Lutheran Music and the Thirty Years War

This book takes a new look at sacred music written in present-day central Germany during the Thirty Years War (1618-48), and in doing so reveals distinct connections between religious works and the historical and political contexts in which they emerged. As author Derek L. Stauff asserts, specific Lutheran biblical motets and sacred concertos engage with the war's events, people, and politics in more detailed and meaningful ways than previously imagined. Composers working in Saxony, like Heinrich Schütz, Johann Hermann Schein, Tobias Michael, and Andreas Hammerschmidt, crafted these connections by deftly selecting biblical texts that specifically resonated with the war, by setting their texts in ways that amplify these resonances, and by performing this music in politically meaningful contexts. As a result, their music could take on a variety of war-related meanings: some pieces represent the Lutheran church and community, stoking fears about Catholic political aggression and religious persecution, warning Lutherans of the grave peril in which their church was foundering, and comforting believers with promises of God's protection. Other works celebrate contemporary political and military alignments, such as the Swedish-Saxon alliance (1631-35) and its victory at the Battle of Breitenfeld (1631), and close scrutiny of a few musical pieces reveals hidden or implicit critique of a controversial decree like the Edict of Restitution (1628) or of the excesses of Swedish troops. Stauff investigates the scriptural texts at the root of this repertoire, drawing on theological and devotional writings to show how early modern Lutherans connected these texts to the war and its political disputes. He also reconstructs the political contexts in which some works were performed or published; while his analyses focus chiefly on Saxony--especially Leipzig--they also remain relevant to other Lutheran regions of the Holy Roman Empire.

In a repertoire that might all too easily appear to uniformly preach peace and protest war, or to float timelessly in a liturgical space undisturbed by contemporary affairs, Stauff decisively shows how Lutheran composers actively reflected on and responded to the war, as well as the political and religious struggles underpinning it, through their sacred music.