LibGuides: Sacred Music and Hymnology: Finding Articles

Introduction

This page includes resources for finding articles about hymns and their tunes, texts, and origins. We've included some suggested article databases below as well as recommendations of specific publications to check out in the next box. For more information about searching for and accessing scholarly articles through the Library, check our our guide linked below.

Finding Journal Articles for Music Research
This guide is an introduction (or a refresher) to searching for, accessing, and evaluating articles for music research.

Suggested Databases

The best place to find scholarly articles is in one of the library's databases. The University of Illinois subscribes to over a thousand different databases that can help you access the content you need. It can be overwhelming to know how to start searching, so we've pulled out a list of recommendations to get you started.

RILM Abstracts of Music Literature This link opens in a new window
RILM Abstracts of Music Literature is a comprehensive bibliography on writings about music featuring citations, abstracts and indexes. It covers nearly one and a half million publications from around the world on traditional music, popular music, jazz, classical music and related subjects. Coverage begins in the early 19th century and extends to the present.
Alternate Access Link
Music Index This link opens in a new window
Contains cover-to-cover indexing and abstracts for every aspect of the classical and popular world of music including musicological and organological topics, as well as book reviews, record reviews, first performances, and obituaries from more than 850 music periodicals from over 40 countries.
Alternate Access Link
Music Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
A database with full-text and abstracts of articles on music. Includes indexing for music articles and obituaries from the New York Times and The Washington Post. Covers nearly all aspects of music, including scholarly studies and popular trends. Coverage: 1874 - present.
ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials This link opens in a new window
A comprehensive database designed to support religious and theological scholarship in graduate education and faculty research. The file contains citations from international titles and 13,000 multi-author works in and related to the field of religion. Though coverage is from 1949 to the present, not all publications began in 1949.
Alternate Access Link
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Provides page images of back issues of the core scholarly journals in the humanities, social sciences, and basic sciences from the earliest issues to within a few years of current publication. Users may browse by journal title or discipline, or may search the full-text or citations/abstracts.

Selected Journals

If you're just looking for a place to browse, check out the journals listed below. While articles about sacred music can be found in a wide range of journals covering music and religion, we've collected some journals that specialize in sacred music scholarship and performance to give you a place to start.

Looking for a specific journal? Check the library catalog or our Journal and Article Locator tool to see if we have it in print and/or online.

The American Organist
"The American Organist Magazine (TAO), published monthly by the AGO, is the most widely read journal devoted to organ and choral music in the world. It is the official journal of the American Guild of Organists and the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America."
The Choral Journal
"The official publication of the American Choral Directors Association is Choral Journal. This national publication, issued monthly, contains articles and columns of a scholarly and practical nature in addition to reviews of newly released CD recordings, books, and printed music. Choral Journal is a benefit of membership in the American Choral Directors Association. Subscriptions are available to libraries. Advertising space is available as well."
Early Music
"Early Music is a stimulating and richly illustrated journal that is unrivalled in its field. Founded in 1973, it remains the journal for anyone interested in early music and how it is being interpreted today. Contributions from scholars and performers of international standing explore every aspect of earlier musical repertoires, present vital new evidence for our understanding of the music of the past, and tackle controversial issues of performance practice."
The Hymn: Journal of Congregational Song
The Hymn is published by the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. With scholarly articles, book and media reviews, news regarding the Society's conferences and events, and discussion of activities in the field of hymnology, it's an excellent place to find articles or simply get a sense of the current state of the field.
The Hymn Society Bulletin
The Hymn Society Bulletin is published quarterly, by The Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland. The Society also issues occasional longer articles under the title "Occasional Papers." Also of interest are the Society's Short Guides to topics relevant to various aspects of hymnody, which are recommended reading for anyone responsible for choosing, leading, or teaching hymns.
Jahrbuch für Liturgik und Hymnologie
An annual German-language journal addressing Church Liturgy and Worship Music, published in association with the International Fellowship for Research in Hymnology (aka the Internationalen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Hymnologie).
Journal of Jewish Music and Liturgy
"The scholarly organ of the Orthodox cantorate in America. Features articles on halakhic problems of synagogue music and liturgy, and on traditional nusah and hazzanut."
Sacred Music
"is the official journal of the Church Music Association of America, and the oldest continuously published journal of music in North America. It is the essential resource for every Church musician, professional or amateur, who is interested in the restoration of the sacred in Catholic liturgical life."