Music and Mother Tongue: How Luther’s Reformation Transformed Sacred Music

Martin Luther not only had a strong personal fondness for music but was also convinced of its spiritual value. By introducing the Lied into liturgy, he opened the door to a range of other sung genres, including the chorale and associated forms. Gradually hymns in the vernacular gained general acceptance in other denominations too, as Luther’s instincts prevailed over Calvin’s attempt to limit church singing to the psalms and the Roman Catholic restriction of choral music to what could be sung in Latin. This talk, timed to fall within a few weeks of the 500th anniversary of Luther's legendary nailing of his famous 95 theses to a church door in Wittenberg, will give an account of this revolution in musical, religious and cultural practice, illustrated by recordings.