A metrical mass

If Luther retained the ordinary of the mass, in 1526 he nevertheless created a metrical version, the Deutsche Messe, which could be easily sung by ordinary congregations. This is similar to what motivated the non-Lutheran reformers to versify the Psalms. Here is the metrical credo, We All Believe in One True God, which is sung here in the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche in Berlin:

Here is Michael Praetorius’ arrangement of the Sanctus hymn, Isaiah Mighty Seer in Days of Old. I was unable to find a less ornamented and more straightforward rendition of this tune.

I have never experienced the celebration of Luther’s Deutsche Messe but would love to one day. Perhaps our resident Lutheran, Pastor McCain, could tell us where and when we would be most likely to hear this.

Next
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen

Mike Aquilina

Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…

Notes on Anosmia

John Wilson

One morning several years ago, as my wife, Wendy, and I were having breakfast together, I had…

Empire of Unreality

Algis Valiunas

Shiva Naipaul (1945–1985) was the author of three novels and two books of mordant dispatches from places…