What Effects Did the Reformation Have on Church Music?

The Protestant Reformation in Europe, primarily in Germany, has been one of the most influential events on Western culture in the history of the World. Its impact has been felt in almost every single aspect of life, from literature to day-to-day practices. Even today, much of what happened during the Protestant Reformation has a direct link to many aspects of today's Western Culture. One of these impacts that many do not consider is the impact that it had on music in the Church, and music in general. Music in the Church was, as it still is, very important. Also, like today, it was very important to everyday secular living. Once the reformation was fully underway, and it began to seep into the lives and the ways of people, it would undoubtedly begin to change music. In fact, the change in music almost began immediately in the newly formed churches. It is my objective to discuss the immediate effects and impacts that the Protestant Reformation had on music in churches and in the secular realm.

When discussing the Protestant Reformation, most start with discussion of Martin Luther(1483-1546), and this is for a good reason. He is credited with almost single handedly sparking the flame of the Reformation. Aside from his theological passion, Martin Luther held music in the highest regard with very high honor(Friedrich, 10). He took an Augustinian view on music in the since that "the gift of language combined with the gift of song was only given to man that he should praise God with both words and music mainly by proclaiming the Word of God through music and by providing sweet melodies with words. (Friedrich, 9)" Many early reformers took this view. They saw it as a way to not only praise God, but they also saw it as an educational tool to teach the common man the gospel(Friedrich, 13). Martin Luther received the common musical training as a clergyman. "music was essential to Luther and every medieval man for the spirit and soul.(Friedrich, 5)" As a student he sung in the Magdeburg Cathedral School Choir. He also song as a Kurrende-Krake. The Kurrende-Krake were school boys who would sing on the streets of cities for money or food(Friedrich, 6). Luther was also an avid Lute player, even well into is later days(Friedrich, 7). In short, Martin Luther had a strong passion for music. Even before his efforts to bring reform to the Catholic church, he had a comprehensive knowledge of the music of his time(Friedrich, 8).

While Christianity was in persecution, the Christian congregation was sure to sing there hymns and psalms of worship. That is, before the Dogmatisms of the Catholic church came it to full rights and power, the congregational hymn was a common practice. We see evidence of this even in the book of Acts and during the first Lord's Supper. Once Christianity came into respectability through the Catholic Church, the congregation gave up this form of participation(Douglas, 37). Once the Reformation was underway, Martin Luther wanted to incorporate the congregation in the music worship part of the service. This, he felt, was an important and detrimental aspect of Christianity and the concept of the priesthood of all the believers. Luther, along with his co-workers made constant use of pre-reformation traditions, in the repertory of German-lieder; that is German song, for church, home, and school(Friedrich, 14). Luther had no objections to Latin being used in this part of the service. This was only because of his care for the education of the young. He once said "young people mean everything to me. And if I were able, and if Greek and Hebrew were as familiar to us as Latin, and had as much fine music and as many fine songs, we would hold mass, sing, and read on Sunday after the other in all four languages-German, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.(Friedrich, 13)" of course this was from a purely educational perspective. Luther still found the idea of the common tongue used in worship to be very important. This will be discussed in more detail later on. Luther also wanted the songs to be memorized by the people. He had the schoolboys of the schools attached to the church learn the songs as apart of the curriculum.

Luther put a strong emphasis on the congregational song. He did so to hold to is concern of personal involvement in the church service. Congregational singing once again became an important part of the regular services of church. Hymns became significant in "the worship service, the church year, and the life of the denomination as a whole(Douglas, 38)." the chorales, as the were called, were derived from pre-reformation hymns. They were translated from Latin in to German. Other hymns were either written by Luther himself or he caused to be written. The actual music was taken from either already existing music or newly composed music. In some cases secular music is included. Luther wanted the music to be suitable for a general congregation that may or may not have had a musical education. For this reason the melodies that were used generally stayed in a medium vocal range. Also, the rhythms were extremely straight forward. More than most of the time the hymns were unaccompanied by music, and they were also sung in unison(Douglas, 39). This concept and practice can even been seen today in our hymnal books. An example would be Luther's Vom Himmel hoch. The melody has been linked back to the beginning periods of the Eurasian population migrations. Also, his German Sanctus is indirectly related to this type. It actually has a direct link to the Sanctus of the Gregorian Mass In Dominicis Adventus et Quadragesimae(Friedrich38).

