In the hymn-book published in 1525 by the composer
Walter, Luther's friend, were six more of the Luther hymns.
And in 1526 appeared the "German Mass and Order of Divine
Service," containing "the German Sanctus," a versification of
Isaiah vi. Of the remaining eleven, six appeared first in the
successive editions of Joseph Klug's hymn-book, Wittenberg,
1535 and 1543.It is appropriate to the commemorative character of the
present edition that in it the hymns should be disposed in
chronological order.
The TUNES which are here printed with the hymns of Luther
are of those which were set to them during his lifetime. Some
of them, like the hymns to which they were set, are derived
from the more ancient hymnody of the German and Latin
churches. Others, as the tunes _Vom Himmel hoch, Ach Gott vom
Himmel_, and _Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam_, are
conjectured to have been originally secular airs. But that
many of the tunes that appeared simultaneously and in
connection with Luther's hymns were original with Luther
himself, there seems no good reason to doubt. Luther's
singular delight and proficiency in music are certified by a
hundred contemporary testimonies.
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