The Staggering Number of Styles and Genres of Lutheran Church Music

J. S. Bach's B Minor Mass with its great chorale fugues, elaborately ornamented arias, and orchestral accompaniment, may very well be the greatest chorale work ever composed; however, liturgical music is ill conceived as a great art form. Accessibility is paramount and, at its finest, liturgical music remains natural, unpretentious, and

In 1522, Luther began to organize a reformed church and was the first to translate the New Testament into German. This New Testament sold almost 200,000 copies and created great appeal for Lutheranism. It allowed many Germanic people to read the Bible because it no longer required the people to know Latin. However, it did not reach everyone as many people were still illiterate. From its beginning, the reformation was tied to political affairs as it was supported by many German

Though many people may have been puzzled as to why he published books in German, not Latin, it was a smart move. Luther was aware that bibles, books, laws, and political pamphlets were in Latin. After all, only things written in Latin could be considered "serious literature." However, Luther was also aware that no one knew what the liturgies at mass were saying, what the bible was saying, or what laws were saying because only few could actually read and understand Latin. The educated, nobility, and high clergy were the only ones who could read it. So, Luther wrote in common German, which was spoken everyday. This amplified his ideas even more. In time, Latin would be lost and the bible would be published in every other

“Martin Luther wrote his “95 Theses” and challenged the church on the sale of indulgences in 1517”. Martin Luther argued that “the church’s rituals did not have the power to save souls and denied priests had any spiritual power” (Green). “Luther translated the bible into German and for the first time allowed common people to read the Bible without priests. This eventually lead to different opinions between people and their ideas about salvation and created different branches of protestant churches such as the Anabaptists, Calvinists, and other denominators Puritans, Quakers, Methodists, and Baptists”

Bach was able to convince the church and town government at Mühlhausen to fund an expensive renovation of the organ at the Blasius Church. In 1708 Bach wrote Gott ist mein König, a festive cantata for the inauguration of the new Council, which was published at the Council 's expense.

The second complete change that took place as a result of Luther translating the bible from Latin into German, was that people were given the power of knowledge of God’s words. People were no longer needing the translation of a priest in order to study and discuss the contents of the bible. The word of God became accessible in people’s homes and not only in churches through priests and

To combat his dilemma, Luther wrote his notable “Ninety-Five Theses,” in 1517. These publications illustrated by Luther would then be sent to the hierarchy of the church and would begin The Protestant Reformation. Thereafter, Luther was excommunicated from the church three years later in 1520. Luther continued to develop his movement through translating the Bible into German which would promote literacy and inspire a new denomination of his own known as Lutheranism. Luther inspired poor citizens of Germany to uproar. Many German princes sided with Luther and further pushed his ideology. As soon as the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, Charles V, attempted to ban Lutheranism, the separation of the Christian Church finalized. Anyone who was not Eastern Orthodox or Catholic, had become known as a Protestant. This final division changed the face of European culture by not only putting into question the authority of faith, but also by challenging the authority of the Catholic Pope. New Christian denominations resulted from the split caused by the Reformation, which led to significant religious changes that also weakened the power of the Church.

Although there was only one instrument that I could hear (an organ), this service seemed to have a strong focus on music. Most of the time, a small choir or individual at the altar was singing in Greek, with occasional “readings”

At the beginning of the reformation, the viewpoint that started to develop was that anything which was not included in the bible could be regarded as insignificant and therefore permissible. For example, he noted that there was nothing in Scripture requiring celibacy and therefore permitted, in fact it is encouraged that preachers are married so that they aren’t tempted by sin. During the Reformation more emphasis was placed on the individual and the church’s interpretation was starting to be questioned. Luther describes in his Preface to the First Volume of His Latin Writings how he came up with his “solas” of salvation by soteriology by reading a sentence from the Bible. “‘In it the righteousness of God is revealed’ that had stood in my way. For I hated that word “righteousness of God,” which, according to the use and custom of all the teachers, I had been thought to understand philosophically…with which God is righteous and punishes the unrighteous sinner” (Hillerbrand 29). He had determined that people could not be saved by good deeds or sacraments but by “faith alone” or Sola fide. This meant that followers rejected some of the traditional teachings of the Church and resulted in a theological dispute with the Church. Furthermore, Luther thought of Scripture being divided into two parts “…that faith alone, without works, justifies, frees and saves; …Scripture is divided

