Lutheran hymn

Martin Luther was a great enthusiast for music, and this is why it forms a large part of Lutheran services; in particular, Luther admired the composers Josquin des Prez and Ludwig Senfl and wanted singing in the church to move away from the ars perfecta and towards singing as a Gemeinschaft. Lutheran hymns are sometimes known as chorales. Lutheran hymnody is well known for its doctrinal, didactic, and musical richness. Most Lutheran churches are active musically with choirs, handbell choirs, children's choirs, and occasionally change ringing groups that ring bells in a bell tower. Johann Sebastian Bach, a devout Lutheran, composed music for the Lutheran church: more than half of his over 1000 compositions are or contain Lutheran hymns.

History

Lutheran hymnals include:Achtliederbuch, a.k.a. the first Lutheran hymnal. Contains, among others, "Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein", "Es ist das Heil uns kommen her", "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh darein", "Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl" and "Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu dir".Erfurt Enchiridion Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn Becker Psalter Praxis pietatis melica

When Johannes Zahn catalogued the tunes of over 8800 Evangelical hymns in the late 19th century, he used the verse characteristics of the lyrics as basis of his classification system.

Lutheran hymnodists or hymn-writers:

Hymnologists who published on Lutheran hymns: