Multilingualism and Interculture in the Repertoire Proposed in Hymnals from 2000 to Today: A Study on Italian Protestant Churches

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Although the population covered by the study is relatively small in relation to the total number of inhabitants of Italy, the peculiarities of musical practices related to the confessions of Protestantism addressed make the work very interesting, relevant and appropriate to the theme of multilingualism.

Framework, references and approach are coherent with the proposed analysis and the taxonomy based on Naso-Passarelli-Pispisa is adequate.

Below are some observations and suggestions:

L.20-21. Ethnomusicology appears in the Keywords, but there is no effective dialogue with its literature, which, as will be seen in the considerations that follow, would be quite relevant. Some dialogue is suggested, for example, with John Blacking.

L.31. Explain the meaning of IDOS, as you did with ISTAT.

Ll. 31-33. Review the use of parentheses.

L.57. does “autochthonous” look better than “indigenous”?

Table 6. the repertory categories should be explained in notes.

- Although “Innario Cristiano” does not contain “Christian pop songs”, are there no additions of songs that do not integrate this hymnal in the rites of any of the denominations? Are there no recordings of such hymns in pop versions made by people or musical groups linked to churches that adopt “Innario”? Are there attempts to control the performance of the repertoire – possibly through official documents – as existed in Roman Catholicism with Pius X's motu proprio on sacred music? The “Christian Congregation in Brazil”, an evangelical Pentecostal church, for example, has them: instrumentalists are prohibited from improvisations or rhythmic divisions that clash with the 4-part writing of the hymnal. On the other hand, the Presbyterian church has accepted “pop performances” of its traditional repertoire, approaching the “worship” model. An ethnography of performance and music trade can contribute to this answer.

Table 7. There is a very striking diversity of provenance. However, one question remains: is the musical language, the style of the songs related to the specific musical characteristics of the country or are the composers just African, Latin American, etc.? Are there syncopations? Rhythmic complexity? Or would it just be an assimilation of European musical standards replicated abroad? Discussing this using musical examples would be beneficial.

L. 166. Are gender issues considered relevant and discussed by these religious communities or is it just an expectation of the author? Given the generally conservative stances of Protestants in this field (they are refractory even to melodies from other countries!), wouldn't such an advance be considered excessively progressive by local religious communities? The tension between a possible “outsider” expectation in relation to “insider” options is a point that can be transformed into a paragraph and dialogue with the literature of Ethnomusicology.

Ll. 167-170. Considering the primary purpose of congregational singing, which is “religare”, but also the little linguistic diversity that may exist in each temple, wouldn’t the proposal for language diversity be more “artistic” than properly “religious”? Couldn't singing in a foreign language with a structure completely different from Italian and, often without knowing the meaning of the text, generate more problems than solutions? Couldn't singing in other languages be the responsibility of choral groups, using other sources? Furthermore, the “contrafactum” is a practice that predates even Protestantism, but was widely used in the Reformed tradition.

Ll. 166-170. We do not seek to invalidate the author's opinion, but it is necessary to draw attention to the relevance of criticism – which does not present arguments of dissatisfaction coming from the religious community itself, but just a judgment – in a scientific work. It is recommended to think about this point in dialogue with the literature of Ethnomusicology.

L.182-200. Is the exclusivity of English as the second language is not simply an equally excluding internationalization for non-angelophone immigrants? Is it possible to say that the hymnal offers, in fact, cultural diversity or just an internationalization that can often not be understood by the community itself, as happened with Latin in Catholicism? Is there also diversity in melodies? "Celebriamo il Risorto" seems much closer to the path of cultural diversity and multilingualism than an internationalization based on criteria of US economic/cultural hegemony.

- They apply to the “Cantiamo insieme” the same questions presented in relation to “Cantate al Signore”.

L. 307-311. The author says “unfortunately”, and once again makes a judgment without presenting arguments from the field: do communities notice such translation problems? Are there examples of internal conflicts arising from the Italian translation? In ll. 334-338, a conflict is mentioned. You could bring observed examples.

