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Amazing Grace
- Author
- James Walvin
- Narrator
- Steven Crossley
- Publisher
- Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish Date
- 31 October 2023
- Run Time
- 6 hours 54 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
What to expect
Sung in moments of personal isolation or on state occasions watched by millions, “Amazing Grace” has become an unparalleled anthem for humankind. How did a simple Christian hymn, written in a remote English vicarage in 1772, come to hold such sway in all corners of the modern world? With this short, engaging cultural history, James Walvin offers an explanation.
The greatest paradox is that the author of “Amazing Grace,” John Newton, was a former Liverpool slave captain. Walvin follows the song across the Atlantic to track how it became part of the cause for abolition and galvanized decades of movements and trends in American history and popular culture. By the end of the twentieth century, “Amazing Grace” was performed in Soweto and Vanuatu, by political dissidents in China, and by Kikuyu women in Kenya. No other song has acquired such global resonance as “Amazing Grace.” Behold a compelling story of music and social change.
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Details
- Author
- James Walvin
- Narrator
- Steven Crossley
- Duration
- 6 hours 54 minutes
- Release Date
- 31 October 2023
- ISBN
- 9798890594778
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Recorded Books, Inc.
- Genre
- Biography: arts and entertainment, Composers and songwriters, Musicians, singers, bands and groups, Sacred and religious music
Synopsis
A fascinating journey through the history of one of the transatlantic world’s most popular hymnsSung in moments of personal isolation or on state occasions watched by millions, “Amazing Grace” has become an unparalleled anthem for humankind. How did a simple Christian hymn, written in a remote English vicarage in 1772, come to hold such sway in all corners of the modern world? With this short, engaging cultural history, James Walvin offers an explanation.The greatest paradox is that the author of “Amazing Grace,” John Newton, was a former Liverpool slave captain. Walvin follows the song across the Atlantic to track how it became part of the cause for abolition and galvanized decades of movements and trends in American history and popular culture. By the end of the twentieth century, “Amazing Grace” was performed in Soweto and Vanuatu, by political dissidents in China, and by Kikuyu women in Kenya. No other song has acquired such global resonance as “Amazing Grace.” Behold a compelling story of music and social change.
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