Precursors to Lutheran Reformation Hymnody

Long before the Reformation the German people had begun to sing hymns in their own language. Some of these were based on sequence hymns:

These and other German hymns were sung at processions, pilgrimages, consecrations, celebrations of patron saints, and sometimes also at church festivals. Of course, Martin Luther was well acquainted with these practices.

Because Luther had a profound understanding and appreciation of the doctrine of the universal priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9), he wanted the people to be as active as possible in the services of worship. In 1523 he wrote to Spalatin, "Following the example of the prophets and fathers of the church, we intend to collect German psalms for the people, so that through the medium of song the Word of God may remain among the people." For Luther, the congregational hymn on the lips of the people was the viva vox evangelii, the living voice of the Gospel. With this call for hymns, and his own subsequent contribution of 37 hymns, Luther became the father of evangelical hymnody.

[From Key Words in Church Music, by Carl Schalk, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1978]