Himlische Cantorey - Music of the Reformation: 5 Chorales as arranged by Luther, Othemayr and Walter

CPO is thrilled to present this new disc featuring music from the early years of the Reformation. After the printing of the first protestant hymnbook in 1523 countless hymnbooks of all shapes and sizes and collections of church hymns, table songs, and psalmodies were published. In them there developed a Lutheran treasury of songs clearly departing from the musical traditions of the old church and gaining a profile all of its own. Protestant music was lent its surprising freshness not least through the employment of the German language (then not in common liturgical use) together with its powerful and richly pictorial formulations. Luther himself was a prime mover here; he had received a thorough musical education, was intimately familiar with the motet repertoire then widespread in Europe, and even knew how to compose.