pt. 1. The birth of Christian music. Music in the Old Testament : The Psalms in temple worship ; Music in the synagogue Music in the early church : The spread of Christianity The beginning of the Western Middle Ages : Worship in fifth-century Jerusalem The monastic tradition : Antiphons ; Cantillation Music of the spheres : the medieval world-view : The eleventh-century Mass Music for the liturgy : The development of notation From the ear to the page : Rich church : poor people From Gregorian Chant to polyphony Wycliffe's challenge to the church pt. 2. Renaissance and Reformation. Luther and the Reformation : The Renaissance ; Lutheran song The Swiss reformers the Calvinist tradition : The Genevan Psalter The Reformation in England : The Eton Choirbook The Catholic Reformation : Organ music ; The golden age of Spanish music The power of music

pt. 3. The flowering of Christian music. The development of oratorio : The splendours of Monteverdi The music of the Lutheran Church : Christmas 1659 in the Nikolaikirche, Berlin Heinrich Schütz : Patronage J.S. Bach : Bach's cantatas ; The Moravian Brethren Turmoil in England : Commonwealth and Restoration The glory of the Chapel Royal : The music of the Chapel Royal ; Henry Purcell English congregational music : the birth of the English hymn : Handel and Messiah ; Wales land of song pt. 4. The path divides. Music in the courts of Europe The Romantic movement : The Cecilian movement ; The corruption and resurrection of the chant The decline of the Lutheran hymn : 'A dismal melody' The Church of England and the Tractarians : The demise of the west gallery players Revival in the nineteenth century The path divides pt. 5. Eastern traditions. The Orthodox churches : Worship in the Orthodox Church The Greek Orthodox Church : The divine liturgy of the Orthodox Church ; Notation in the Greek Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church The Coptic and Ethiopian Churches : Notation in Ethiopian music Christianity, East and Westworlds apart?

pt. 6. The African genius. Africa and the influence of Western music : Cameroun : African Christian music ; A marriage of African and Western music

The independent churches : The true Christian music of Africa

pt. 7. Music in North America. Christianity comes to the New World : William Billings

Africans in America : Camp meetings ; A 'shout'

North and South : The Fisk Jubilee Singers

Gospel music : white and black : Tommy Dorsey ; Take six

The United States and the European classical tradition : Charles Ives

The charismatic movement

pt. 8. Music in twentieth-century Europe. Roman Catholic music in Europe this century

The Bible in the concert hall

Vatican II and the liturgy : L'Abbé de Silvanès ; Tatzé

Lutheran musical revival : Hugo Distler ; The Kirchensteuer : church tax

Music in Britain : The Royal School of Church Music ; Leaping into the dark

musical innovation

The popular stream

Good music

good worship? : What is excellence?