There are many reasons for the proliferation of Luther’s theology in 16th-century Europe. Certainly his own writings, translations, and liturgical reforms played a significant role in this phenomenon. No less significant, however, was Luther’s advocacy for hymnal production. Beginning with the Achtleiderbuch of 1524, a steady stream of hymnals and hymnal-related resources were disseminated across European lands. This trend continued in North America as Lutherans settled the new world with hymnal, Bible, and catechism in hand. In A New Song We Now Begin, Robin Leaver and a cast of scholars analyze these developments, beginning with the first Lutheran hymnals of the 16th century and continuing to the present day.
The volume is organized as a series of essays, highlighting various regions, histories, and movements within Lutheranism related to the development of its hymnals. The book is divided into two large sections: the first, “The German Background,” analyzes the historic development of the hymnal in German up to the mid-1800s, while the second, “Influential American Hymnals,” focuses on American trends from the late 1800s onward.
The first section (2–6) highlights a history of hymnal development that will be familiar to many. While not as well-known as other Reformation-era histories, the story of the proliferation of hymnals throughout the Reformation has been discussed before [fn 1]. What is particularly striking is Paul Grime’s observation of the intentional effort put forth by Luther to use the hymnal, in conjunction with the catechism and prayerbook, to educate and form the laity. This section moves from broad historical strokes (chapters 2–3) to more niche discussions on musical developments (chapter 4) and analysis of specific hymnbooks which were indicative of broader cultural and historical trends in Europe (chapters 5 and 6).
The second section rehearses a more recent history that has a felt significance for many modern-day Lutherans. The effort of various ethnic Lutherans to assimilate themselves to a more ecumenical American culture is made apparent in both Vieker’s article on Walther’s hymnal as well as Grindahl’s on Scandinavian hymnody. In the final several chapters (8, 10–11) on the Common Service Book and Hymnal (Westermeyer), the move from The Service Book and Hymnal to Lutheran Book of Worship (Granquist), and Worship Supplement 69 (Zager), the emphasis is placed upon a Lutheran desire for unity across synods as well as the “explosion” of hymn writing that came to characterize the twentieth century. In the final chapter, Zager and Leaver offer a “CliffsNotes”-style overview of hymnals from the mid-nineties to the present. The careful reader will by implication be able to glean the theological predilections of the various Lutheran bodies in America simply by reading these summaries.
While A New Song is certainly worthy of a cover-to-cover read, it can also serve as a valuable reference tool for anyone seriously interested in Lutheran church history and hymnody. This volume forces the reader to contemplate the essential place the hymnal has occupied for Lutherans during the previous five hundred years, and to consider how it might continue to do so for five hundred more.
Matthew Machemer
Associate Kantor
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana
St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Footnote
- Some examples include Leaver’s own Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2007) and The Whole Church Sings: Congregational Singing in Luther’s Wittenberg (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2017).