Evans/Open up the Doors, 6. Theomusicological Frameworks

In his largely pessimistic summary of the state of congregational music, Faulkner states that a portion of the current ‘crisis’ in church music is attributable to there being ‘little, if any, theological investigation of the history or purpose of church music’ (1996: 204) and that ‘[t]here is a lack of any widely held objective criteria that establish propriety or quality in church music’ (ibid.). Dawn (1995) and especially Corbitt (1998) have developed tropes whereby theological affectivity and musical quality can be explored.