Singing in the Reformation Era

[ken_sylvania]

Was singing in multi-part harmony common in the 1500's? It is my impression that church choirs by that time would have sung complex polyphonic music but that hymnals including multi-part music weren't necessarily common. Did people still sing parts?

Did Anabaptist music differ from that of other protestants of that time?

[Bootstrap]

Was singing in multi-part harmony common in the 1500's? It is my impression that church choirs by that time would have sung complex polyphonic music but that hymnals including multi-part music weren't necessarily common. Did people still sing parts?

Did Anabaptist music differ from that of other protestants of that time?

Yes, they did sing complex polyphonic music, for instance, listen to the music here:

https://classicalmusiconly.com/lists/wo ... century/15

The Protestant hymnals I know from that time had only words and melody, or even just words. For instance, here is a hymn from the first Lutheran hymnal:



And here's a hymn from the Erfurt Enchiridion:



That's in Mensural Notation (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mensural_notation), which is pretty different from our modern notation in some ways. The Wikipedia article is good.

You could write quite complex music in Mensural Notation. Here's a 5 part choral work in Mensural notation:



Some hymnals had no written music at all. I think that's true of the Ausbund:

[ken_sylvania]

When the hymnals only had the melody did the people usually sing in unison, or did they tend to pick up the parts by hearing them sung?

[barnhart]

There was a type of call and response with a leader giving out the lines and the group following.

I think traditional four part singing in America was popularized in the late 1800's. I recall in one of the Little House books, Laura and her friends attended a singing school held in the local church for a week with a visiting music teacher.

[ohio jones]

It is my impression that church choirs by that time would have sung complex polyphonic music but that hymnals including multi-part music weren't necessarily common.

Hymnals of any sort weren't common before the mid-1400s since they had to be copied by hand before the development of the printing press. Here's the choir of Segovia Cathedral, with a large print hymnal facing each direction on a stand in the center. Apparently one had to have good eyes in addition to a good voice.

[ken_sylvania]

It is my impression that church choirs by that time would have sung complex polyphonic music but that hymnals including multi-part music weren't necessarily common.

Hymnals of any sort weren't common before the mid-1400s since they had to be copied by hand before the development of the printing press. Here's the choir of Segovia Cathedral, with a large print hymnal facing each direction on a stand in the center. Apparently one had to have good eyes in addition to a good voice.

That's one big hymnal!

[Bootstrap]

When the hymnals only had the melody did the people usually sing in unison, or did they tend to pick up the parts by hearing them sung?

Well, I'm not sure, and that's probably hard to answer. Often, what's written down is only part of the story. I do know that Luther favored four part harmony, but did not always write even the melodies in his hymnals. That makes me suspect the same may have been true of others.

Here is a translation of Luther's introduction to the Wittenberg Hymnal, Luther's first hymnal:

https://archive.ph/20150422020723/http: ... .0-683.807

And these songs were arranged in four parts to give the young–who should at any rate be trained in music and other fine arts–something to wean them away from love ballads and carnal songs and to teach them something of value in their place, thus combining the good with the pleasing, as is proper for youth. Nor am I of the opinion that the gospel should destroy and blight all the arts, as some of the super-religious claim. But I would like to see all the arts, especially music, used in the service of Him who gave and made them. I therefore pray that every pious Christian would be pleased with this and lend his help if God has given him like or greater gifts. As it is, the world is too lax and indifferent about teaching and training the young for us to abet this trent. God grant us his grace. Amen.

That was Luther's first printed hymnal, and I haven't found images for it, except for the one I posted in a previous post. But here's his second hymnal:

https://www.deutschestextarchiv.de/book ... idion_1524

Some pages just line out the words:



Some show the melody at the top:



This one claims to be "the song of Johannes Hus, improved":