A Lutheran chorale is a musical setting of a Lutheran hymn, intended to be sung by a congregation in a German Protestant Church service. The typical four-part setting of a chorale, in which the sopranos (and the congregation) sing the melody along with three lower voices, is known as a chorale harmonization.
Starting in 1523, Martin Luther began translating worship texts into German from the Latin ( Marshall and Leaver 2001 ). He composed melodies for some hymns himself, such as "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("A Mighty Fortress Is Our God"), and even a few harmonized settings ( Leaver 2001 ). For other hymns he adapted Gregorian chant melodies used in Catholic worship to fit new German texts, sometimes using the same melody more than once.[ citation needed ] For example, he fitted the melody of the hymn "Veni redemptor gentium" to three different texts, "Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich", "Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort", and "Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland" ( Marshall and Leaver 2001 ). The first Lutheran hymns were published in 1524 ( Tovey 1911 , 6:269). These included the Achtliederbuch (known as the first Lutheran hymnal) and the Erfurt Enchiridion (both with unaccompanied melodic settings), as well as Johann Walter's Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn , the first to contain part song settings of Lutheran hymns (Braun 2001; Marshall and Leaver 2001).
Luther and his contemporaries referred to these vernacular hymns as geistliche Lieder (spiritual songs), Psalmen (psalms), christliche Lieder (Christian songs), and geistliche (or christliche) Gesänge or Kirchengesänge. The German word Choral, which was originally used to describe Latin plainchant melodies, was first applied to the Lutheran hymn only in the later sixteenth century ( Marshall and Leaver 2001 ).
In the modern era, many Lutheran hymns are used in Protestant worship, sometimes sung in four-part harmony.[ citation needed ]
Composers of tunes for Lutheran hymns, or who adopted such tunes in their compositions:
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Chorales also appear in chorale preludes, pieces generally for organ originally designed to be played immediately before the congregational singing of the hymn, but developed into an autonomous genre by north-German composers of the middle and late 17th century, particularly Dieterich Buxtehude ( Marshall 2001 ). A chorale prelude includes the melody of the chorale, and adds contrapuntal lines. One of the first composers to write chorale preludes was Samuel Scheidt. Bach's many chorale preludes are the best-known examples of the form. Later composers of the chorale prelude include Johannes Brahms, for example in his Eleven Chorale Preludes, and Max Reger who composed many examples, including Wie schön leucht' uns der Morgenstern (based on the hymn by Philipp Nicolai). In the 20th century, important contributions to the genre were made by Hugo Distler and Ernst Pepping ( Marshall 2001 ).
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Scholarship regarding Lutheran chorales intensified from the 19th century.
The musicologist Carl von Winterfeld published three volumes of Der evangelische Kirchengesang und sein Verhältniss zur Kunst des Tonsatzes (Evangelical church-song and its relation to the art of composition) from 1843 to 1847 (Winterfeld 1843–1847).
Johannes Zahn published Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder (the tunes of the German Evangelical hymns) in six volumes from 1889 to 1893 (Zahn 1889–1893).
"Now thank we all our God" is a popular Christian hymn translated from the German "Nun danket alle Gott", written c. 1636 by Protestant minister Martin Rinkart. Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 5142, was published by Johann Crüger in the late 1640s.
"Ach wie flüchtig, ach wie nichtig" is a German Lutheran hymn with lyrics by Michael Franck, who published it with his own melody and a four-part setting in 1652. Johann Crüger's reworked version of the hymn tune was published in 1661. Several Baroque composers used the hymn, including Johann Sebastian Bach, who wrote a chorale cantata. It is part of the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch, and has also been used by 20th-century composers such as Ernst Pepping and Mauricio Kagel.
"Wer nur den lieben Gott läßt walten" is a 1641 hymn by Georg Neumark, who also composed the melody for it. It has seven verses and deals with the Christian putting their trust in God. Its author referred to it as a "Trostlied" or song of consolation and it first appeared in his Fortgepflantzer musikalisch-poetischer Lustwald. It also appeared in Johann Crüger's 1672 Praxis pietatis melica and in the first part of Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen's 1704 Geistreiches Gesangbuch. It has inspired musical settings, and is part of current German hymnals, both Protestant and Catholic.
"Valet will ich dir geben" is a Lutheran hymn written by Valerius Herberger in 1613. It is a Sterbelied. The text was published with two hymn tunes by Melchior Teschner, Zahn Nos. 5403 and 5404a, in 1615. The second of these melodies was used in compositions such as chorale preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach and Max Reger. Bach used single stanzas in vocal works, including his St John Passion.
"Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin" is a hymn by Martin Luther, a paraphrase in German of the Nunc dimittis, the canticle of Simeon. Luther wrote the text and melody, Zahn No. 3986, in 1524 and it was first published in the same year. Originally a song for Purification, it has been used for funerals. Luther included it in 1542 in Christliche Geseng ... zum Begrebniss.
