Texts

When surveying the setting of biblical texts to music, there are multiple ways that it is useful to approach the subject matter. One, which will be our focus here, it to look at specific texts, often comparing the different ways a particular text was set to music by different composers in different times, traditions, and circumstances. Another, which will be our focus in the next section, is to consider a particular composer or songwriter and discuss their influences, their distinctive style, the various texts they chose to set, and other such things in the context of their creative work as a whole. Each provides important insights and deserves attention.