Word Books. Hardcover. 124 pages. Dust jacket has some edge wear. Pages are in nice condition. - Disclaimer: May have a different cover image than stock photos shows, as well as being a different edition/printing, unless otherwise stated. Please contact us if you're looking for one of these specifically. Your order will ship with FREE Delivery Confirmation (Tracking). We are a family business, and your satisfaction is our goal! Additional Details ------------------------------ Product description: “Music, what a large and significant part it plays in our lives,” says author David Poling. “It brings sensation and romance, patriotism, melancholy, and inspiration. For many, music marks the high point of human existence.” In this book Dr. Poling traces 200 years of American religious music. Beginning with the Bay Psalm Book (1640) one of the first psalm books of the Puritans, he records the historical events surrounding some of our best-loved hymns and spiritual songs. We gain insight into the lives if such hymn writers as Isaac Watts, John Newton, Fanny Crosby, Philip P. Bliss, and Lowell Mason. We identify with the struggles of faith, doubt, conviction, and social conscience that led to the writing of these great songs. This is a beautiful blending of hymnology, historical events, and human warmth as the writers and composers attempt to communicate with faith through these expressions—all of which grew out of an involvement with the world and a deep personal relationship with their Creator. “One can still hear the music of the cowboy camp meetings,” says David Poling, “the great revivals, or the thunderous chorus of a chapel choir. Whether it be the hymns of a cathedral or the closing songs at a summer campfire, music has power beyond measure. That is our task to remember…to renew the religious tradition that stretches more than 200 years back into our national history.”