- The analysis of the differences between the original and Italian versions is very coherent, historically and theologically based. One must wonder, however, whether the authors of the adaptations would not have the legitimacy to consider their theological questions and stylistic conventions, responding to local difficulties.

- The editions analyzed are relatively recent. It would be interesting to consider how these tensions eventually present themselves to church leadership (synods, councils, etc.) and the positions of the remaining people on the translation teams.

- Item 3.2: the analysis is equally well-founded and enriched by the fact that there were different translations, which shows that the issue really goes beyond the simple juxtaposition of strong and weak syllables to musical accents.

Item 3.3: equally pertinent analysis. The suggestions presented for 3.1 apply to items 3.2 and 3.3 to the extent of their relevance.

Conclusions: the research brings a very interesting and very practical proposal, which could result in relevant results for local communities. Perhaps, in relation to its justification, it still needs to better present the dissatisfactions of religious communities and, as far as possible, count on their collaboration in choosing the most appropriate texts.

Ll.496-501;565-578. Complete missing data and/or delete data from the template.

The relevance of the research, the objectivity of its arguments, but the need to increase aspects relating to justification from within the communities are highlighted once again. Its publication is recommended after specific revisions that the author deems pertinent, based on the observations presented in this review.

Author Response

Thanks for the review. Below are the corrections based on the advices.

1. Inserted the correction in line 20;
2. Inserted the correction in lines 30-31;
3. Inserted the correction in line 74;
4. Inserted the correction in lines 125-129;
5. Inserted the correction in lines 180-183;
6. Inserted the correction in lines 188-195;
7. As regards the observation for the lines from 307 to 311, I will put in note an article that is published for the Claudiana publisher and the Valdesi study company on the problems of the translations in Italian encountered by the same local churches. Thanks for your advice.

Thanks for the revision, very tip and full of food for thought. I hope to have met the advice. Finally, many of the issues raised were treated by me in other recently published essays. For the purposes of the Blind Review and the anonymity of this phase I have not explicit them, but I will do it in the publication.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This provides some important information on the relationships between different Italian Protestant churches – the distinction between the five different types of congregations, as listed on page 2, is particularly interesting, and the textual analysis in the final part of the paper which elucidates some of the differences between Italian congregations is also strong. I imagine that future research could go into more ethnographic detail and discussion of the character of the different churches.

A few suggestions:

Space tables 1-5 throughout the introduction, so that the reader can easily see the data you are referring to in context with the discussion, rather than having to scroll through the article, or call the information back to mind when they finish the introduction. (i.e. include tables 1-3 after line 37, and tables 4-5 after line 47).  

At 47, in a couple of sentences or so, please tell us just a little bit about the social, political, and welfare initiatives associated with these Protestant churches. This is exactly the kind of information that can give a reader not already familiar with Italy’s various church communities a sense of the social dynamics among churches that make the following information more compelling.

At 95 Indent your block quote (and all of your subsequent quotes from hymnal introductions) so that your quotes are visually clearly set apart from your textual analysis.

118 “has gender-inclusive language”

At 215, I’d introduce your quote briefly, i.e. “The introduction to this volume states its purpose thus:”

323 In a few words, give us some context for what “awakened texts” are.

354 In a few words, explain “pietist flavors”

371 either “kneeling” or “in a kneeling position before”, rather than “in kneel before”

377 “the peculiarities that derive from it” – such as… what are some of the peculiarities of pietism, and why did reformers want to avoid them?

382 “awakened references” – briefly explain “awakened” and why Italian Protestants want to avoid it  

This whole section of textual analysis is very fascinating, especially in the context of the history of Italian churches and their need to create a separate identity from Catholicism. I would give just a little more clarification for your reader some of the long-standing debates and disagreements over the approach to worship among Italian Protestants. Given the diverse range of global religions covered in this journal, I’d avoid assuming that your readers specifically understand Pietism, or what awakened texts are. There are places where just a few words, or a half a sentence, of clarification would allow your reader to clearly see the import of these attitudes and phenomena.