Luther was very concerned with the content of the songs. He put a great emphasis on the individual reconciliation with God. Luther's "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," and "Now Thank We All Our God" are among other Reformation selections included in Baptist Hymnal (Douglas, 39). On October 29, 1525, Luther held the first German Mass. It was held in the palace church at Wittenberg. In this mass he was very concerned with the mass having a real German quality. He did not object to having Latin text translated and having the Latin tones or notes preserved but they were, as he said, "neither agreeable nor correct." He wanted everything, from the notes, accent, and melody to the movement to come from the mother tongue. Everything else would be, to him, "a monkey-like imitation.(Friedrich, 60)" This shows Luther's obvious concern with his desire to have a worship service that was closer to the people; whereas under the Catholic system of worship it was very distant and even in a different language than the commoners. Most of which could not even understand the Latin that was used during worship or other parts of mass.

Old hymns were translated into the common language using an Ambrosian style(Friedrich,15). Luther himself wrote many hymns that were used in his churches(Friedrich, 17). In fact, his Lieder became the bases and the repertory for the Protestant songs. The songbooks of the 16th and 17th century had Luther's songs as the basis of an, otherwise, very changeable repertory. Many of Luther's own hymns are still used today. A creative flourish known as the "lieder year" (1523-24) used his books as stimuli, not an example, to create more church lieder(Friedrich, 43). One of the most popularly widely style of hymns used in the churches were a cross between traditional lied and Catholic litergery. This is so because they were so close to the people. The people wanted to retain some of the familiarity of the Catholic service, but also wanted the reform principles brought about by Luther. The most popular and famous of these are the Christmas and Advent lied(Friedrich, 18). The largest source of Reformation music were that of pre-existing songs from Pilgrim's songs, sacred songs of the Minnesinger and Meistersinger, Songs of Pentane, crusade songs, and folk songs. These songs were adopted by the church as they were or with very little revision. Actually, hymns had lasted aside from the Catholic Church in private devotions and informal gatherings. Germany, in particular, had a rich history of congregational hymns. So much so that some had even seeped into liturgical services in certain areas. So that is to say there were some hymns that existed outside of Catholic mass, and once the Reformation was underway, these hymns were adopted into the Protestant Church services as part of the congregational hymns.

John Calvin (1509-1564) almost immediately proposed that psalms be sung in the services when he first arrived in Geneva. John Calvin was responsible for the work entitled Genevan Psalter, which was published in 1562. It was inspired by a collection of thirteen psalms that where put into a French poetic meter by Clement Marot (1519-1605). After encountering this, Calvin set Marot to work on more psalms. Unfortunately Marot died before its completion. Calvin then had Theodorus Beza (1519-1605) manage the continuation of the versification of the French Psalter(Douglas, 44).

John Calvin's musical accomplice was a man by the name of Louis Bourgeois (ca. 1510-ca. 1561). He is credited with writing or editing Merot's and Beza's tunes to their psalms. The final work was much like other works available previously. Simplistic in method, they generally had one note to one syllable, used a medium pitch, a simple rhythm, and had a narrow vocal range. This was nothing new, but offered a Calvinistic hymn book to the people in Geneva. This finalized work of the Genevan Psalter became a popular and highly circulated work amongst Protestant churches throughout history. Even much so that it has been translated into many different languages and well over one thousand versions made. It is also interesting to note that Louis Bourgeois was imprisoned at one point for changing melodies that he had, himself, written. This was, of course, done without permission. Ultimately Bourgeois left Geneva and Calvin after a disagreement with him over whether or not to sing psalms in parts(Douglass, 45). Andrew Wilson-Dickson calls the style of these hymns as the "musical equivalent of bread and water." Using mainly a combination of long and short notes(dotted notes being very rare)(Wilson-Dickson, 66).

Calvin offered a new church system that was more governmental that was biblically based. Although more liberal than the rule of the Catholic church, it had its degree of discipline. The church buildings that he established were void of any distractions such as decorations, candles, or images. The pulpit was centered in the building. Calvin disagreed with the use of instruments in the church services. He also did not want any of the songs used to be associated with dancing or secular practices. A contrast to Luther who adopted folk songs into the services. Calvin saw that the New Testament only permitted the use of psalms as Christian songs to be used as worship. For that reason, the only permissible songs used were out of the approved or "canonical" songbooks. Calvin is quoted as saying "...simple and pure singing of the divine praises, forasmuch as where there is no meaning there is no edification. Let them come from heart and mouth, and in the vulgar tongue. Instrumental music was only tolerated in the time of the Law [Old Testament} because of the people's infancy(Wilson-Dickson, 64-65). Therefore, harmonic singing and accompanied singing was forbidden in Calvin's churches.

