Did Martin Luther Use Barroom Music with Sacred Music? Part 1

Did Martin Luther Use Barroom Music with Sacred Music? Part 1

            Did Martin Luther use Barroom music with sacred music?  Oddly enough Luther is accused by misguided Christian musicians (similarly to the accusations against the Wesleys) of using “tavern music” with sacred texts. The problem with these accusations is that they are completely without scholarly basis.  ”At its worst this claim is a misrepresentation of fact. At its best, it is a misleading oversimplification of Luther’s intention and his practice of liturgical music.”  (Copyright © 2013 Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.) www.elca.org/worshipfaq 

            In the article quoted above called “Did Martin Luther really use tavern tunes in church?” the author identified and explained the four sources of melodies used during Martin Luther’s lifetime.  My conclusion of the matter of tunes Luther used is that, although Luther did borrow melodies from secular music, they did not represent a contradistinction of style that were inappropriate got use with sacred music..  However, an inspection of the extant melodies that he used reveals that these melodies did not bring to Lutheran church styles of music that were incongruent with the sacredness of his hymns or chorales.  So, again, the myth of “Barroom Tunes” has (like the case of the Wesley’s use of secular melodies) been proven to be without any scholarly basis.