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{{Short description|Musical setting of a Lutheran hymn}}
{{About|a Lutheran music genre|the literary genre|Lutheran hymn|other chorales|chorale}}
{{Use shortened footnotes|date=October 2022}}
[[File:Wachet auf 2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The third stanza of [[Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme|the eponymous chorale]] in [[Johann Sebastian Bach]]'s setting as the final movement of his [[Chorale cantata (Bach)|chorale cantata]] [[Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV 140|''Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'', BWV 140]]]]

A '''Lutheran chorale''' is a musical setting of a [[Lutheran hymn]], intended to be sung by a [[Church (congregation)|congregation]] in a German Protestant church service. The typical [[four-part harmony|four-part setting]] of a chorale, in which the sopranos (and the congregation) sing the melody along with three lower voices, is known as a ''chorale harmonization''.  The practice of singing in unison was the rule of the reformed churches, both in Germany and in other countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chorale: History, Benefits & Techniques | work = Britannica |url= https://www.britannica.com/art/chorale |access-date=2024-11-30}}</ref>

==Lutheran hymns==
{{see also|Lutheran hymn|List of hymns by Martin Luther|Hymnody of continental Europe#Reformation}}
Starting in 1523, [[Martin Luther]] began translating worship texts into German from the Latin.{{sfn|Marshall and Leaver|2001}} He composed melodies for some hymns himself, such as "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" ("[[A Mighty Fortress Is Our God]]"), and even a few harmonized settings.{{sfn|Leaver|2001}} For other hymns he adapted [[Gregorian chant]] melodies used in Catholic worship to fit new German texts, sometimes using the same melody more than once.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} For example, he fitted the melody of the hymn "[[Veni redemptor gentium]]" to three different texts, "[[Da pacem Domine|Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich]]", "[[Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort]]", and "[[Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland]]".{{sfn|Marshall and Leaver|2001}} The first Lutheran hymns were published in 1524.{{sfn|Tovey|1911|loc=6:269}} These included the ''{{lang|de|[[Achtliederbuch]]}}'' (known as the first Lutheran hymnal) and the ''[[Erfurt Enchiridion]]'' (both with unaccompanied melodic settings), as well as [[Johann Walter]]'s ''{{lang|de|[[Eyn geystlich Gesangk Buchleyn]]}}'', the first to contain [[part song]] settings of Lutheran hymns.{{sfn|Marshall and Leaver|2001}}{{sfn|Braun|2001}}

Luther and his contemporaries referred to these vernacular hymns as ''geistliche Lieder'' (spiritual songs), ''Psalmen'' (psalms), ''christliche Lieder'' (Christian songs), and ''geistliche'' (or ''christliche'') ''Gesänge'' or ''Kirchengesänge''. The German word ''Choral'', which was originally used to describe Latin plainchant melodies, was first applied to the Lutheran hymn only in the later sixteenth century.{{sfn|Marshall and Leaver|2001}}

