Peront ⦁ Re-forming Music 60 especially in regard to legal separation of the Catholic Church and state.49 From a musical perspective, however, Luther’s impact on the church was incredibly successful. Eva Mary Grew writes, “Luther himself wrote thirty-six hymns.” 50 Not only was the impact of these chorales notable in the sixteenth century Protestant church, but it can still be observed today. The chorales that Luther established within the church altered congregational singing and ultimately inspired both the choral and instrumental works of composers for generations to come.51 These chorales were arguably the most influential component of the entire Reformation, remaining in importance even today.52 For example, Johann Sebastian Bach’s music has been analyzed and determined that it is rooted in the musical philosophy founded by Luther. Witte and Wheeler assert that a significant portion of his music “bears witness to an imagination of music’s relation to language, set within a generous vision of the created world under God, that resonates strongly with what we have discerned, albeit in a fragmentary way, in Luther.”53 Luther is also remembered for his ability to rework what was traditional and loved in church music without replacing it with the new entirely. His intention was never to fully recreate music as they knew it in the sixteenth century, but he advocated for its new purposes and, in doing so, drew attention to the possibilities that it held.54 It is clearly too broad to assume that all music today stems from the Lutheran chorales, but Grew argues that most of the music that is popular today was born from sources which Lutheran chorales explored and deemed worthy of inspiration.55 Not only did the Lutheran Reformation bring forth new compositional techniques in church music, but set Protestant worship apart from that of the Catholic Church by defining the biblical purpose of worship. Martin Luther’s music may not have been entirely new or revolutionary, but his advocacy for the role of music as worship permanently affected how music was carried out in the church. 49 Witte, 293. 50 Grew, 72. 51 Van Neste and Garrett, 145. 52 Dowley, 88. 53 Witte and Wheeler, 81. 54 Leaver, 80. 55 Grew, 71.
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