{"title":"Lytton N. McDonnell","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLytton N. McDonnell\u003c\/strong\u003e explores the profound intersections of spirituality and human experience with a thoughtful and reflective voice. His works invite readers to contemplate deep questions about existence, faith, and the nature of ecstasy as a transformative state.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eRooted in \u003cem\u003eReligion \u0026amp; Spirituality\u003c\/em\u003e, McDonnell’s writing offers insight and inspiration through evocative prose, encouraging a meditative approach to understanding the sacred dimensions of life.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"counterpoints-of-ecstasy-by-lytton-n-mcdonnell-9798855805260","title":"Counterpoints of Ecstasy","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA cultural history of the relationship between music and trance in America, from the early colonial era to the Jazz Age.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eCounterpoints of Ecstasy\u003c\/i\u003e provides an engaging exploration of the relationship between music and self-transcendent experiences in America from the 1620s to the 1920s. It investigates how diverse Americans—from Puritan settlers to vaudeville entertainers—used music to find meaning in ecstasy, trance, and other mystical experiences that drastically altered their senses of subjectivity. These moments of profound transformation unfolded in settings as diverse as revival tents, concert halls, parlors, and movie theaters. The book introduces four distinct modes of self-transcendent experience—supernatural, natural, internal, and equivocal—demonstrating how various interpretations of ecstasy evolved out of and alongside each other. Blending historical analysis with cultural theory, the book integrates traditional narratives of disenchantment and re-enchantment, offering a richly textured account of music’s power to dissolve boundaries and foster connection. A vital contribution to the histories of religion, spirituality, music, and American culture, \u003ci\u003eCounterpoints of Ecstasy\u003c\/i\u003e invites readers to reconsider the profound, sometimes paradoxical, role that music played in the quest for meaning beyond the self.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47397801427180,"sku":"9798855805260","price":382.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/c6228c1d2d3ff2698e6f0b57f06cee62.jpg?v=1773778643"}],"url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/collections\/lytton-n-mcdonnell.oembed","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}