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The 16th century was a time of intense and ambitious activity in the arts, religion, science, exploration, and politics. Explorers came to America seeking new lands and, for the first time, sailed around the entire world. It was the age that saw great artistic works by Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci. And it was the era when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, beginning a Reformation that would turn the world upside down. The Lutheran Church was born during a time of great activity in politics, the arts, and religion. Luther's protest, which sought only to reform the Roman Catholic Church, ultimately resulted in separation. And Luther affirmed continuity with the Church's past—except where its theology and practice were contrary to his understanding of the Gospel. The polyphonic music by an earlier generation of composers, such as Dufay and Binchois, continued in 16th Century composers such as Heinrich Isaac and Josquin Des Prez. The music of the early Reformation developed in the context of the broad secular musical culture of the Renaissance. Luther and his contemporaries were acquainted with and made use of the best the secular musical culture had to offer. Various vocal and instrumental forms—from the chanson and madrigal to compositions for lute, clavichord, and organ—provided a rich variety of secular music. It served as backdrop and, in part, an inspiration, for the music that developed in early Lutheranism. Luther provided new opportunities for the congregation to participate in the liturgy through music that praised God and proclaimed the Gospel. He encouraged and implemented the use of the vernacular language. He reshaped traditional Gregorian melodies, making them more suitable for congregational singing. He encouraged poets to write new hymns. And he encouraged the use of the chorale as the chief musical vehicle for congregational singing. He provided both a liturgical place and a liturgical significance for the chorale in the liturgy. Setting the course for Lutheran music was Johann Walter, the first Lutheran cantor and composer, and Georg Rhau, the printer who prepared significant collections of music for the young church. Influential composers of the first half of the 16th Century who contributed to the music of early Lutheranism include Arnold von Bruck, Balthasar Resinarius, and Sixtus Dietrich. The second half of the century include such composers as Leonhard Schroeter,
Leonard Lechner, Johann Eccard, Bartholomaeus Gesius, and Seth Calvisius.
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