Foretastes of heaven in Lutheran church music tradition: Johann Mattheson and Christoph Raupach on music in time and eternity
In the two centuries after Martin Luther’s affirmation that music stood second only to theology, Lutheran theologians and musicians formulated a theological defense of music that validated this exalted status. Against Calvinist rivals and Pietist critics, the orthodox Lutheran position further claim...
| Summary: | In the two centuries after Martin Luther’s affirmation that music stood second only to theology, Lutheran theologians and musicians formulated a theological defense of music that validated this exalted status. Against Calvinist rivals and Pietist critics, the orthodox Lutheran position further claimed that both instrumental and vocal music were commanded by God. This volume provides translations and commentary for two 18th-century texts that illuminate the musico-theological foundation underlying the work of Lutheran composers such as Bach and Telemann. Veritophili deutliche Beweis-Gründe, worauf der rechte Gebrauch der Music beydes in den Kirchen und ausser denselben beruhet (A truth lover’s clear reasonings on which the correct use of music rests, 1717) by Christoph Raupach, with an introduction by Johann Mattheson, serves as a cumulative statement of Lutheran advocacy of music. Mattheson’s Behauptung der himmlischen Musik (Affirmation of heavenly music, 1747) goes a step further in defending the reality of music in heaven and even the ultimate superiority of music over theology and sermons. The author's introduction traces the centrality of Mattheson’s belief in heavenly music throughout the course of his life, even while he was writing works of music theory that earned him a reputation as an Enlightenment thinker. Though influenced by Enlightenment philosophy, specifically British empiricism, he rejected the rationalist philosophies of his German contemporaries and expressed no sympathy for the emerging school of biblical criticism. |
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| Item Description: | Includes bibliographical references and index Erscheinungsjahr in Vorlageform:[2015] |
| ISBN: | 1442232633 |