Martin Luther: The Hymn Writer

Martin Luther: The Hymn Writer

By: Sarah Schneider

Growing up as a Lutheran, I heard the general story of what Martin Luther was about on Sunday mornings. One topic that most people probably don’t think of is his music. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” is one of the most popular hymns in the Lutheran congregation and it was written by Martin Luther himself. Luther used the idea of music to help teach the Scripture in a way that the lay people (also known as commoners or peasants) would understand. I’ve always come to think of him as a theologian and priest, but never as a hymn writer and musician.

Martin Luther came from a very musical background. He sang in choir and played many instruments.[1] Luther often would express the importance of music and that the only thing more important was the Word of God.[2]  He thus promoted congregational singing into the church.[3] Luther’s action in promoting congregational singing lead to inspire many, such as J. S. Bach, to write music for the church. He felt that music would go hand in hand with preaching the Word of God. People found a better understanding of God’s Word through music, thanks to Luther. With this idea of introducing music to the congregation, it gave the lay people a bigger participating role during service.[4]

Martin Luther’s ideal for change in the church opened many innovative ideas. Luther proposed a new order of service: readings from the Bible, a sermon, the sacraments (if the priest desired to do so), and worship with praise and music.[5] Congregational singing gave people the opportunity to praise God. He worked with skilled musicians to write music for choirs, organist, Et cetera. When he couldn’t work with these skilled musicians, he wrote the music himself.[6]

Martin Luther based almost all his hymns on Scripture throughout the Bible, “They were carefully constructed vehicles for gospel teaching”.[7] Luther used free musical practice, rather than restrictive use like his peers. “By contrast, Luther thought it was biblical to use every form of God-honoring expression to praise the God of grace, just so long as it as that praise did not violate biblical truth”.[8] Luther wanted the truth of what was said in Scripture for all to hear. He also would take ancient tunes and rewrite them to hymns used in the church. He would take these old melodies and add harmonies to them.

With Luther pushing the importance of music, he also pressed that music be taught in schools. Lay people didn’t know how to read, so what made reading music any easier? Since it was a tremendous change, worshippers had to be “acquainted with music practice”.[9] But, even though music classes were taught, people still didn’t know the new tunes, so hymn books (or hymnals) were introduced. Instead of just the choir having one they would use during services, lay people could have their own personal copy of these hymnals for private practice in their own homes. He believed that music can make a community, and at first no one cared, but eventually, people began to enjoy the music.

One of Martin Luther’s first hymnals that was published was published around 1524. Music gave Luther a reason to “demonstrate another element of living the Christian life”.[10] Martin Luther helped create this with his team of musicians. In total, he composed around 36 hymns himself; some based on German text, others on the Psalms and spiritual commentaries, such as “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”.[11] Lutheran hymnologists have “compared the relative importance of the Bible and hymn books with the sun and the moon”.[12] Being that the moon reflects the sun’s rays, the hymn book should reflect the Bible. The hymn book helps teach what the Bible is saying in a way that most people could understand. “The content of the Bible is fixed; the way we interpret it is not”.[13] Growing up in the church, I’ve seen first hand how people interpret the Bible differently. How people applied the Bible in their lives was different for everyone. The music would help people have a better understanding of the lessons and sermon.

Many of Martin Luther’s hymns survived to modern times using hymnals. “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” being one of the biggest hymns that are still popular and used a lot today.

“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” was written around 1529 and published in 1533. The hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 46 and is often referred to as the “Battle Hymn of the Reformation”.[14] With over 100 different translations of this piece and it’s not hard to see why: it connects Psalm 46 to the church Luther was dealing with at the time, but many take it as Luther’s personal struggles.[15] This hymn is an example of how Luther’s hymns have inspired many people in several ways, including some of the work of Johann Sebastian Bach himself.

J. S. Bach often used Martin Luther’s themes in his music. Choral Cantata’s are sacred compositions from the German Baroque era. Bach wrote the most famous cantatas and he used Lutheranism themes in these cantatas. But J. S. Bach wasn’t the only one in his family to do so, in fact, many of his ancestors and successors would compose hymns based on the teachings and styles of Martin Luther.[16] My classmate, Hannah, goes into much more detail about Luther’s influence on Bach.

