Reviewed by Tony Cummings

When this handsomely designed large paperback arrived I went in search of my original hardback version Lion put out in 1992 and which has for years been gathering dust on one of the more obscure corners of the Cummings' bookshelf. Why gathering dust? Surely a book which set out to give a comprehensive history of Christian music (to quote from the front cover blurb, "from Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel") would be a well thumbed item for a Christian music editor. The problem is that Dr Wilson-Dickson, organist, composer and lecturer at the Welsh College of Music And Drama, is fine when dealing with ancient history - his chapters on Music In The Old Testament, The Monastic Tradition, The Romantic Movement and Revival In The 19th Century - are all concise pieces of history with colourful illustrations (always Lion's strong point). But the book becomes badly unstuck in the 20th century. The good doctor's writing on black gospel is pretty poor and particularly embarrassingly decides that gospel patriarch Thomas A Dorsey should be named Tommy Dorsey (the latter a white swing band leader). Also, to put in a couple of pages on popular Christian music at the end of the book doesn't begin to treat the rise of contemporary Christian music adequately. The fact that this book has been reissued by Lion without any attempt to update it is scandalous.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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