The Noble Art of Music

In a letter of 4 October 1530 to Ludwig Senfl (ca. 1488/89–1543), the chapel master of the Bavarian court, Martin Luther famously proclaimed: "I plainly judge and do not hesitate to affirm that, except for theology, there is no art which can be placed on the same level as music". This position stands in sharp contrast to that of some of his fellow reformers of that time, who, disturbed by the power of music to influence the soul, virtually banished music from the church. Luther, on the other hand, sought to take advantage of the qualities that music possessed to promote his reforms. For him, music was a powerful instrument for personal meditation and distraction, for strengthening common bonds, for spreading his message and for public representation. Luther's high regard for music was based on personal experience. As a schoolboy in Eisenach he sang regularly and at university he received training in speculative music theory as one of the seven liberal arts. He played the lute and could compose. As an educated musician, he continually emphasized the importance of music, not only as part of worship, but also as an essential part of general education. He once remarked that every schoolmaster must be able to sing and he emphasized the importance of music education in his 1524 guidelines for the establishment of schools (An die Ratsherren aller Städte deutschen Landes, daß sie christliche Schulen aufrichten und halten sollen). Accordingly, music played a central role in the school curriculum and there was enormous growth in Lutheran regions during the Reformation. Luther himself planned a treatise on music, but it was never completed. The most emblematic musical manifestation of Luther's reforms is undoubtedly the repertoire of songs in the vernacular language whose creation Luther initiated: the chorale or hymn repertoire. With their German, poetic and strophic texts, set to simple and memorable melodies, these chorales enabled the faithful to sing together and to express and share religious and spiritual ideas. They were used privately, publicly and for educational purposes.