The goal for this dissertation was to research the music in liturgy and daily life of early Christians (of the first two centuries AD) and to reveal the main factors affecting the fornation of music and liturgy in the early church. Therefore the music backgrounds of the early Christians (the Jewish and Hellenistic music cultures) together with the evidences from early Christian literature (New Testament and some of the Church Fathers) have been examined. On the strength of the investigations done, the author concludes that Christianity inherited musical traditions first of all from Judaism, and later on, as it was extended to the entire Roman Empire, it was influenced by Hellenism as well. Consequently, there was not a united form of worship in early Christian church, and from the very beginning the music of different communities could vary depending on their cultural backgrounds.Thus, music life of Jewish Christianity differed from the churches consisting mainly of Christians from the Gentiles. / Cristian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (New Testament)

Cette thèse s’attache à montrer le rôle important qu’a joué la figure de sainte Cécile au XIXe siècle dans l’imaginaire musical européen. La première partie de ce travail est consacrée à l’historiographie de sainte Cécile, du Ve siècle au XIXe siècle, et à l’inscription de la figure dans l’espace culturel européen. Différents media ont contribué à faire de la patricienne romaine légendaire une sainte patronne reconnue et célèbre dont, au premier chef, le tableau de Raphaël, L’Extase de sainte Cécile. Cette œuvre du patrimoine artistique européen fait l’objet d’une véritable fascination auprès des écrivains, des musiciens et des peintres de la première moitié du XIXe siècle et ce travail tente d’en comprendre les raisons. Dans un deuxième temps, cette thèse montre que la figure de sainte Cécile est une figure trope, une allégorie vive, utilisée par de nombreux écrivains pour construire un discours sur la musique, sur l’art et sur le rapport entre les arts. Il y a véritablement des moments sainte Cécile au XIXe siècle qui conduisent à recharger la figure d’un souffle vivant ; elle s’impose alors, non plus comme une figure de rémanence, mais bien comme la possibilité de penser une transcendance et de construire un discours esthétique. Le troisième axe de cette recherche s’inscrit dans une perspective d’études de genres. Héritière de plusieurs types de traditions de représentations féminines, sainte Cécile apparaît comme un outil analogique riche de présupposés idéologiques sur la représentation de la femme et en particulier de la femme musicienne. Représentantes d’un Éternel féminin fantasmé, les femmes musiciennes comparées à sainte Cécile sont les garantes d’une mémoire idéologique qui enferme la femme musicienne dans un champ très restreint de la pratique musicale. / This thesis aims to show the important role played by the figure of Saint Cecilia in the European musical psyche in the 19th century. The first part of this work is devoted to the historiography of Saint Cecilia, from the fifth century to the 19th century, and to the inclusion of the figure in the European cultural space. Various media have contributed to make this legendary Roman patrician a celebrated and famous patron saint but, first and foremost, is the picture of Raphael, The Ecstasy of St. Cecilia. During the first half of the 19th century this artistic European heritage artwork is the subject of a true fascination for the writers, musicians and painters. This thesis tries to understand the reasons why. In the second phase, this thesis shows that the figure of Saint Cecilia is a trope figure, a vivid allegory, used by many writers to construct a discourse on music, art and the relationship between the arts. During the 19th century there were several strong phases of focus on Saint Cecilia, each leading to recharge the figure with a vivid breath. She then imposes herself, no longer as a figure of persistence only, but rather as the possibility of thinking about transcendence and of constructing an aesthetic discourse. The third axis of this research focuses on gender studies. Heiress to several types of feminine representations, Saint Cecilia appears as an analogical tool, rich in ideological presuppositions on the representation of women and women musicians. Representation of an eternal feminine fantasy, the female musicians associated to Saint Cecilia are the guarantors of an ideological memory which encloses the female musician in a very restricted area of the musical practice.

La problématique de cette thèse est centrée sur une réflexion approfondie entre l’expression musicale d’une confession de foi catholique exposée et défendue par Almeida Prado et l’appréhension suscitée par une démarche que tout chercheur doit entreprendre à condition qu’il respecte le contexte brésilien fondé essentiellement sur le multiculturalisme.En ce sens, le répertoire choisi comprend Le Rosaire de Medjugorje, Les Chorals, Les Louanges Sonores et Les Prophéties. Ces quatre recueils ont fait l’objet d’un travail de recherche qui, au niveau de la méthode, s’est attaché à la mise en œuvre d’une minutieuse vérification de la présence de textes religieux. Ces derniers ont été référencés à partir des œuvres citées et ils ont été mêlés à une autre problématique, celle de l’analyse musicale, à condition que cette discipline participe pleinement au décryptage du sens religieux qu’il faut accorder aux œuvres composées par Almeida Prado.Six catégories musicales au service d’une organisation d’articulations poétiques ont été dégagées à partir de : la thématique, la succession de gestes pianistiques, la répétitivité, la juxtaposition des idées, la résonance, la réflexion sur le timbre. Cette hypothèse de lecture s’est confrontée à la réalité de quatre éléments déduits du contenu religieux et axés sur un appel à des sources puisées dans la bible, la théologie catholique, la religiosité populaire brésilienne, la dévotion personnelle d’Almeida Prado. Cette recherche ne saurait perdre de vue le contexte brésilien où le syncrétisme religieux accompagne le métissage culturel. Cette donnée si importante a largement contribué à l’orientation de cette thèse. / The problems of this thesis are centered on a cogitation deepened between the musical expression of a confession of Catholic creed displayed and defended by Almeida Prado and the apprehension provoked by a step which every researcher must undertake provided that he respects the Brazilian context principally on the multiculturalism.In the sense, the chosen directory consists of The Rosary of Medjugorje, Chorales, Sound Commendations and Prophecies. These four collections made the object of a research work which, at the level of method, became attached to the implementation of a detailed check on the presence of religious texts. These last were classified were classified from named writings and they were blended with another problems, that of the musical analysis, provided that this discipline participates entirely in the deciphering of the religious sense which it is necessary to grant in writings composed by Almeida Prado.Six musical categories in the service of an organization of poetic pronunciations were cleared from: themes, succession of piano gestures, repetitiveness, the juxtaposition of ideas, resonance, cogitation on the stamp. This hypothesis of reading was confronted with the reality of four elements deducted from religious contents and centered on a call to sources scooped out from the Bible, Catholic theology, religious inclination popular Brazilian, the personal devotion of Almeida Prado. This research would not know how to lose Brazilian context of view where religious syncretism accompanies cultural interbreeding. These so important data broadly contributed to the orientation of this thesis.

Since most historical composers of Western art music were European Christians (or resided in areas that were primarily populated by Christians), a vast majority of the sacred choral-orchestral repertoire is based on major figures and themes from the most prominent denominations, including Catholicism, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism. As a corollary this is also the case for analytical, pedagogical, and exegetical literature related to the topic. However, in the late nineteenth century some composers began to look to other faith traditions for inspiration, which resulted in compositions based on texts that are less-familiar to Western audience members and performers. Despite the fact that many of these pieces are innovative and well-written, few, if any, have entered the standard repertoire. Because of this they are under-represented in both performance and extant music literature. The purpose of this study is to examine three compositions from this marginalized category in order to produce a guide that provides salient information on the religious/cultural background and musical aspects of each work. This guide will serve as a resource for conductors to facilitate an understanding of and connection with the text, allow informed programming decisions, and promote approaches that are appropriate and respectful to the religious source material. The pieces selected for investigation are Gustav Holst's Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, Op. 26: First Group, Lili Boulanger's Vielle Prière Bouddhique (Old Buddhist Prayer), and Robert Cundick's The Redeemer.