Ulrich Zwingli also had a strong knowledge of music, and was a very skilled instrumentalist. This had an interesting impact that was quite different from Luther's. Which should not come as any surprise, for they disagreed on many topics. Zwingli had little interest in involving the congregation in singing or, for that matter, in any form of congregational music worship. His passive discontent with the use of instruments in church grew to a large discourse amongst his followers. They strongly opposed the use of instruments in the church. Zwingli's followers, at one point, went around destroying the organs in churches.

Many song books were published after Luther's. Examples would be Johann Walter's Song Book and the Erfurt Enchiridion that was printed by a printing company known as "Zum schwarzen Horn." The first had one of the greatest impacts on songbooks during the Reformation. Johann Walther (1496-1570) was a German hymnist and reformer who accompanied Martin Luther. He "assisted in composing, compiling, and publishing music useful in the services of the vigorous young denomination [Evangelical Church of Germany] that resulted from reform efforts.(Friedrich, 39)." The later contained 26 lieder in the first printing of 1524. It grew to only 38 lieder by the second printing in the next year. The Bapst songbook of 1545 contained as many as 128 pieces. However, after 30 years the songbook of Keuchenthat of 1573 only contained 192 pieces. This would not be considered a significant increase, especially for a period as important as the Reformation.

The only fresh songbook published during this time span was the Wittenberg songbook published by Joseph Klug in 1529. This particular work was authorized by Luther and he even wrote the forward to it. Another significant publication was the Bohemian Brethren hymnal edition of 1531. It was significant because of all the new text and melodies that came out of it. This book had influences on song books in the following centuries, and it even continues to influence the songbooks of today.

Following this work were a series of songbooks that were primarily dependent on Klug. Works like the Erfurt songbook of 1539, the Leipzig songbook written by Valentin Schumann of the same year, and the Magdeburg songbook that was written by Michael Lotter. These books all had a direct relation to Martin Luther, mostly by his editing and approval. After Luther's passing, an immediate line and outburst of new varieties of songbooks appeared that would never had been approved by Luther. For the most part, all of these songbooks were comprised and concerned with only monophonic lieder(Wilson-Dickson, 49). This means that they followed a single pitch melody line(Richard). That means no complex music had been produced and popularized from the Reformation. This is surprising. Such a remarkable outburst of ideas had been quite slow to produce anything revolutionary at this point. So far, Protestant church music had just been a revolution in what new music could be used during the service, and where the music came from such as the use of commoner lieder in the worship service.

In reference to the Latin liturgical chant of the Reformation period, the Protestant church did not bring about any new changes to the genre. Luther only simplified the chants compared to what was done in the Catholic church. The amount of usable chants were limited in different respects and for various reasons. The Protestants made abbreviations, omissions, and substitutions in these pieces. The content of many of these songs were not linear to many of the ideas and purposes of the Reformation; therefore, called for certain revisions. They were so limited because of the changes that Luther made in the liturgical year. The Changes brought about by the Protestant church eliminated several of the Holy Days observed by the Catholic church. Most of the available chants were in observance of the feasts of Mary, of the saints, and of the martyrs. The chants which observed such days had to be eliminated from the Protestant repertory of the liturgical chants used in services. Luther, or even the more radical reformers even dared to undermine certain aspects of mass that had remained unchanged for centuries. The text of the repertory remained during his time(Douglas, 51).

Although Luther brought about many dramatic changes in church music, from the creative outburst of new lieder to the allowance of congregational hymns being song in the German language, new musical from was not really created in his time. They primarily just made use of an existing practices and incorporated them into formal services. It would be interesting to note that even though there was not much new style brought to the table, there were a number of books that were published during the time of the Protestant Reformation that concerned the Christian songs. Most popular being Etlich Christlich Lieder(1524), Enchiridion geistlicher Gesenge(1529), Geistliche Lieder(1533), and Geystliche Lieder(1545)(Wilson-Dickson, 62). The German art song during the period of the Reformation had been derived from the tenor practices that were of Netherlandish traditions. This form was obsolete in the Netherlands by this point and especially to the complex and secular French music that was on the rise at this time. This is to mean, generally, that in a four or more voice part the text is placed in the tenor part. In a two to three voice part the text is placed in the middle or lower voice. In the rare instances the text may be placed in the higher part. The voice line of the text followed a strict tenor outline. In contrast, the remaining voices were free and open to expression. Friedrich Blume calls this "Protestant truth enhanced by art." The composer only set the piece. He did not interpret it at this point. Having a composer as merely a setter became an important tradition that lasted the Reformation and is even evident today. One might observe in the singing of hymns today in a service that a melody is followed, but often the other voices in a chord are open to interpretation.

