Amazing Grace at 250: Global Heritage and Contested Legacies (1) (Congregational Music Studies Series)

Synopsis

This book focuses on arguably the best-known Christian hymn worldwide. From the slave trade to the civil rights movement and from obscurity in its country of origin to global recognition, the origins, history, influence, and legacy of “Amazing Grace” are uniquely complex. The volume brings together historians, theologians, literary scholars, and musicologists to shed new light on the ways in which the hymn’s lyrics, familiar musical setting and its performance by leading vocalists contribute to its enduring popularity and the meanings and value ascribed to it by diverse communities across time and place. The chapters explore the literary and religious qualities of the text, its relationship with the ubiquitous NEW BRITAIN melody, its adoption and adaptation by famous singers and in Christian churches from South America to Asia. The contributors highlight significant facets of the hymn’s origins and legacy, while the collection as a whole provides a focused emphasis on the importance of historical, literary, theological, and musical approaches in understanding the ways in which Christian congregational music acquires meaning and influences thought and practice in local and global contexts.

Copyright:

2026

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Book Size:

310 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781040405413

Related ISBNs:

9781003492580, 9781032763316, 9781040405390

Publisher:

Taylor & Francis

Date of Addition:

08/01/25

Copyrighted By:

selection and editorial matter, Martin V. Clarke and Gareth Atkins

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Religion and Spirituality, Music

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.

Edited by:

Martin V. Clarke

Edited by:

Gareth Atkins