"O Lamm Gottes, unschuldig" is an early Lutheran hymn, with text and melody attributed to Nikolaus Decius. Originally intended as a German version of the Latin Agnus Dei, it was instead used as a Passion hymn. In both contexts, the hymn has often been set to music, prominently as the cantus firmus in the opening chorus of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. It is included in most German hymnals, and has been translated by Catherine Winkworth, among others.
"Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam" is a Lutheran hymn about baptism by Martin Luther, written in 1541 and published in 1543. It has been set in many musical compositions, including cantatas and chorale preludes by Johann Sebastian Bach.
"Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn" is a Lutheran hymn for Easter. Kaspar Stolzhagen published the hymn in 1592, and its setting by Bartholomäus Gesius was published in 1601. The hymn was adopted in several hymnals, including the Evangelisches Gesangbuch. Composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach based compositions on its hymn tune.
"Komm, Gott Schöpfer, Heiliger Geist" is a Lutheran hymn for Pentecost, with words written by Martin Luther based on the Latin "Veni Creator Spiritus". The hymn in seven stanzas was first published in 1524. Its hymn tunes are Zahn No. 294, derived from the chant of the Latin hymn, and Zahn No. 295, a later transformation of that melody. The number in the current Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch (EG) is 126.
Martin Luther was a great enthusiast for music, and this is why it forms a large part of Lutheran services; in particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl and wanted singing in the church to move away from the ars perfecta and towards singing as a Gemeinschaft (community). Lutheran hymns are sometimes known as chorales. Lutheran hymnody is well known for its doctrinal, didactic, and musical richness. Most Lutheran churches are active musically with choirs, handbell choirs, children's choirs, and occasionally change ringing groups that ring bells in a bell tower. Johann Sebastian Bach, a devout Lutheran, composed music for the Lutheran church: more than half of his over 1000 compositions are or contain Lutheran hymns.
"Herr Jesu Christ, dich zu uns wend" is a Lutheran hymn from the 17th century. Its hymn tune, Zahn No. 624, was adopted in several compositions. It was translated into English and is part of modern hymnals.
"Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan" is a Lutheran hymn written by the pietist German poet and schoolmaster Samuel Rodigast in 1675. The melody has been attributed to the cantor Severus Gastorius. An earlier hymn with the same title was written in the first half of the seventeenth century by the theologian Michael Altenburg.
"Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele" is a Lutheran hymn in German, with lyrics by Johann Franck and a hymn tune, Zahn No. 6923, by Johann Crüger. It was first published in Crüger's 1649 Geistliche Kirchen-Melodien, and was later adopted in other hymnals, such as the 1653 edition of his Praxis pietatis melica.
"Erschienen ist der herrlich Tag" is a German Easter hymn, with text and tune written by Nikolaus Herman and published in 1561. It has inspired musical settings by composers from the 17th to the 20th century. It appears in several hymnals, including the German Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch. Other hymns, especially Easter hymns, in both German and English, are sung to the same melody.
"Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren" is a Lutheran hymn of 1557 with words by Ludwig Helmbold. It is a song of thanks, with the incipit: "Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren Dank sagen und ihn ehren". The melody, Zahn No. 159, was published by Nikolaus Selnecker in 1587. The song appears in modern German hymnals, including in the Protestant Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 320.
"Christus, der uns selig macht" is a German Lutheran Passion hymn in eight stanzas in German by Michael Weiße, written in 1531 as a translation of the Latin hymn "Patris Sapientia" to an older melody of the Bohemian Brethren.
"An Wasserflüssen Babylon" is a Lutheran hymn by Wolfgang Dachstein, which was first published in Strasbourg in 1525. The text of the hymn is a paraphrase of Psalm 137. Its singing tune, which is the best known part of the hymn and Dachstein's best known melody, was popularised as chorale tune of Paul Gerhardt's 17th-century Passion hymn "Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld". With this hymn text, Dachstein's tune is included in the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch.
"Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt die Schuld" is a Lutheran Passion hymn in German by Paul Gerhardt. The hymn text was first published in Johann Crüger's Praxis Pietatis Melica, starting from the lost 1647 edition. Wolfgang Dachstein's 16th-century "An Wasserflüssen Babylon" melody is commonly indicated as its hymn tune, although other settings exist.
"Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier" is a Lutheran hymn with text written by Tobias Clausnitzer in 1663, and a hymn tune, Zahn No. 3498b, based on a 1664 melody by Johann Rudolf Ahle. A prayer for illumination, it is suitable for the opening of a church service and to be sung before a sermon. The song is part of the Protestant hymnal Evangelisches Gesangbuch as EG 161. It is also part of the Catholic hymnal Gotteslob as GL 149. It is popular also in English translations such as "Blessed Jesus, at your word" by Catherine Winkworth.
Carl Georg Vivigens von Winterfeld was a German musicologist.
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