Christian Music in Israel: A Religious, Cultural, and Cross-Cultural Perspective

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a general assessment of the various layers of Christian music in Israel. The term “Christian music” is commonly associated with the Western musical tradition the past eight centuries or so. Since some of the churches in the Holy Land were founded by crusaders and missionaries, who brought their musical traditions with them, while others are autochthonous churches with their own music, a variety of church musical traditions may be observed in the field. In addition, while in the West, Christian believers attend concerts where Christian music is performed, Christian believers in Israel and listeners of Western-style Christian music in Israel are different audiences. A brief overview of the new music written by Israeli composers on Christian texts completes the range of issues discussed in the article.