liturgy. --Lorenzo Candelaria, University of Texas at Austin (Musicology) and co-author of American Music: A Panorama
A giant step in the ongoing task of disseminating information about the origins of Moravian music and its importance on the American musical scene. The assembly of works by significant scholars is well illustrated by examples of printed music, hymns, and both original and translated texts. --J. Edwin Hendricks, Wake Forest University (History) and longtime president of Historic Winston
Insightful quotations from eighteenth- and nineteenth-century sources...Well documented...[Nola] Reed Knouse and other contributors provide excellent discussions of the Moravian cultivation of amateur music making...Readers...may find themselves, as Goethe, Herder, [George] Washington, and [Benjamin] Franklin were, moved by the emotionally charged religious sentiment of Moravian music. --JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN MUSIC [Sarah Eyerly]
Based on] the extraordinary archives of the Moravian Music Foundation. . . . Necessary and welcome. . . . [A] seminal collection.-JOURNAL OF MORAVIAN HISTORY [Hilde Binford]
