Early Song 

by: Virginia Browne 

Before the Reformation, plainchant was generally the Christian Mass’s only type of sung music. Monks or specially trained choirs were only allowed to sing Latin while the congregation remained silent. Upon the birth of Protestantism, the congregation was given new freedom to sing in unison, to praise and worship God in its own tongue. This huge advance led to a wide treasure of newly created hymnbooks and psalters. In early Protestant music, both Martin Luther and John Calvin emphasized congregational singing and music in the liturgy. They disagreed, however, on the details: who could sing what, why, and how. 

Music was a crucial tool for “propagating the faith” for Luther (Burkholder 236). Through congregational hymns later called chorales, Luther fostered a dynamic atmosphere. No t only did the congregation receive and listen to the Word of God, they now also sang it. Luther said, “I place music next to theology and give it the highest praise” and through his hymns, one can see that he wholeheartedly believed (Leaver “Martin Luther). The first Lutheran hymnals were printed in 1525 and followed by his most celebrated chorale, “Ein’ fest Burg” in 1529. (Routley 22).

The chorale proclaims the triumph of good and speaks of “God’s power to protect believers” (Psalm 46). Luther strongly believed that certain musical modes were associated with different types of hymn. Dorian or Hypodorian were for meditative texts and Phrygian for texts of repentance (Marshall).  “Ein’ feste Burg” was written in the Ionian mode- akin to our C major- which was associated with hymns of faith. Unlike many of the melodies used for early chorales, this melody was newly composed by Luther and spoke to the distress of his time as the Reformation was in its beginnings. The striking forcefulness reminds scholar Paul Nettl of a battle cry- even the hymn’s rhythm resembles the drum roll calls of that century (Nettl 27). Luther used faith hymns such as these to call his people to battle, urging a fight for their faith and religious freedom.

Similar to Lutheran hymns, Calvinist songs were simple, syllabic melodies. Poets translated or paraphrased rhymed, metric, strophic psalms in the vernacular to accompany these melodies which were then published in collections called Psalters. “Or Sus, Serviteurs du Seigneur”, found in the Trente Quatre Psaumes de David (1551) was one of these metrical psalms. Calvin, unlike Luther, did not write his own music, instead employing poets and composers to adapt these psalms as minimally as possible. Louis Bourgeois is credited with writing this hymn based on Psalm 143; its melody is now commonly referred to as “The Old Hundredth” (Burkholder 236). Bourgeois was paid 100 florins a year as of 1545 to perform and teach new psalms in Geneva. Considered one of best contributors to psaltery of his time, Bourgeois was actually imprisoned in 1551 for having “without a license, ‘changed the tunes of some printed psalms’, an action troubling those who had learnt the old tunes that had already been printed” (Dobbins). He was freed as a result of Calvin’s personal request, however the controversy continued and Bourgeois’ “improved” psalms were burned. Bourgeois was subsequently relieved of his duties and moved to France where he spent the rest of his life composing secular songs and writing about the theory of singing (Dobbins). Although Bourgeois disappeared from the Geneva records in 1551, his psalms continued to play a large role in the development of Calvinist church music.

Although the theology and practice of music were different, congregational singing was equally important in the Calvinist and Lutheran churches. At first, Calvin was vehemently opposed to any music in his worship services, fearing it would distract from the “true purpose of religion” (Nettl 5). He felt music, because of its worldly nature, had tremendous corruptive and harmful powers. Because one could experience pleasure, music had no place in worship. Calvin believed that song detracted from God.  

In 1537, however, Calvin swayed and introduced the congregational singing of psalms into public worship. As a result of his profound reverence for scripture, public praise in Church was “limited to the language of the Bible” (Routley 28). By 1543, Calvin would propose that psalms be the only music sung, even outside the church (Garside 24):

Furthermore, it is a thing most expedient for the edification of the church to sing some psalms in the form of public prayers by which one prays to God or sings His praises so that the hearts of all may be aroused and stimulated to make similar payers and to render similar praises and thanks to God with a common love (Garside 8).

Calvin felt that the singing of psalms was an essential part of public worship because it brought people closer to the Word of God. He acknowledged that singing psalms could “intensify communal prayer and praise of God by an appeal directed specifically to the worshipper’s heart” (Garside 10). He felt strongly that Psalms should be sung in the vernacular so they could be wholly understood, sung sincerely and with conviction.

‘…unless voice and song, if interposed in prayer, spring from deep feeling of heart, neither has any value or profit in the least with God’ (Garside 8).

This singing had a profound impact on Protestants’ experience of the Reformation and their new-found faith. A letter written by a young man visiting a Calvinist church in Strasbourg reveals the deep impact psalm-singing had on his worship experience:           

On Sundays . . . we sing a psalm of David or some other prayer taken from the New Testament. The psalm or prayer is sung by everyone together, men as well as women with a beautiful unanimity, which is something beautiful to behold. For you must understand that each one has a music book in his hand; that is why they cannot lose touch with one another. Never did I think that it could be as pleasing and delightful as it is. For five or six days at first, as I looked upon this little company, exiled from countries everywhere for having upheld the honor of God and His Gospel, I would begin to weep, not at all from sadness, but from joy at hearing them sing so heartily, and as they sang, giving thanks to the Lord that He had led them to a place where His name is honored and glorified. No one could believe the joy which one experiences when one is singing the praises and wonders of the Lord in the mother tongue as one sings them here (Garside 18).

