German Hymnody

Extract

It is commonly thought that the German Choral had its birth in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, i.e., at the period of the Reformation in Germany. This is a great mistake. We may allow indeed that it reached its zenith at that time; but it was the fruit of seed sown in previous ages, and can boast of a long and noble ancestry. No nation in the world is possessed of so rich a treasury of Sacred Song as Germany. Considering the short time placed at my disposal, and the number of illustrations to be given, I trust that I may be pardoned for at once plunging in medias res.