It is a widely accepted fact that Luther never actually intended to branch off from the Catholic religion or go against the papacy. He wanted only to change and reform the Church and several of its practices, and he wanted the Bible to be accessible to the common man. To do this, he painstakingly translated the

Luther was adamant that the church must begin and end with the Word of God and that Jesus was the Word made flesh.2 Luther believed that Jesus Christ created the Bible and the church and therefore it was impossible for the church to create the Bible because it was the inspired Word of God.3  The Bible was the one and only authority of the Church and nothing else compared.  His beliefs lead him into conflict with the Catholics who believed that they had the authority over the church.  Out of this belief in the Word of God came all of His other theological teachings such as salvation by grace, the sacraments of the church, the law and the gospel, and the cross.4  His belief that he did not have to work for God’s approval but that it was given to him freely by grace and this was a starting point for all of his other views to really take shape. In so doing this he found a boldness to stand up for his beliefs and went down in history when he nailed the Ninety-Five Thesis to the door of the Church at Wittenburg.5 There was new technology taking place namely the invention of the printing press and the world was growing and moving forward.6

In the article “Why Do Lutherans Sing? Lutherans, Music, and the Gospel in the First Century of the Reformation”, J. Andreas Loewe discusses Luther’s use of music to spread the Gospel, and his influence on music in the Lutheran Church at the beginning of the Reformation. Loewe claims that regarding Luther’s passion for music, he was not only a skilled musician, but he “strongly believed that music was an ideal means to come to know and proclaim the mystery of God,” (69). Luther strongly believed in the changing power of music when combined with the Gospel

This means that we must welcome the varying movements “of the Holy Spirit through non-traditional, non-classical, non-European musical expressions while retaining and passing on faithfully, the depth and richness of that sacred music tradition” (class lecture week four, pg 2). This calls for one to be committed to examining the traditions, practices, and musical tendencies of the faithful who are in the community as well as those who have gone before us. Liturgical tradition has within it countless avenues for variety, accommodating itself to differing situations, themes, cultures, ages and concerns. This means that those called to lead and facilitate worship must go about the business of appropriately selecting themes, styles of music, and incorporate practices that reflect the larger community. This is to say that we are to go beyond our own musical preferences or what we may be tempted to call “legitimate” or “illegitimate” music, and opt for a liturgy that is rich with hospitality and holds within it deep connections. (Music and Vital Congregationas, pg 46-63). It is also important to ask the question “who is worship for?” Within the Lutheran understanding, in genuine worship God is the subject. This means that we are not. True worship emerges because God calls us. As a response, our worship directed to God is a gift in response to God’s

Many scholars deem the Lutheran Chorale as “one of the most thrilling chapter in the history of the Reformation”(H.G. Haile Luther; An experiment in Biography H.G. Haile,Author 1980;Doubleday & Company Inc Garden City New York ). Luther greatly appreciated older German hymns from the Middle ages, as can be seen through his works. Luther would find poets to write new hymns in what he deemed as a “proper devotional style”. Luther would often paraphrase Psalms in his hymns. In 1523 several of his hymns and those of his friends were printed and distributed in individual leaflets or broadsheets.

In Rome, cardinals saw Luther's theses as an attack on papal authority. In 1518, at a meeting of the Augustinian Order in Heidelberg, Luther set out his positions with even more precision. In the Heidelberg Disputation, we see the signs of a maturing in Luther's thought and new clarity surrounding his theological perspective—the Theology of the Cross.