Swee Hong Lim

Giving Voice to Asian Christians: an Appraisal of the Pioneering Work of I-to Loh Inthe Area of Congregational Song Swee Hong Lim

Daniel Thambyrajah Niles (1908-1970) and I-to Loh(1936-present) stand out as pioneers in the 20thCentury in the emerging field of Asian congregationalsong. This book examines the groundbreakingcontribution of I-to Loh; highlighting hisformulation of a paradigm for the contextualizationof Asian church music that guided his pioneeringefforts. At the same time, it assesses the viabilityof this paradigm, taking into account the broaderexpression of Asian church music within Asia. Drawing on the scholarship in the fields ofliturgical studies, contextual theologies andethnomusicology, the author critiques the paradigmand suggests modifications and enlargements to enableit to guide the development of Asian church music inthe 21st century. Appendices in this book make someof his non-English writings available in English forthe first time. This book will prove to be a valuableresource for scholars of contextual liturgics and canserve as the base for future dialogue and research.