(Paperback with music CD, Paraclete Press)

In this book of thirty meditations, Gordon Giles introduces readers to some of the most important composers who have shaped the traditions of Western sacred music over the last four centuries. From Monteverdi to Howells, Rachmaninov to Virgil Thomson, Renaissance Italy to contemporary America, readers are taken on a musical journey of discovery to enter the spiritual and biblical world of church music.

Understand the music of Evensong and the Mass; the texts of the liturgical year are lovingly and prayerfully discussed, enabling readers and listeners alike to engage more deeply with the musical theology of sacred song. Each chapter concludes with a prayer and the book comes with a full-length CD containing superb recordings of each work made by America's accomplished choir, Gloria Dei Cantores. This is a book to be listened to as well as read, aiding both private devotions and group gatherings.

Not only for musicians, Giles writes also for those who simply love to sing in church or listen at home. O Clap Your Hands is an accessible tutorial in learning to understand better the music that we already love.

In this book of thirty meditations, Gordon Giles introduces readers to some of the most important composers who have shaped the traditions of Western sacred music over the last four centuries. From Monteverdi to Howells, Rachmaninov to Virgil Thomson, Renaissance Italy to contemporary America, readers are taken on a musical journey of discovery to enter the spiritual and biblical world of church music.

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