Repertoire performed in Anglican parishes in the Diocese of Cape Town: congregational music and local developments, 2009–2012

Abstract

This essay explores the congregational repertoire of hymnody in the Anglican parishes of the Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa. This research was conducted over three years (2009–2012) using various media, including a survey, parish visits, interviews and archival visits. While the results of this research yielded more information than simply trends in hymnody, it was deemed necessary to provide a detailed analysis of this particular repertoire, since it can be described as a window on contemporary sung theology. It was found that hymnody in this diocese relies mostly on sources from Britain and America, with some of the editions of locally composed music emanating from the West. While the majority of hymns sung week by week originate from abroad, there are signs of a local corpus of texts and tunes that is taking root and being used with increasing regularity. These hymns are analysed and discussed. Finally, some thoughts are provided on the lack of female and black ‘voices’ in this burgeoning repertoire, linked in part with the liturgical and theological praxis of the diocese and Anglican province at large.