Black Catholicism and Music in Durham, North Carolina: Praxis in a New Key

Black Catholicism and Music in Durham, North Carolina: Praxis in a New Key Public Deposited

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Creator

Shadle, Douglas
- Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Music

Abstract

This thesis explores the history, vitality, and theology of liturgical music at a predominantly black Catholic parish in Durham, North Carolina. The introductory chapter explores the relationship of the methods used, diagnoses problems in the subject matter, and critiques approaches taken by others. The second chapter examines the history of music at Holy Cross. Chapter III explores the current musical practices at Holy Cross using traditional ethnographic methods. The final chapter reveals how theology can enter into fruitful dialogue with musicology. This dialogue may lead to original interpretations of musical life performed in the context of faith. At Holy Cross, music does not simply reflect the theology of black Catholics articulated by professional scholars; the theological content of music sung there does not reside solely in the musical and verbal texts. Instead, the parishioners set into motion an authentically Catholic praxis that rejects materialism while embracing the beauty of living.

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