The reformer

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

, a prolific

hymnodist A hymnwriter (or hymn writer, hymnist, hymnodist, hymnographer, etc.) is someone who writes the text, music, or both of hymns. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, the composition of hymns dates back to before the time of David, who composed many of ...

, regarded music and especially hymns in German as important means for the development of faith. Luther wrote songs for occasions of the liturgical year ( Advent,

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

, Purification,

Epiphany Epiphany may refer to: * Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight Religion * Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ ** Epiphany season, or Epiph ...

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

, Pentecost,

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

), hymns on topics of the catechism (

Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

, creed,

baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

), paraphrases of

psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

, and other songs. Whenever Luther went out from pre-existing texts, here listed as "text source" (bible, Latin and German hymns), he widely expanded, transformed and personally interpreted them. Luther worked on the tunes, sometimes modifying older tunes, in collaboration with

Johann Walter Johann Walter, also known as ''Johann Walther'' or ''Johannes Walter'' (original name: ''Johann Blankenmüller'') (1496 – 25 March 1570) was a Lutheran composer and poet during the Reformation period. Life Walter was born in Kahla, in present-d ...

. Hymns were published in the ''

Achtliederbuch The First Lutheran hymnal, published in 1524 as ''Etlich Cristlich lider / Lobgesang und Psalm'' (Some Christian songs / canticle, and psalm), often also often referred to as the Achtliederbuch (Book with eight songs, literally Eightsongsbook), was ...

'', in Walter's choral hymnal ''

Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn ' ("A spiritual song booklet"), sometimes called First Wittenberg Hymnal and ' (Choir hymnal), was the first German hymnal for choir, published in Wittenberg in 1524 by Johann Walter who collaborated with Martin Luther. It contains 32 sacred song ...

'' (Wittenberg) and the Erfurt ''Enchiridion'' (Erfurt) in 1524, and in the ''Klugsches Gesangbuch'', among others. For more information, see Martin Luther § Hymnodist.

List

Other hymns sometimes ascribed to Luther but not listed above include "All Her und Lob soll Gottes sein", "Unser große Sünde und schwere Missetat", "Christ ist erstanden", and "Nun laßt uns den Leib begraben".

References

External links

Kirchenlieder von Martin Luther
– numbered by Evangelisches Gesangbuch
Martin Luther
at Hymnary.org * Chronological catalog of Luther's life events, letters, and works with citations, 478 pages, 5.45 M
LettersLuther4.doc
{{Lutheran hymns 16th century in music *

List

See also

References

Further reading

External links