In the [[modern era]],<ref>{{Citation |title=Modern era |date=2024-11-30 |work=Wikipedia |url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_era |access-date=2024-11-30 |language=en}}</ref> many Lutheran hymns are used in Protestant worship, sometimes sung in [[four-part harmony]]. A four-part harmony is the traditional method of organizing chords for 4 different voice ranges: soprano, alto, tenor and bass (known together as 'SATB'). The term 'voice' or 'part' refers to any musical line whether it is a melody sung by singers, a long note played on an instrument or anything in between.<ref>{{Cite web |last=E |first=Matt |date=2019-01-14 |title=A Beginner's Guide to 4-Part Harmony: Notation, Ranges, Rules & Tips |url=https://www.schoolofcomposition.com/beginners-guide-to-4-part-harmony/#:~:text=So%20what%20is%20four-part,instrument%20or%20anything%20in%20between. |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=School of Composition |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Composers==
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2020}}
{{see also|:de:Liste von Kirchenliederkomponisten}}
Composers of tunes for Lutheran hymns, or who adopted such tunes in their compositions:<ref>{{Citation |title=Luteri koraal |date=2024-08-23 |work=Vikipeedia |url=https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luteri_koraal |access-date=2024-11-30 |language=et}}</ref>
* Martin Luther (1483–1546)
* Johann Walter (1496–1570)
* [[Sebald Heyden]] (1499–1561)
* [[Nikolaus Herman]] ({{circa|1500}}–1561)
* [[Johannes Hermann]] (1515–1593)
* [[Nikolaus Selnecker]] (1530–1592)
* [[Cyriakus Schneegass]] (1546–1597)
* [[Joachim a Burck]] (1546–1610)
* [[Philipp Nicolai]] (1556–1608)
* [[Bartholomäus Gesius]] ({{circa|1562}}–1613)
* [[Michael Praetorius]] (1571–1621)
* [[Melchior Franck]] ({{circa|1579}}–1639)
* [[Melchior Teschner]] (1584–1635)
* [[Michael Altenburg]] (1584–1640)
* [[Heinrich Schütz]] (1585–1672)
* [[Johann Hermann Schein]] (1586–1630)
* [[Samuel Scheidt]] (1587–1654)
* [[Johann Schop]] ({{circa|1590}}–1667)
* [[Heinrich Scheidemann]] ({{circa|1595}}–1663)
* [[Johann Crüger]] (1598–1662)
* [[Andreas Hammerschmidt]] (1611/1612–1675)
* [[Dieterich Buxtehude]] ({{circa|1638}}–1707)
* [[Gottfried Vopelius]] (1645–1715)
* [[Johann Pachelbel]] (1653–1706)
* [[Johann Sebastian Bach]] (1685–1750) harmonised hundreds of chorales, typically used at the end of his cantatas and concluding scenes in his Passions. In his ''[[St Matthew Passion]]'', he set five stanzas of "[[O Sacred Head, Now Wounded|O Haupt voll Blut und Wunden]]" in four different ways. He also used hymns as the base for his cycle of [[Chorale cantata (Bach)|chorale cantatas]] and [[chorale prelude]]s. Bach concentrated on the chorales especially in the [[Chorale cantata (Bach)|Chorale cantata]]s of his second annual cycle, composed mostly in 1724/25.
* [[Felix Mendelssohn]] (1809–1847)
* [[Anton Bruckner]] (1824–1896).{{sfn|Harten|1996|page=145}}
* [[Johannes Brahms]] (1833–1897)
* [[Max Reger]] (1873–1916)
* [[Sigfrid Karg-Elert]] (1877–1933)
* [[Igor Stravinsky]] (1882–1971)
* [[Ernst Pepping]] (1901–1981)
* [[Hugo Distler]] (1908–1942)
* [[Sofia Gubaidulina]] (1931–2025)
* [[George C. Baker]] (b. 1951)

==Compositions based on Lutheran chorales==
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{{see also|Chorale setting|Chorale fantasia}}
[[File:BWV739.png|thumb|240px|The autograph of Bach's chorale prelude on the hymn "[[Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern]]", [[BWV 739]]]]

===Vocal===
{{see also|Chorale monody|Chorale concerto|Chorale cantata|Chorale motet|Four-part harmony}}

===Organ===
{{See also|Chorale prelude|Chorale partita|Chorale setting (organ)}}
Chorales also appear in [[chorale prelude]]s, pieces generally for [[organ (music)|organ]] originally designed to be played immediately before the congregational singing of the hymn, but developed into an autonomous genre by north-German composers of the middle and late 17th century, particularly Dieterich Buxtehude.{{sfn|Marshall|2001}} A chorale prelude includes the melody of the chorale, and adds [[counterpoint|contrapuntal]] lines. One of the first composers to write chorale preludes was Samuel Scheidt. Bach's many chorale preludes are the best-known examples of the form. Later composers of the chorale prelude include Johannes Brahms, for example in his [[Eleven Chorale Preludes]], and Max Reger who composed many examples, including ''[[Max Reger works#40|Wie schön leucht' uns der Morgenstern]]'' (based on [[Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern|the hymn]] by Philipp Nicolai). In the 20th century, important contributions to the genre were made by Hugo Distler and Ernst Pepping.{{sfn|Marshall|2001}}

