The great legacy of the Reformation lies not simply with the written confession that arose out of it nor even the renewal of the Church by the reaffirmation of the centrality of the Gospel rightly proclaimed but in the hymnody of the Great Reformation. I remain convinced that the Lutheran chorale is probably the greatest universal gift to the wider church as provides with the voices in the pews the weighty words of our confession and a song to sing even outside the congregational assembly.
The chorale, a metrical hymn born of and given its greatest fruit with the Lutheran church in Germany at the time of the Reformation, remains a mark of Lutheran theology and piety as well as music. From early in the Reformation, chorales were sung by the congregation during the liturgy and in common life -- even in the often tense moments as the Reformation itself unfolded before pope and emperor. Unison singing was the rule of the Reformed churches, both in Germany and in other countries -- often limited to Scriptures set directly or in paraphrase to a tune. Early polyphonic (multivoiced) versions may certainly have been intended for a choir singing but they nearly always expected and utilized the resources of the pipe organ. In later polyphonic arrangements the melody shifted gradually to the treble line from its original position in the tenor.
The words of the Lutheran chorales were often Latin hymn texts translated into the vernacular as well as original compositions from Martin Luther and the great cadre of Reformation musicians surrounding him and later in the life of the Lutheran Church. The melodies were sometimes borrowed from folk songs (even secular songs) but an industry emerged to produce original hymntunes which were marked by great melodic and structural simplicity and yet profound eloquence. Martin Luther’s own versions were often more irregular than the polished versions that later predominated. Sadly the history often robbed the great Lutheran chorales of their rhythms rather than exploiting them.
The earliest large collection of such melodies was the Geystliches Gesangk-Buchleyn (1524), edited by Johann Walther which included a preface by Luther. From that time, the technique of chorale writing expanded and many more collections were published. Luther’s own compositions include “Ein’ feste Burg” (“A Mighty Fortress”) and “Vom Himmel hoch” (“From Heaven High”), of which he certainly wrote the words and almost certainly wrote or adapted the music.
Prominent in the development of the chorale in the 16th century were Michael Weisse, Philipp Nicolai, composer of the celebrated “Wachet auf!” (“Wake, Awake”), and Melchior Vulpius. Active in the 17th century were Johann Hermann Schein and Johann Crüger. Crüger edited the first editions of Praxis Pietatis Melica, a collection of tunes first published in 1644. More complex chorale settings came from Johan Eccard and Michael Praetorius. Eccard’s chorale settings are virtually brief motets, and Praetorius was one of the first systematic arrangers in polyphonic style of tunes from earlier sources (Musae Sioniae, 1610).
It was in the passions and cantatas of Johann Sebastian Bach that the Lutheran chorale reached its zenith. It appears as a richly harmonized hymn tune in which the congregation is expected to join with the choir for all or some of the stanzas. Bach’s chorales are strictly choral arrangements of well-known hymn tunes adorned with elaborate harmony; Bach himself appears never composed an original chorale and yet he remains its most enthusiastic advocate as evidenced by the cantatas themselves.
Publications (Singing the Gospel: Lutheran Hymns and the Success of the Reformation) have begun to consider the critical catechetical importance of the Lutheran corpus of hymnody (kernlieder) for the furtherance of the Lutheran confession by the people. The great body of Lutheran hymns by Luther, Paul Gerhardt, Johann Franck, Philipp Nicolai, Johann Heermann, and so many others have provided a musical parallel to the truth of justification by grace alone. They have musically and poetically planted this treasure into the souls of faithful Lutheran families. These chorales show how the rich and unchanging truth of the Lutheran Confessions is no dead orthodoxy but the living and deeply comforting faith. While rooted in the objective truth of the Word of God, its song also points the way also to the sacramental treasures Christ has given the Church. Even Lutherans are only now beginning to rediscover these gems of their past and to find how enduring and eloquent these testaments of song.
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