Abstract
This article explores two modes of hearing afforded by Fantasy on Old Hundred (2018), written for concert band by David R. Holsinger. On one hand, the piece works well even when approached from a secular perspective. On the other hand, familiarity with the hymn tune’s Christian texts and with evangelical theology allows engagement with a deeper network of associative meanings and their narrative implications. Part I of this article explores Holsinger’s choice of OLD HUNDREDTH for this composition, highlighting the musical resources of the tune and its associated texts centered on praise. Part II provides an initial analysis of Fantasy on Old Hundred through a secular lens, raising questions regarding some of its unusual elements. Part III contextualizes the role of praise in evangelical theology, focusing specifically on its relation to salvation. Building on the prior sections, Part IV proposes an overtly sacred reading of Fantasy on Old Hundred that resonates with this view of salvation. Ultimately, familiarity with OLD HUNDREDTH’s associations and evangelical theology enables hearing Fantasy on Old Hundred as analogous to a Christian conversion narrative. Overall, this case study illustrates an interpretive process in which relationships detectable through typical, secular means of analysis ground extensions into the sacred realm.
Recommended Citation
Inman, Samantha M.
(2026)
"Sacred and Secular Hearings of Holsinger's Fantasy on Old Hundred,"
Gamut: Online Journal of the Music Theory Society of the Mid-Atlantic: Vol. 13
:
Iss.
1
, Article 2.
Available at:
https://voljournals.utk.edu/gamut/vol13/iss1/2