This volume is published in a series the aim of which is to promote the good practice of liturgy on the basis of informed understanding of its history. The author presents a cheerfully written, if distinctly amateurish, account of what the New Testament and a handful of selected theologians of the patristic period say about the nature and function of music. Their general view is (I think correctly) perceived to be that music is a natural good which must be subjected to the discipline of theological thinking and be recognisable in its Christian ethos. It is useful to have some of the main texts set before the reader. Not enough is done to explain, or at least conjure up in the imagination, the kinds of sound the writers are advocating or rejecting: there are no musical examples provided (surely an accompanying CD is a necessity?). Whether music in present-day worship can be improved by study of the ancient Church's theory is, I would think, a moot point.