As a preacher facing the congregation, Calvin was certainly aware of these meaningful and joyful experiences, and thus his own attitude toward the singing of psalms was influenced. For the first time, in his 1542 Epistle to the Reader, Calvin expresses a personal experience of music’s power in proposing that the singing of psalms was integral to the worship service (Garside 18).          

Calvin felt strongly about what type of music was appropriate for worship. He felt the music should have gravity and majesty and should not be light or frivolous (Garside 18).  Calvin continuously struggled with his personal reaction to music, writing in his book Confessions that “…I am more moved by the singing than by what is sung, I confess myself to have sinned wickedly, and then I would rather not have heard the singing.” He even instructs worshippers to “use so slight an inflection of the voice that it was more like speaking than singing,” since this was “the safer way” (Garside 20).

 Calvin and Luther differed in their attitudes on contrafacta. While Luther openly encouraged reinvention of these secular melodies as hymns, Calvin explicitly forbade the use of any music with entertainment value. Luther was more liberal because he felt that popular melodies would expand audiences. Calvin’s refusal to use any secular music in his new church distinguishes s his theology from Luther’s (Garside 19). 

Calvin and Luther also differed in the structure of Protestant worship. Luther celebrated the entire Mass. He highly valued Latin, being educated and academic, and thus he retained the use of Latin in Lutheran Mass. His worship services retained the structure of Catholic Mass including the Ordinary and the Proper, but changed the theology of some of the practices, like communion and the Offertory[1]. As previously described, Luther also introduced German and the singing of German hymns as an essential part of worship. Calvin agreed with the use of vernacular, but only as it was essential that people fully understood it. Latin was forbidden in Calvinist worship because it was too close to the Catholic Church and not close enough to the people (Garside 27).              

The  practice of singing psalms differed greatly between the two churches. Psalms were always sung unaccompanied, in unison, only by the congregation, and instruments were banned in the Calvinist church. Luther, on the other hand, used specially trained choirs and instruments including the organ when singing with the congregation.  Lutheran hymns were sung antiphonally with the congregation always singing in unison and unaccompanied, and the choir with the organ (Nettl 92).  Luther had no set requirements for hymn singing in his church (although he did not like hymnbooks in worship), but Calvin had three unequivocal requirements.

The first requirement was that the singer be committed from the heart. There was a warning that, “unless voice and song, if interposed in prayer, spring from deep feeling of heart, neither has an value or profit in the least with God” (Garside 26). The second requirement was intelligence: calling for worshippers to know what they are saying. The last requirement was memorization; Calvin insisted that the congregation memorize the psalms so that they could be effective in their worship by not having to be distracted by remembering or reading words on a page (Garside 26). Thus, Calvin’s singing of the psalms was a calculated and deliberate art, meticulously pawned over and debated, every pro and con examined and weighted against one another. Contrarily, Luther felt the song’s authenticity was intact as long as the singer exhibited devotion to God. Paul Nettl best describes Luther’s experience of music by proclaiming that: 

Protestant piety has found best artistic expression in music. The jubilant faith of Luther, his joyful experience of God, his teaching of salvation by grace, caused him to break out in exultation before his God, and his feelings could find expression only in music (Nettl 2).

Calvin’s singing seems old and calculated compared to Luther’s joyous experience, perhaps because he seemed so opposed to most artistic expression. 

Protestant hymns and sung songs did contain common characteristics. They shared simple language, rhymed metrical verse, a “strophic musical and textual form” and a simple melody (Marshall).The text was simply written with short words that would be understood by the entire congregation, regardless of degree of education.  Rhyming was a tool of instruction. Both Lutheran and Calvinist congregations taught children the songs so they would teach their parents and elders. Luther wrote about the best way to adapt psalms from the Bible for use in hymnody:

‘Let the words be as simple as possible but at the same time pure and suitable; and see that the meaning be clear and close as possible to that of the psalms. We must therefore use our own judgment, determine the original meaning, and translate it freely’ (Nettl 39).

Calvin also followed this method of closely adapting psalms to song to maximize his audience.  For both of these men, musical simplicity was essential. Luther might have admired the work of Josquin des Pres above all other composers, but the ornate and elaboration of Josquin’s music was not to be found in Luther’s work (although Luther’s work was still influenced by Josquin) (Nettl 11). As time passed, each denomination influenced the other. Calvinism especially influenced Lutheran worship style. As a result of Calvinist antagonism to the Mass and musical instruments, Lutherans gradually became less welcoming to such elements of their service and moved closer towards singing only psalms (Nettl 107).

Luther and Calvin both knew that music appealed to the common people and would attract more followers. The communicative and emotional power of song drew many, inspiring them to “pray to and praise God” (Marcus 730). Although they both recognized the power of music, Luther and Calvin responded to this magnanimous force differently, and their attitudes determined the scale of their music’s impact. Luther embraced music and elevated it to the status of theology, seeing it as a gift from God and a gift to God. Calvin, on the other hand, seemed to continuously fear the power of music, and thus sought to control and regulate its use and purpose. Luther considered music an expression of faith, and Calvin used it to inspire. Thankfully, the freedom with which Luther treated music in the early Protestant church led to some of the greatest musicians in history: Bach,Mendellsohn, and Wagner, among others. The legacy of Calvinist music, however, was unfortunately mitigated due to distrust and creative restriction.