In an article by Robert L. Marshall, he states that “J. S. Bach may well be one of the most important Lutherans”.[17] Luther was imaginative and a genius melody composer. Bach was drawn to his melodies. A lot of our music theory today was based on Bach’s style and part-writing was no exception. There were two features that Bach particularly liked about Luther: 1) Luther’s skillful setting of text to tunes and 2) Luther’s consistency on the focus on the mercy of God in Jesus Christ. Luther would use musical conventions to mirror the meaning of texts. For the mercy of God in Jesus Christ, Bach would follow in Luther’s steps and mirror these meaningful tunes to the meaningful texts.[18]

Music played a key role in the development of the church. Moderns day services were shaped by those Martin Luther fought so hard to change. Even famous composers, such as J. S. Bach, found inspiration through Martin Luther’s hymns. Music is a universal language that everyone can understand, regardless if the words are in another language. Luther was very serious when it came to music in the church. People understood music and through this music, people would understand the Word of God.

For me, I have a close connection with God through music. It’s my gift He gave me to share His Word with others and I believe that was what Martin Luther intended. Music gave everyone a connection and a way to worship, praise, and give thanks to God’s glory and for all that God has done for us.

 

Sources

[1] Center for Church Music: Center for Church Music. “Center for Church Music, Songs & Hymns.” Martin Luther – The Center for Church Music, Songs and Hymns. Accessed March 11, 2017. https://songsandhymns.org/people/detail/martin-luther

[2] Singing the Word of God, 14-15: Noll, Mark. “Singing the Word of God.” Christian History and Biography, no. 95 (2007): 15-19.

[3] Singing the Word of God, 15: Noll, Mark. “Singing the Word of God.” Christian History and Biography, no. 95 (2007): 15-19.

[4] Lull, 307: Lull, Timothy F. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings. 3rd Edition ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2012.

[5] Lull, 308: Lull, Timothy F. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings. 3rd Edition ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2012.

[6] Lull, 308: Lull, Timothy F. Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings. 3rd Edition ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2012.

[7] Singing the Word of God, 18: Noll, Mark. “Singing the Word of God.” Christian History and Biography, no. 95 (2007): 15-19.

[8] Singing the Word of God, 17: Noll, Mark. “Singing the Word of God.” Christian History and Biography, no. 95 (2007): 15-19.

[9] Martin Luther and Music: “History.” Muse virtuel du Protestantisme. Accessed March 11, 2017. http://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/martin-luther-and-music/

[10] Marty, 114: Marty, Martin. Martin Luther. New York City, NY: Penguin Group, 2004. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/248469.Martin_Luther

[11] Martin Luther and Music: “History.” Muse virtuel du Protestantisme. Accessed March 11, 2017. http://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/martin-luther-and-music/

[12] Forming Identity Through Song: Tonsing, Gertrud. “Forming Identity Through Song.” 69, no. 1 (September 06, 2013): 1-11. Accessed March 11, 2017. http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/view/1303/3409http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/view/1303/3409

[13] Forming Identity Through Song: Tonsing, Gertrud. “Forming Identity Through Song.” 69, no. 1 (September 06, 2013): 1-11. Accessed March 11, 2017. http://www.hts.org.za/index.php/HTS/article/view/1303/3409

[14] The Hymns of Martin Luther: Ministries, Discipleship. “History of Hymns: “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”.” Discipleship Ministries. Accessed March 11, 2017. https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-a-mighty-fortress-is-our-god

[15] Singing the Word of God, 19: Noll, Mark. “Singing the Word of God.” Christian History and Biography, no. 95 (2007): 15-19.

[16] Martin Luther and Music: “History.” Muse virtuel du Protestantisme. Accessed March 11, 2017. http://www.museeprotestant.org/en/notice/martin-luther-and-music/

[17] Luther, Bach, and the Early Reformation Chorale: Marshall, Robert L. “Luther, Bach, and the Early Reformation Chorale.” 1995. Accessed March 11, 2017. http://pitts.emory.edu/collections/digitalcollections/lectures/marsh-kessler1.cfm

[18] Singing the Word of God, 19: Noll, Mark. “Singing the Word of God.” Christian History and Biography, no. 95 (2007): 15-19.

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