Apr 14, 2021
REFORMATION AND SONG:
"Luther himself was a fine musician. He was a singer with a good tenor voice as well as an instrumentalist with skill and verve. In 1524 his choirmaster, Johann Walther (1496–1570), put out a hymnbook (Wittenberg Gesangbuch) which was a tremendous innovation. Walther and his friend Conrad Rupff worked on these hymns in Luther’s home. Luther himself played out the tunes on his fife. The collection contained Luther’s own great hymn "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," to which he wrote both words and music. As the rood screen was removed in the churches--because with an open Bible the people had direct access to God--so also in a direct approach to God the congregations were allowed to sing again for the first time in many centuries."
~Dr. Francis Schaeffer, How Should We Then Live?