Grammatically, there are sentences that get very complex, especially due to the use of parenthetical insertions. I have some suggestions for clarifying a few of these.

25-30. Rather than having a long parenthetical insertion, just make two sentences: “…historical and social impact for the nation. The Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, or FCEI, was founded in 1967 and recognizes the Lutherans, Waldensians (reformed), Methodists, Baptists, Salvation Army, and Apostolic Church as belonging to “historical Protestantism.”

32 “…of which 5.020,000 are foreigners (i.e. 8.53% are Italian citizens) according to 2023 IDOS data.

32-37 I would break this into three sentences: At 34: “…historical denominations. Therefore….” At 35: “…at historical denominations.

At 123, rather than making one long parenthetical insertion, I would remove the parentheses and start a new sentence with “The Waldensian Church, and consequently….” Then remove the closed parenthesis at 130.

144-152 A very long and confusing sentence. Does this convey the same thing? “Given the authoritative significance of the Innario Cristiano for Italian Protestants on the one hand, and the many proposals for new hymnals on the other—proposals that include Baptist collections, children’s collections, youth movement music and books of rediscovered historical repertoire—hymnal commission president Eugenio Rivoir wanted to underline both the seriousness of the commission’s work in terms of the years spent collecting and discussing rediscovered material, and the dignity of their work at meetings, conferences, and national study groups.”

152-160 “Another important priority was to reassure those who loved the 2000 edition of the Innario Cristiano and worried about the possibility of historical and consolidated repertoire being replaced by new songs and other cultural influences, including those of Pentecostal and neo-Pentecostal movements and overseas Baptist movements. In reality, the admirable work done for this hymnbook is evidenced by the international scope that has been given to it, as we find songs from….”

170 start a new sentence: “The editorial failure of this publication, which was practically not adopted by any church, was not only due….”

305 New sentence: “The Methodists and Baptists, however…..”

New paragraph at 338 starting at “In the refrain….”

345 “…non-Italian church members, who therefore consider Italian churches colder…”

348  New sentence: “In the ultra-Catholic Italy….”

350-352 “…avoid misunderstandings with their own church members, neophytes, and converts from Catholicism, they avoided images such as angels, raptures, excessive verticalization, and mysticism.”

412 New sentence: “We confirm….”

459 New sentence: “…delicate case of work. On the one hand…”

462 New sentence: “…in which they operate. On the other hand, it is important not to lose the roots of one’s own spirituality…”

468 “that of theology, and that of dialogue…”

471 Luca M. Negro expresses an idea that is one of the main points of my research:”

471 Also, separate (and indent) this as a block quote.  

Author Response

Thanks for the review for the advice.
1. I have moved table 1-3 and 4-5 as recommended;

2. I specified what is required (from line 52 to line 62);

3. Correction added in line 131;

4. Correction added in line 201;

5. I added what is requested from the lines from 337 to 343;

6. I added what is requested from the lines from 373 to 376;

7. Inserted modification in line 393;

8. I added what is requested from the lines from 399 to 401;

9. I added what is requested from the lines from 406 to 415.

English and grammar:

1. Correction added in lines 26-30;
2. Correction added in lines 30-31;
3. Correction added in line 34;
4. Correction added in lines 134-142;
5. Correction added in lines 156-162;
6. Correction added in lines 162-167;
7. Correction added in line 180;
8. Correction added in line 317;
9. New paragraph at 356;
10. Correction added in line 363;
11. Correction added in line 366;
12. Correction added in lines 368-370;
13. Correction added in line 443;
14. Correction added in line 490;
15. Correction added in lines 493-494;
16. Correction added in line 499;
17. Correction added in lines 502-503;
18.  

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

p. 15, l. 471, delete the period after "past".

A useful contribution to or understanding of hymnody and church music. 

Author Response

Thanks for the review and for the advice. I chose to clarify the figures of pastor Negro in line 471, but I decided to keep his words as, in my opinion, clarifying the multicultural integration path of music in Italian Protestant churches.