The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1611 page)

, became widespread, and was of particular importance for
Shingon
and
Tendai
. Music is also important in
theatre
, with its continuing religious connections, as e.g. in Kabuki and
N
.
Buddhist music has undergone a comparable transformation in Tibet. Ritual chanting of myths and formulae seems to have been a part of
Bön
religion. But the advent of Buddhism led to the development of music, both vocal and instrumental, partly to accompany the rituals, but even more to prepare those present for
visualization
and
meditation
. Ritual drama (e.g. ’
cham
) was also an important occasion of public music.
Jewish music is clearly rooted in the biblical traditions which speak of the Temple music and of the powerful music of
David
. But none of this has survived, and the most important continuity of Jewish music is secured in the
synagogue
. From the earliest period, synagogue music included the sung recitation of
Psalms
,
cantillation
(recitation of the
masoretic
text of
scripture
according to accent marks written in the text, led by the
azzan or
cantor
, or by a member of the congregation, in cadences indicated by gestures of the hand—hence ‘chironomy’, the traditional instruction of these techniques), and the chanting of prayers. To these were added a large number of hymns and
piyyutim
, and among the
asidim
niggunim
, sung to nonsensical words, or to no words at all, in order to induce the desired state of ecstatic joy.
Christians from the outset were enjoined to ‘sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’ (Colossians 3. 16; Ephesians 5. 19), and they have not stopped doing so since. The biblical text underlay the development of Christian music, with especial emphasis on the Psalter. Plainchant (
plainsong
) is a monophonic chant in free rhythm, which developed in various traditions (e.g. Ambrosian, Gallican, Gregorian, Mozarabic, Armenian, Byzantine, etc.). But plainchant led into polyphony, introduced in about the 11th cent., but coming to maturity from the 14th cent. on. The opportunity this afforded to the Reformation of telling the biblical story led to the astonishing achievements of Heinrich Schütz (1585–1672), whose major works,
Cantiones Sacrae
,
Symphoniae Sacrae
,
Psalmen Davids
,
The Resurrection History
,
The Christmas History
, and
The Seven Last Words from the Cross
, indicate how important the biblical text was. Even more spectacular was the development of the oratorio by J. S. Bach (1685–1750): although written for church settings, his Passions according to St Matthew and St John can still convey a religious sense of occasion, even in concert performances. In the Church, during this whole period, there had been developing the early Greek custom of singing
hymns
, some early examples of which are still in use. Hymns have also spread their skirts a little into the related forms of motet, canticle, anthem, and cantata.
In Islam, music is related to the chanting of the Qur’
n which is highly technical and stylized, and to the
mosque
, where the
dh
n
(call to prayer) is taught and adjudged musically. The power of music to affect moods has led to its extensive use in
S
f
movements. Although no body of religious music has been developed in Islam, Muslims have taken a great interest in music as a part of God's creation, and early works on music (especially that of
al-F
r
b