Overview

In The Sound of the Dove, Beverly Bush Patterson explores one of the oldest traditions of American religious folksong: unaccompanied congregational singing in the Primitive Baptist churches of Appalachia. Using interviews, field observations, historical research, song transcriptions, and musical analysis, Patterson explores the dynamic relationship between singing and theology in these churches, the genesis of their musical practices, and the unexpectedly significant role of women in their conservative congregations.

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9780252070037

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Patterson's thorough knowledge of Primitive Baptist song and life allows her to demonstrate how music (sound) and culture are each so perfectly the expressions of the other that one can see in musical changes broader transformations... [T]his book is a model of how to study music in a religious context. In addition, the book reminds us of how knowledge of people such as Primitive Baptists is necessary for understanding broader and more inclusive faith communities. -- Donald G. Mathews, Church History [The Sound of the Dove] enables the reader to form a very clear understanding of Primitive Baptist singing today and of the historical and cultural forces that have molded it into its present form... This insightful study fills a great gap in American folk music scholarship and demonstrates ways that sensitive feminist scholarship can illuminate surprising corners of traditional culture. -- William Bernard McCarthy, Journal of American Folklore

""This insightful study fills a great gap in American folk music scholarship and demonstrates ways that sensitive feminist scholarship can illuminate surprising corners of traditional culture.""--William Bernard McCarthy, Journal of American Folklore

Author Information

Beverly Bush Patterson is a former folklife specialist with the North Carolina Arts Council and a coauthor of the Index to Selected Folk Recordings.

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