Psalms in Our Time

1. Martin Luther: Metric Psalmody and Four-Part Harmony

Martin Luther was a poet as well as an accomplished amateur musician: he even published treatises on the art of music. He had loved the music of the Catholic Mass, and at first planned to keep it in use, simply replacing the Latin words with German. But, when ambassadors from the Moravian Brethren¹ showed him their hymnal in 1522, he quickly saw the potential of congregational singing, proclaimed its necessity in any reformed scheme of worship, and determined to make a place for it in every service. But what could the people sing? He had no hymn texts to sing, no tunes to sing them to, and no experience in what could be sung by a congregation, let alone what could be profitable to sing. He had to choose models for texts and tunes, inspire authors and composers, and teach the new skills and practices to all the people.

Following the Moravian example, Luther wrote, translated, and borrowed hymn texts, and encouraged others to do the same. He drew from various sources: original compositions, Moravian and Latin hymns (purified of "dead, idolatrous horrors²"). But his major innovation was the metrical psalm. He had translated the Bible into German, replacing the traditional Latin psalter, so it could be understood by the people: but if psalms were translated into poetic German, they could also be sung by the people.

Luther's first hymnal, published in 1524, indicates his priorities: it contained four of his own hymns, including three metrical psalm versions³. Already in Aus Tiefer Noth (Out of the depths I cry) we can see several important ideals, also expressed in a letter to George Spalatin:

"Everywhere we are looking for poets. Now since you are so fluent and eloquent in German, I would ask you to work with us in this, and to turn a psalm into a hymn as in the enclosed sample of my own work. But I would like you to avoid new-fangled, fancy words, and to use expressions simple and common enough for the people to understand -- yet pure and fitting. The meaning should also be clear and as close as possible to the Psalm. Irrespective of the exact wording, one must freely render the sense by suitable words. I myself am not sufficiently gifted to do these things as I would."

Luther was modest: Aus Tiefer Noth is still regarded as one of the finest German metrical psalms. Its language is clear and plain, effective as well as faithful to the original: characteristics well preserved in the translation by Catherine Winkworth.

Other ideals are illustrated by Luther's most famous hymn, Ein Feste Berg (A mighty Fortress is our God), which is also, in a very different way, derived from a psalm. It represents the message of Psalm 46 in a contemporary archetype: it carries the ideas of the psalm, even though the words are almost unrecognizable. And both of these hymns represented Luther's own thought: clearly, the message of the psalms resonated with his own experience, to create deeply personal expressions of faith and faithfulness.

Luther's example was followed by many German authors, both Lutheran and Reformed⁴. And at one time it even seemed possible that he might directly influence English hymnody. Within 15 years of Luther's first publication, Miles Coverdale⁵ included English translations of both these psalms in his Goostly Psalmes and Spiritualle Songes. It was quickly banned in England. A contemporaneous Scottish translation, Ane Cöpendious buik of godlie Psalmes and spirituall Sangis (including 13 psalms translated from German) remained in use into the next century. But not till the mid-nineteenth century, would translations of German hymns⁶ take a lasting place in British hymnals.

The Music

Luther wrote or arranged music that complemented his hymns: for example, the austere but vigorous melody in the modern Ionian mode for the martial Psalm 46; and the anguished cry in the old Phrygian mode for the penitential Psalm 130.

His tunes retained something of the melodic style and dignity of Gregorian chant, yet fit the genre and more rigid rhythms of folksong. He even adapted some folk songs:⁷ he had said:

"I want to see all the arts -- and music in particular -- used in the service of Him who gave and created them."⁸

The first Lutheran hymn tunes ("chorales") were published with the melody only, but Luther soon introduced (optional) four-part harmony, borrowing musical techniques from the secular art-songs (madrigals⁹) of the day, saying:

"These songs have been set in four parts, for no other reason than because I wished to provide our young people (who both want and ought to be taught music and other sciences) with something so that they can get rid of lewd love songs, and instead learn something wholesome, concentrating on what is good with enjoyment, as is appropriate for the young."⁸

Unlike Calvin, he never tried to forbid use of harmony in worship; but (as in many congregations today) most people probably just sang the melody. This also indicates his approach to the next problem: introducing the new tunes. His solution was to teach the young people, and allow their example to lead the whole congregation.

Also unlike Calvin, Luther retained organs and choirs from the Catholic practice. But at first the organ did not pretend to aid or accompany the singing: instead, short instrumental flourishes, something like trumpet fanfares, were inserted between lines that the congregration sang a-cappella. Soon, complex polyphonic arrangements (of both hymns and "service music") were being composed for the organ and choir; as a result, in many places congregational participation was very limited. Late in the century, Osiander proposed a kind of arrangement intermediate between the very simple congregational chorales and the complex polyphonic motets, that choir and congregation could sing together.¹⁰ In the next century Scheidt introduced the chorale prelude,¹¹ a composition based on a chorale but played through by the organ before the congregation sang the hymn.

Notes

¹The Moravian (Bohemian, Hussite) influence on the Reformation in Western Europe has been neglected in our reviews of church history. But they were the first to publish both a Bible and a hymnal in a modern language for general use. Two of these tunes have Moravian connections: "Amsterdam" and "Monkland". James Montgomery was a child of Moravian missionaries, and Charles Wesley was introduced to congregational singing by Moravians.

²See the discussion in Winkworth, Christian Singers of Germany, online at CCEL.

³His version of Psalm 67, Es Wollt' uns Gott genädig sein, has been translated into English many times, beginning with Coverdale,⁵ and recently as May God embrace us with His grace.

⁴The Reformed churches, influenced by Calvin, emphasized the metric psalms.

⁵Who had completed and published Tyndale's Bible translation, as well as participated in the Genevan translation. In the Preface to Goostly Psalmes he wrote, "Would God ... our teamsters and farmers had nothing else to whistle besides psalms ... and if women ... spinning at the wheels had no other songs, they would be better occupied than with 'hey nony nony' ...."

⁶In this collection, for other German contributions, see Blessed is the man that never; If you will only let Him guide you; Praise to the Lord, the Almighty. For German hymn tunes, see the Geographic Index.

⁷The legend that Luther adapted drinking songs is based on a misunderstanding: his "bar songs" were not "tavern songs," but music with vertical bars on the staff, dividing the music into sections. Luther was forced to replace one of his early hymn tunes: it had remained in use with secular lyrics, and the conflicting associations were disruptive to thoughtful worshippers.

⁸Prefaces to his hymnals, online at Project Wittenberg.

⁹In madrigals, each voice sings a different text -- or the same text at different intervals -- so that two voices seldom sing any syllable together. This is not music for congregational participation, nor is it conducive to conveying a text clearly. Luther, followed by most hymnwriters, wrote arrangements that had all voices singing each syllable together ("note against note"). Departures from this ideal norm ("choruses" and "fuging tunes") may appeal to musical tastes, but at the risk of obscuring the words.

¹⁰See Liemohn, The Chorale Through 400 Years.

¹¹The modern practice of playing the tune through before the congregation begins to sing, might be plausibly defended as an aid to congregational singing: it could help to familiarize people with the tune so that they could participate in the singing. But the historical fact is that the organ was retained in reformed worship for a century even though nobody had conceived of any way in which it could have possibly aided the congregation's singing. It won and retained its place in the liturgy for other reasons altogether.

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