Eric Gill at Ditchling

There is a very interesting exhibition at the Ditchling Museum in Sussex, on the time Gill spent in this small (and rather idyllic) Sussex village. It includes various pieces of Gill's work, sketches, models and letters, as well as exploring Ditchling connections with others including David Jones and the engraver Joseph Cribb. The exhibition itself is not huge, but when viewed alongside the museum's permanent exhibits relating to the subject, it is well worth a visit. There is, I understand, a catalogue in production, which should be ready in the autumn.

Redefining Christian Britain

I've recently received a copy of a new book: Redefining Christian Britain. Post 1945 perspectives, edited by Garnett, Grimley, Harris, Whyte and Williams. It is a very interesting collection of essays which together explore some different conceptual frameworks in which to consider the transformation of Christian Britain. From the point of view of the arts, there are five pieces of particular interest:

• Bernice Martin on Philip Pullman's Dark Materials trilogy
• George Pattison on the visual arts
• William Whyte on church building
• Alana Harris on changes in liturgical language, and
• (and here's the advertising), Ian Jones' and my own piece on the idea of authenticity in music for worship.

SCM Press have very helpfully provided a PDF version of the Introduction which helps to place the overall intent of the book in relation to trends in the literature on the period.

Wesley the musical

The Guardian recently included an obituary of the actor Gordon Gostelow, principally known for a number of TV and film roles. He also took the lead in Ride ! Ride !, a musical about John Wesley, which was first produced in 1976. Whilst I knew about the churches producing works for their own use, this had a successful run at the Westminster Theatre. I shall try to find out a little more about how it was received, as I think this cross-over of religious work into the mainstream theatre would probably bear further work.

Callum Brown on twentieth-century Britain

There are some interesting points made by Callum Brown in his Religion and Society.. book of 2006 about the motivating factors behind the adoption of 'pop' music by the churches in the 1960s. See my review of it, and his response (both of which discuss music) at Reviews in History.

The emotional power of music

The St Paul's Theological Centre, part of Holy Trinity Brompton, have just released a sound recording of their annual lecture. Given by James Steven, it addresses the emotional power of music in worship, and whether this is something to be feared. I've yet to listen to it, but it is another example of the debates going on within the contemporary Christian music scene, and, I think, a sign of increased self-awareness within the scene as a whole (difficult to imagine the same debate happening amongst evangelicals in 1970, say).

The churches and the theatre

A question occurs to me whilst reading a review of a play (The Christ of Coldharbour Lane at the Soho Theatre): what is the current narrative of the-churches-and-theatre ? It seems that there is a great deal of commentary (and some academic work) on the positions relating to church music, and a growing interest (since the 1980s) in the visual arts, but rather less on the theatre. The churches have used drama amongst themselves very creatively, both within congregations and as a mission tool, but I wonder what happened to the treatment of Christian symbols and ideas within art theatre outside the churches ? We know a bit about clerical objections to the moral behaviour of characters in plays, but there must be a broader story to be told about how the secular theatre handles religious themes. Any pointers to relevant literature would be very welcome.

John Tavener's latest

Interesting note from Stephen Bates in today's Guardian, on Tavener's new piece The Beautiful Names, due to premiere at Westminster Cathedral this week. Apparently a meditation on the names of Allah, it has caused quite a stir, judging by next week's Catholic Herald. A little too early to judge the piece, of course, but a surprising (at least to me) move from Tavener's usual work. All sorts of interesting questions arise, to do with the nature of this type of 'sacred' music, which is produced primarily outside church patronage. It should come as no surprise that it is the location of the premiere, rather than the principle of the piece, that seems to have caused the stir. I shall keep a look-out for further developments.

Theology and the arts: welcome

Just a few words about the scope of this new blog. My purpose is to provide a space in which to share information about the relationship between Christian theology and the arts in Britain since 1945. My own research interests are as an historian, particularly of the period up until 1980, and particularly in music. However, this space may well be used as a forum for debate about present-day artistic thought and practice, since it is informed by the past at every turn. The kind of things I have in mind are:

• notices and reports of events, seminars and conferences in the general field
• news of recent publications, in print and online. I have been involved for several years with a colleague, Dr Ian Jones (Director of the Saltley Trust) in investigating the adoption of popular music by the churches, and so news of this will likely appear here
• appeals for information, and attempts to begin discussions of topics so far neglected
• other things germane to the topic that catch my eye.

This is an area with a relatively under-developed presence in the 'blogosphere' so far, and so comments are enabled and very welcome.

[April 2008: Since beginning this blog, I found that there were enough issues that arose in my mind to merit another blog, with a wider scope - see Christianity, law and culture in Britain since 1945

New blog under construction

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