===Other instrumental===
*[[Sofia Gubaidulina]] – ''Meditation über den Bach-Choral "Vor deinen Thron tret' ich hiermit"'', for harpsichord, two violins, viola, cello, and contrabass (1993)

==Scholarship==
{{expand section|date=October 2017}}
{{see also|Hymnology}}
Scholarship regarding Lutheran chorales intensified from the 19th century.

===Carl von Winterfeld===
The musicologist [[Carl von Winterfeld]] published three volumes of ''Der evangelische Kirchengesang und sein Verhältniss zur Kunst des Tonsatzes'' ([[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] church-song and its relation to the art of composition) from 1843 to 1847.{{sfn|Winterfeld|1843–1847}}

===Zahn's classification of chorale tunes===
[[Johannes Zahn]] published ''Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder'' (the [[hymn tune|tune]]s of the German Evangelical hymns) in six volumes from 1889 to 1893.{{sfn|Zahn|1889–1893}}

== References ==
<references />

== Sources ==
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Braun|2001}}|reference=Braun, Werner. 2001. "Walter [Walther], Johann [Johannes] (i)". ''[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians]]'', second edition, edited by [[Stanley Sadie]] and [[John Tyrrell (musicologist)|John Tyrrell]]. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Leaver|2001}}|reference=Leaver, Robin A. 2001. "Luther, Martin". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Marshall|2001}}|reference=Marshall, Robert L. 2001. "Chorale prelude". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Marshall and Leaver|2001}}|reference=Marshall, Robert L., and Robin A. Leaver. 2001. "Chorale". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Harten|1996}}|reference=Harten, Uwe. 1996. ''Anton Bruckner. Ein Handbuch''. Salburg: Residenz Verlag. {{ISBN|3-7017-1030-9}}.}}
* {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Chorale|first=Donald Francis |last=Tovey|author-link=Donald Tovey|noicon=1}}
* {{cite book
  | last1       = Winterfeld
  | first1      = Carl von
  | author-link1= :de:Carl von Winterfeld
  | date        = 1843–1847
  | title       = Der evangelische Kirchengesang und sein Verhältniss zur Kunst des Tonsatzes
  | volume      = I–III
  | location    = Leipzig
  | publisher   = [[Breitkopf & Härtel]]
  | language    = de
  | postscript  = . Separate volumes at [[Google Books]]:
}}
**'''I''' (1843): [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_aOcsAAAAYAAJ Der Evangelische Kirchengesang im ersten Jahrhunderte der Kirchenverbesserung] (first centuries of the reformation)
**'''II''' (1845): [https://archive.org/details/derevangelische02wintgoog Der Evangelische Kirchengesang im siebzehnten Jahrhunderte] (17th century)
**'''III''' (1847): [https://archive.org/details/derevangelische00wintgoog Der Evangelische Kirchengesang im achtzehnten Jahrhunderte] (18th century)
* {{cite book
  | last1       = Zahn
  | first1      = Johannes
  | author-link1= Johannes Zahn
  | date        = 1889–1893
  | title       = [[scores:Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder (Zahn, Johannes)|Die Melodien der deutschen evangelischen Kirchenlieder]]
  | volume      = I–VI
  | location    = Gütersloh
  | publisher   = [[Bertelsmann]]
  | language    = de
  | postscript  = . Separate volumes at [[Internet Archive]]:
}}
**'''I''' (1889): [https://archive.org/details/1508283124bsb11304498 Zweizeilige bis fünfzeilige Melodien] (melodies in two to five lines), Nos.&nbsp;1–2047
**'''II''' (1890): [https://archive.org/details/1508284209bsb11304500 Sechszeilige Melodien] (melodies in six lines), Nos.&nbsp;2048–4216
**'''III''' (1890): [https://archive.org/details/1508285990bsb11304501 Die siebenzeiligen und jambischen achtzeiligen Melodien] (melodies in seven and eight [[Iamb (poetry)|iambic]] lines), Nos.&nbsp;4217–6231
**'''IV''' (1891): [https://archive.org/details/1508286757bsb11304502 Die Melodien von den achtzeiligen trochäischen bis zu den zehnzeiligen inkl. enthaltend] (melodies in eight [[Trochee|trochaic]] up to and including ten lines), Nos.&nbsp;6232–8087
**'''V''' (1892): [https://archive.org/details/1508287113bsb11304503 Die übrigen Melodien von den elfzeiligen an, nebst Anhang und Nachlese, sowie das chronologische Verzeichnis der Erfinder von Melodien und alphabetische Register der Melodien] (the other melodies of eleven lines and more, with an annex and complement, and also a chronological index of composers of melodies and an alphabetical register of melodies), Nos.8088–8806
**'''VI''' (1893): [https://archive.org/details/1508288358bsb11304504 Schlüßband: Chronologisches Verzeichnis der benutzten Gesang-, Melodien- und Choralbücher, und die letzten Nachträge] (closing volume: chronological catalogue of used song-, melody- and choirbooks, and the last supplements)