At the beginning of the reformation the organ's use in the church service was without question. It was associated with current secularism and street programs. Luther rarely directly addressed the issue; however, he did express some consent against it. As mentioned earlier, Zwingli's followers tore down many organs in churches as protest. Although Zwingli never directly supported these acts, he did not say anything against it either. For the most part, the Lutheran church left the issue of the organ as adiaphorous, that is neither approved nor forbidden. The primary objection that existed over the issue was that no love songs were played upon it and only psalms and sacred songs were played on the organ. Also, that it was not played in such a length or autocracy that it imposed on the parts of the service. Interestingly enough, it was saw in both Protestant and Catholic church that a familiar vocal piece that was played alone on the organ could take the place of a vocalized song because of the familiarity.

Something that some found offensive about the organ was a soloistic performance on the organ. It was saw as an "objectionable assertion of individuality, inappropriate to the ideas of the priesthood of all believers and of the congregationally centered lay service.(Douglas, 107)." Also, the use of secular melodic ideas on the organ was found to be offensive in the church. In the mind set of the people of that day, certain pieces were aloud, and even rose to liturgical service. Certain forms of secular music just were not admitted in the church service. It was these pieces that found offense in the hearts of the congregation when played on the organ. So, certain popular melodies that would be recognized as offensive could not be translated into worship songs, even if a new text were applied to the melody(Music in the Renaissance).

The Protestant Reformation on the English front was very different from the Reformation in the East in many respects. The Reformation, unlike that in other parts of Europe, was not propagated by the individual desire for Biblical truth and freedom. Instead it was done out of political necessity. Henry VIII's divorce with Catharine of Aragon could only come through a break with Rome. He sought to make himself the head of the church, which gave him supreme power over what happened in the services. His interest was not that like Lutheran's desire to break. The most notable change in music that came about during Henry VIII's reign was that by the dissolution of the monasteries. Most of these monasteries maintained the Catholic tradition of liturgy and music fantastically. Once this happened, the monks traditions were never restored in their full splendor.

Once King Edward VI's reign began, every cathedral received a royal visitation. In these visitation the cathedral gave recommendations concerning liturgy, reduction of complexity, visual simplifications, abandonment of organs, and the reduction of choir size. It could have easily been seen that the dramatic changes found in some places had the musicians upset. One of the most dramatic changes could be found in the Lincoln Cathedral where the visitors had them ban any songs that were of or to Mary or of any other Saints. They commanded that all songs be directed toward Jesus. They also forbade the use of Latin while singing these songs and use English. It was also mandatory that they adopted a one syllable per note routine.

Cathedral services were faced with a unique problem at this point. They were forced to use new Book of Common Prayers and not allowed any other of the hymn books that were available at the time. This book was, of course, in English. The issue with this new book was they now had no book with lavish music notations. The available music was limited to occasion and somewhat boring in context. In 1550 John Merbecke sought to solve this dilemma. Merbecke was a student of Calvin and also a keen reformer. He published his book called Booke of Common Praier Noted. This text provided a simple notation to the Book of Common Prayers so things such as communion, responses, psalms, canticles, and prayers could be put to music. These notations were similar to Gregorian chants in format. It also mimicked the music in Germany during the time. It had a simple rhythm and used one note per syllable. This book was widely approved, even by Cranmer. Some even speculate that is was commissioned by Cranmer. Due to certain circumstances that worked against him, his book made a very little impact. Although his music may be familiar to Anglicans no because of a revival during the nineteenth century. The second instilment of the Act of Supremacy was only an interim establishment. Most could see that more reform was on the way. This is what would push Merbecke's book away, and cause for other works to become standard(Douglass, 83). None of Merbecke's other works survived, if they existed at all(Hurry, 32).

