In Tune With Heaven Or Not

June Boyce-Tillman is Professor of Applied Music at the University of Winchester, as well as Extraordinary Professor at North-West University, South Africa. Her research into children’s musical development has been translated into five languages. She is a composer and active in community music making, exploring the possibilities of intercultural/interfaith sharing through composing/improvising. She is a Wisdom theologian, author of Unconventional Wisdom and has written over 300 hymns used internationally. Her one-woman performances on the women mystics have been performed on three continents. She has written widely on music and healing and on Hildegard of Bingen. She is an Anglican priest and an honorary chaplain to Winchester Cathedral. She was awarded an MBE for her services to music and education.

• Contents: Controversies in Musicology – Vignette One - Narrowing the Vision: The First 600 Years – Vignette Two - Ecologising Music: Hildegard of Bingen – Vignette Three - Encloistering the Angels: The Renaissance Nun Composers – Vignette Four - Radicalising the Vision: Ann Lee and the Shakers – Vignette Five - Hymns or hers: Hymnody past and present – Vignette Six - Inning and Outing : Contemporary Practices – Conclusion: Musicking Wisdom’s Ways.

«In this scholarly work, Professor Boyce-Tillman traces the exclusion of women from the formal musical tradition of the Church and brings to light their «hidden» contribution to the Church’s liturgical music, drawing on compositions of Hildegard, Shaker music and congregational hymnody. Professor Boyce-Tillman encourages worshipping communities to embrace greater diversity and inclusivity in musical traditions. This book is a major contribution to understanding the contribution of women in the Christian musical tradition past, present and future.» (Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York)