Music from the Lutheran Reformation (1530-1560)

The Lutheran Reformation was not a solitary event that began and ended with a posting of 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Cathedral. It was a process of transformation in the Church that began with Jan Hus' complaints a 100 years earlier, reached a pinnacle in Luther's lifetime and continued for decades after Luther' death. It started with the Augustinian monk's tirade against the church hierarchy in Wittenberg: an open protest against the sales of indulgences, but more broadly against the corruption and authoritarianism of the Roman Catholic Church. His rebellion was an act of unimaginable gall in an era emblazoned with the absolute power of the clergy and enforced through inquisition or persecution.

Luther was also a musician who advocated for changes in the musical practices in the church. Religious liturgy was to be published, not in Latin, as was the rule of the day, but in the vernacular German. Hymns were often written in a homophonic structure where individual words could be heard clearly - a method later adopted by Counter-Reformation composers like Palestrina.

This short video is a sample of a vast repertoire of church music created by the early Lutheran Protestants and later cultivated by some the greatest composers of the next 2 centuries including Schütz, Praetorius, Buxtehude and J.S. Bach. All the musical selections in this clip are MIDI files that I downloaded from CPDL.org and edited using MusicStudio 2:

I listed the musical selections as well as the artworks included the video. (Abbreviations: J.W.=Johann Walter, L.C.E.=Lucas Cranach the Elder, A.D.=Albrecht Dürer) To skip to a different piece, click on the time stamp next to the song title.

0:06 Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist (Johann Walter)
* uploaded by Allen Garvin
a. Geystliche gesangk-Buchleyn title page (J.W., 1537)
b. Nun bitten wir, Cantus line (J.W., 1537)
c. Odilia and St. Cecilia (Frankfurt, c.1506)
d. Martin Luther portrait (L.C.E., 1525)
e. Luther playing lute for his family
f. Nun bitten wir, Cantus part (J.W., 1524)
g. Stadtpfeifer (Nuremberg, 1520)
h. Brass consort (Aldegrever, c.1530)
i. Wind band (Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1520)
j. View of Wittenberg (1536)
3:25 Prelude: Herr Christ der einig Gottes Sohn (Anonymous)
* uploaded by Renato Calcaterra
a. Organ case (Dutch, 1526)
b. Rysum organ (German, 1513)
4:10 Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott (Martin Luther and J.W.)
* uploaded by Franz Patzal
a. Ein feste Burg, autographed by M.L.
b. Ein feste Burg, cantus line (A.Rauscher, c.1531)
c. Martin Luther portrait (L.C.E., c.1528)
d. Luther's 95 Theses, published edition (1522)
e. Castle Church Wittenberg
f. Ein feste Burg, bass part (J.W., 1551)
g. Worms Cathedral
h. Diet of Worms, Luther making his case
i. Luther delivering a sermon, Wittemberg Cathedral (L.C.E., 1525)
j. Concert of sacred music (H.Burgkmair, c.1530)
k. Wartburgschloss
7:48 Verleih uns Frieden (Balthsar Resinarius)
* uploaded by Sebastian Meyer to CPDL.org.
a. Da pacem, (Fribourg, Swiss, 13th cent.)
b. Verley uns Frieden (Klug, 1535)
c. Neue Deutsche Geistliche, title page (G.Rhau, 1544)
d. Sackbut (German, 1557)
9:47 Nun komm der heiden Heiland (J.W.)
* uploaded by Roel Griffioen
a. Enchiridion, title page (Erfurt, 1524)
b. Nun komm der heiden Heiland (1524)
c. Nun komm der heiden Heiland (J.W., 1537)
d. Luther Bible, title page (Wittenberg, 1550)
e. Luther Bible, title page (1534)
f. Creation of the world (L.C.E., 1543)
g. Weimar altarpiece (L.C.E. and son)
h. Resurrection (A.D., 1512)
i. Christ risen (Matthias Grünewald, c.1515)
j. Ambassadors, detail of J.W. motet (1533)
k. Schlosskirche, Wittenberg

The first piece is "Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist" a glorious 5 part motet by Johann Walter, friend, follower and colleague of Luther. My first version is a simulated choral rehearsal that includes a lute to keep singers on pitch. It has been said that Luther disliked the grandiosity of pipe organs in church service and may have preferred the lute, which he played in private and maybe in church rehearsal. The instrumental "Nun bitten wir" is a secularized arrangement suited for a town band, or Stadtpfeifer. "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" is Luther's most famous hymn. I made 3 arrangements: 1. the original hymn with only a cantus firmus line, 2. a lute solo and 3. Walter's 4 part motet. "Verleih uns Frieden" is a German translation of the last stanza in the Latin hymn "Da pacem." Finally, "Nun komm der heiden Heiland" (Latin: Veni Redemptor gentium) is another popular Lutheran tune that I arranged for viol ensemble and then chorus with instruments.

I created Version 2 of "Music from the Lutheran Reformation" in order to improve the sound quality of the original Youtube video which I found to be too electronic. I adjusted the Equalizer on my synthesizer to soften the overtones in the upper voices.