After Queen Mary's bloody attempt to reverse Protestantism, and the exile of many musicians to the East Queen Elizabeth came to power. She reversed Mary's religious decrees and try to restore the status of 1552. She was excommunicated for issuing a second edition of The Book of Common Prayers. To prevent further violence she decided to tread in the middle. Elizabeth herself enjoyed the ceremonial aspects service. The Chapel Royal employed the finest musicians available. The grandeur used concerned many of the reformers. Many wanted either the organs to be removed or reduced for simpler melodies(Hurry, 56).

The Chapel Royal is were the finest musicians could be found. Musicians such as Christopher Tye, Thomas Tallis and John Sheppard experienced a great span of chances. Seeing a reign from Edward VI to Mary, and Tallis even saw that of Elizabeth. They contributed to text songs, a number of anthems, and canticles. Due to their timing they were able to create amazing masses, motets, antiphons and responsorial with Latin. These composers would form and shape compositional works in England and the rest of Europe for generations to follow(Hurry, 92).

Tallis and a partner connived together to form a music publishing company. Although it went wrong, many masterful pieces came of it. Tallis' "Miserer nostri" and "In jejunio et fletu" shows Tillis to be one of the most imaginative and accomplished composers of his day(Hurry,194). Latin music formed the majority of his catalog. He created pieces that were all over the spectrum of genre. One piece he created was over 400 mesures long.

Tallis' close accomplice was Christopher Tye. Very few of his works survive today. A well educated man, and even one of the king's tutors. He was found to be a master of the French technique of imitation. Tye had been immortalized through his portrayal in a play by Samuel Rowley intitled When You See Me You Know Me. His works were not extensive, however, they were important because of the wide gamut he worked in. his "Omnes gentes plaudite" was no shorter that 250 measures. Other works were short and "semi-imitative." An example would be his "Ad te clamamus.(Hurry, 200)"

Tallis had a famous pupil named William Byrd who was able to create text in Both Latin and English. He was seen as a devout Catholic, however, he served in her Majesty's reformed Chapel(Hurry, 229). Byrd was one of the first notable composers to experiment with a wide range of forms and styles. These included his virtuoso pieces like "Miserere mihi Domine" and "O lux beata Trinitas." By The majority of the composers of this time had crossed duties in creating dance-music for nobility, devotional songs, and entertainment songs. There was not a need for a vast distinction between sacred music and secular music(Hurry, 198).

The primary source of text during the Edwardian rule was the Wanley Book. The majority of the pieces in this book are in four parts and designed for men. This was done because many of the books were copied out for small parish churches or private chapels where the services were song by clerks. Most of the works in the Wanley Book were anonymous. These works point to the dates between 1547 and 1548 and on. This book also contained works for many other occasions such as weddings, funerals, Litany, and for the daily offices of Matins and Evensongs. There are also seventeen anthems in this book and several other similar works. Nothing out of this book was musically spectacular. The Lumley Books were another important Edwardian source. This was, like The Wanley Book, in four parts. It contains anthems, metrical psalms, and a few canticles, but no music for communion. This points to the idea that it was designed for private use(Hurry, 205).

As it can be seen, the reformation changed many things immediately. Music was no exception. Greater changes would be brought about at later times. These changes can also be directly linked to the Reformation in Central Europe and England. Amongst all the changes the reformers experienced, the difference their church music was apparent. For the first time in many centuries there was a change. Congregational hymns were being song in their native tongues. Also, differences in accompaniment was felt. Instrumentation was either grander, or more restricted. Music was being used as a teaching tool like the sermon. Also, people saw an influx in creativity due to more common songs being used in services. The Reformation in Germany and the surrounding nations saw a vast distinction on available hymns and psalms due to the openness and variations in their Reformation. The Reformation in England was generally the same across the country. However, due to its unique beginnings music saw different effects from the Reformation. Mainly that being the openness to instrumentation in services. This led to a long legacy of compositional work from the nation.

Works CitedBlume, Friedrich. Protestant church music a history. New York: W. W. Norton, 1974. Print.Douglas, Leornard. Church Music In History and Practice. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.Hurry, Pam, and Mark Richards. Heinemann Advanced Music. New York: Heinemann Educational, 2001. Print."Music in the Renaissance | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: metmuseum.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2009. .Wilson-Dickson, Andrew. The Story of Christian Music: From Gregorian Chant to Black Gospel. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.