Overview

This volume is a revision of a dissertation in musicology, completed in 1999, on the role of popular music in the German Reformation. In the first four decades of the Reformation in Germany, hundreds of songs written in a popular style and set to familiar tunes, appeared in German territories. Some of these songs expressed the high ideals and deep faith of 16ht century German Christians, while others were scandalous, slanderous cries of anger at the papacy, the clergy, merchants who benefited from the Catholic Church's downfall, at Luther or other theologians whose specific articles of faith were at odds with those of a song's composer. This volume assess the power of these songs and others, and the relationship between music and morality in shaping the popular movement of the German Reformation. It looks at how popular songs spread ideas through all levels of German society and focuses on the lower strata of the population, the uneducated who had limited access to the polemic of the printed word.

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9780754603634

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Reviews

Prize: Winner of the 2001 Bainton Book Prize in Art and Music History '... a valuable addition to the history of the Reformation... clear, concise, and engaging...Rebecca Wagner Oettinger has opened the door to a relatively unexamined area of Reformation scholarship, and her study will prove to be a starting point for future explorations of Reformation musical and social history. In her introduction, Oettinger states that she hopes to fill one of the gaps in the history of popular culture, that of music and role it played in the lives of German Christians during the early Reformation . With Music as Propaganda in the German Reformation, she not only has successfully filled this particular gap but also has provided a framework for other scholars to join in her work.' Journal of Musicological Research ' Rebecca Oettinger has written a stimulating contribution to the discussion of popular religion in the Reformation... In all [...] instances Oettinger shows considerable skill in knitting together historical material and detailed musicological insights. The musical evidence is deftly treated with a judicious sense of what is required to lead the non-specialist through the argument... This is interdisciplinary scholarship at its best.' Journal of Ecclesiastical History '... compelling... a gold mine for those interested in further analysis of the nature of the powerful impact popular music had on the German reformation... One of the many attractive features of this well-documented study is that Oettinger regularly places the reader in the context of the songs discussed... The encyclopedic catalogue of songs , in the original and in English translation, makes this volume a gold mine for those interested in further analysis of the nature of the powerful impact popular music had on the German Reformation.' German Studies Review '... a pioneering study. Oettinger has uncovered a treasure trove of invaluable material... Rebecca Oettinger has done a great service in identifyin this repertory of German song, cataloging it, and presenting an initial interpretation that positions music - for the first time - in its important place in Reformation polemic and propaganda on the popular level.' Sixteenth Century Journal '... introduces the English-speaking researcher to a fascinating new topic.' Archiv fur Reformationsgeschichte 'Oettinger's book is an important addition to musical studies of the German Reformation, and we are in her debt for an altogether admirable and most impressive study.' Journal of the American Musicological Society

Author Information

Rebecca Wagner Oettinger, University of South Carolina, USA

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