WorshipArts Jul Aug Sep 2023

B O O K

Sing with Understanding: Introduction to Theology in Christian Congregational Song , 3rdEd. C.Michael Hawn, GIA Publications, Inc., 979-1-62277-663-4. Reviewed by Victoria Schwarz. “By singing hymns, people can forge an identity with their faith community. In singing together, they declare their allegiance and affirm their sense of belonging to the Body of Christ. Words combined with music gives voice to people’s emotions and innermost feelings. Effective congregational song accommodates the entire gamut of human emotion: ecstasy, grief, joy, lament, sorrow. Worship music that conveys the text well enables singers to internalize the text, leading them to deeper comprehension of the theological truths of the text.” [Hawn, 411-412]

church, I have been participating in a rich journey through the proliferate music of our faith. Like many church musicians, I have sung and led a wide range of music styles: contemporary Christian, historic hymns, modern hymns, praise courses, Taizé, songs of the global community outside the United States, and many other styles and types of music. There are at least two things I feel deeply are true: the most important choir in the church is the congregation, and the widely divergent music of the church reflects the unfathomable, generous, and ongoing diverse creation of God. In Sing with Understanding , C. Michael Hawn and his collaborative authors offer critical and significant insight into the beauty that is congregational singing, setting side-by-side the multiplicity of church music, gathered across time and place, and offering deep theological reflection to be used by church leaders and the worshiping body in praise and worship.

As a long-serving director of music in the Christian

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