==Further reading==
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Anon.|1980}}|reference=Anon. 1980. "Chorale". ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', edited by [[Stanley Sadie]].  20 vol.  London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd.  {{ISBN|1-56159-174-2}}.}}
* {{cite book
 |last1= Lightwood
 |first1= James Thomas
 |year= 1906
 |chapter= I: The German Chorale
 |chapter-url= https://archive.org/stream/hymntunesandthei00lighuoft#page/n17/mode/2up
 |pages= 1–22
 |title= Hymn-tunes and Their Story
 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=JytGAQAAMAAJ
 |location= London
 |publisher= Charles H. Kelly
 }}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Randel|1986}}|reference=Randel, Don Michael (ed.). 1986. ''The New Harvard Dictionary of Music'', third edition.  Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.  {{ISBN|0-674-61525-5}}.}}
* {{wikicite|ref={{harvid|Randel|2003}}|reference=Randel, Don Michael (ed.). 2003. ''The Harvard Dictionary of Music'', fourth edition.  Cambridge:  Belknap Press, for Harvard University Press.  {{ISBN|978-0-674-011632}}.}}
* {{cite book
 |last1                = Wilson
 |first1               = Archibald W.
 |date                 = 1920
 |editor1-last         = Hughes
 |editor1-first        = H.&nbsp;V.
 |title                = The Chorales: Their Origin and Influence
 |url                  = https://archive.org/details/choralestheirori00wilsuoft
 |series               = Church Music Monographs
 |volume               = 1
 |location             = London
 |publisher            = Faith Press
 }}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040403214310/http://www.bachfaq.org/chorale.html Chorale discussion] by Bernard Greenberg in the J. S. Bach FAQ (archived copy)
* [http://www.jsbchorales.net/ Complete sets of all four-part Bach chorale settings] in MIDI or QuickTime format
* [http://memory.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/html/choralmusic/choralmusic-home.html American Choral Music, 1870–1923], LoC
* [http://www.choraleguide.com ChoraleGUIDE] – help with Bach chorale harmonization
* [http://bach.nau.edu/matthew/Content/Chorales.pdf The Chorales of Bach's St. Matthew Passion]

{{Hymn tunes by Zahn number}}
{{Lutheran hymnody}}
{{Lutheran hymns}}
{{Christian music articles}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:16th-century music genres]]
[[Category:18th-century music genres]]
[[Category:Protestant hymnology]]
[[Category:Lutheran liturgy and worship]]
[[Category:Church music]]
[[Category:Choral music genres]]