David W. Music

David W. Music (born January 28, 1949) is an American composer, writer and former professor of church music.

Early life and education

Music was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma on January 28, 1949. His father, Joseph H. Music, was a pastor with degrees from Baylor University and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS). His mother, Menita Corine Cullins Music, was a school teacher, who had also studied at SWBTS, where she and Joseph met.

David Music grew up sharing his parents' Christian faith, and he sang in the youth choir of the church his father pastored in Huntington Park, California. His interest in pursuing a vocation in church music was stimulated during a conference he attended as a teenager, where he was inspired by the worship leader, Gene Bartlett.

He completed a BA in music at California Baptist College in 1970. He then did postgraduate study at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS), graduating with a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 1977.

Career

After leaving the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Music initially worked for three years as a minister of music, at Highland Heights Baptist Church in Memphis,Tennessee. While at Highland Heights, he won the 1980 Norman W. Cox Award, which is awarded annually by the Baptist History and Heritage Society, for an article on Baptist history. Music's winning article was entitled "The Introduction of Musical Instruments into Baptist Churches in America."

In 1980, he began working at the California Baptist College, where he directed a number of choirs. In 1990, he returned to the SWBTS. While at SWBTS, he led the annual Sacred Harp sing - a form of unaccompanied shape note singing.. From 2002 until his retirement in 2020, Music was Professor of Church Music at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. At Baylor, he also ran Sacred Harp singing events.

Music's name has been considered a good example of nominative determinism, where a person's name correlates with their chosen career. In a 2003 news article, while teaching at Baylor University, he commented: "Most people can't believe it. I get letters addressed to 'Dr. David W., Music Department."

Publications

Music has edited two collections of primary sources relating to congregational hymn singing. The first, Hymnology: A Collection of Source Readings, was published by The Scarecrow Press in 1996. This includes excerpts from various writings, such as hymnbook prefaces, letters, diaries and theological works, from the second century to the 1960s. Charles Webb, in Church History described this as a "valuable resource" for "both the serious hymnological scholar and the interested 'person in the pew'".

This was followed by Instruments in Church: A Collection of Source Documents, published in 1998. This includes sources discussing the use of instruments in congregational worship, from the Old Testament up to the 20th century. Lutheran composer and lecturer Carl Schalk described this as an "excellent work" containing "a helpful, useful, and stimulating collection of source documents."

Music co-wrote, with Paul A. Richardson, "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story": A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America, which was published by Mercer University Press in 2008. This book details the history of congregational singing in Baptist churches, from the earliest American Baptist groups to the present day. It includes discussions of hymnwriters, hymnbooks, music styles, and doctrine. Reviewing the book for The Hymn, Beverly Howard described this as a "definitive work on the history of Baptist hymnody", which is a "'must-have' for collections in college, university, and seminary libraries."

Awards and honours

In 2010, Music was named a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada, for his "outstanding contributions to the study and practice of congregational song."

In 2021, a festschrift was published in his honour, featuring contributions from church music scholars such as Carl P. Daw Jr., Paul Westermeyer, Paul A. Richardson and Monique Ingalls.

Bibliography

As editor

• Music, David W., ed. (1996). Hymnology: A Collection of Source Readings. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810831483.
• Music, David W., ed. (1998). Instruments in Church: A Collection of Source Documents. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810835955.
• Music, David W., ed. (2005). A Selection of Shape-note Folk Hymns From Southern United States Tune Books, 1816-61. A-R Editions.

As author

• Music, David W. (2001). Christian Hymnody in Twentieth-Century Britain and America: An Annotated Bibliography. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313075292.
• Music, David W. (2013). William J. Reynolds: Church Musician. Smith & Helwys. ISBN 9781573126908.
• Music, David W. (2020). Repeat the Sounding Joy: Reflections on Hymns by Isaac Watts. Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780881467697.
• Music, David W. (2022). Studies in the Hymnody of Isaac Watts. Brill. ISBN 9789004520523.

As co-author

• Music, David W.; Gray, Scotty (2021). A Noble Theme, A Skillful Writer: Timothy Dudley-Smith and Christian Hymnody. Hope Publishing.
• Music, David W.; Price, Milburn (2011). A Survey of Christian Hymnody, 5th edition. Hope Publishing.
• Music, David W.; Richardson, Paul A. (2008). "I Will Sing the Wondrous Story": A History of Baptist Hymnody in North America. Mercer University Press. ISBN 9780865549487.

References

• Bradley, C. Randall (2021). "David W. Music: The Man and His Contributions to Church Music". In Eatherton, Samuel J. (ed.). The Gift of Music: Essays on Church Music and Hymnology. MorningStar Music Publishers. ISBN 9780944529836.