Food for Thought

"Music is a gift of God; it awakens and moves me so, that I preach with pleasure," Luther said.

Sep 27, 2017

Martin Luther significantly influenced German hymnody. Contemporary Catholics would recognize and be able to join in song to hymns such as "A Might Fortress Is our God" and "Away in a Manager."

Luther had a lifelong love of music. Born in to a musical family, he learned to play the lute and to write tablature, a form of musical notation, and he understood both the theory and practice of music. As an Augustinian monk, he learned the musical form of the Book of Psalms and the hymns in the Liturgy of the Hours.

Luther once said, "I have always loved music; I would not for any price lose my little musical power. It drives away spirit of melancholy, as we see in the case of King Saul. By its aid a man forgets his anger, lust, and pride, and expels many temptations and evil thoughts."

Luther's hymns express his theology. The simple lyrics made the Gospel visible and accessible to worshippers in their churches and homes. He composed more than 30 spiritual songs, setting the Psalms to music, adapting Latin hymns and translating Latin text into German.

"Music is a gift of God; it awakens and moves me so, that I preach with pleasure," Luther said.