Attendance or Tradition: Who Is Interested in Church Music Today

Abstract

Religious practices in general, but primarily Christian ones, are undergoing major changes in the modern world, which is rapidly changing day by day. One of the most revealing manifestations of these changes is liturgical music, which has always been considered “traditional”, whereas the boundaries of the tradition have been subject to sharp disputes between those responsible for the church ritual and its accessories. The palette of the musical environment of modern church in terms of attendance and congregational acceptability in its sustainable development is addressed in the article based on recent research, in particular, several related studies by A. Rosenblatt, who over the past two decades has explored different aspects of church music heard in the field and presented in various hymnal books. Summary of this review allows us to consider a tangle of reasons to the preference for this or that musical style, which often completely excludes purely musical tastes and preferences.