The Word in Song

Martin Luther cultivated the hymn as a form of proclaiming the gospel and composed new spiritual songs himself. Since the Reformation, congregational singing held a firm place in the church service. In this way, the Word of God in sung form reached the lips and hearts of every believer. Moreover, the whole congregation was thus actively involved in the service. Following on from existing hymns, the new song also found its way into Christian education and upbringing.

In Pietism, the hymn became an expression of the personal experience of faith. The singing and song culture developed in Francke’s institutions was both exhilarating and moving. It developed in the schools and in regular public singing sessions. The songs that Johann Anastasius Freylinghausen first compiled in 1704 in his Geist=reichem Gesang=Buch (Spiritual Hymnbook) were also tried out there: songs that, in lively melodies, proclaimed the »hope of better times« and found their way far beyond Germany. Pietist hymns characteristic of Halle and of Herrnhut, the original home of the Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine (known in English as the Moravian Church), can still be found in hymnbooks and services in Protestant churches throughout the world.