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Musica est optimum

Martin Luther's Theory of Music

Bibliographic Data

ID10651579
AuthorsAndreas Loewe (0000-0003-4338-3147, corresponding author), J A Loewe
Year2013
Volume94
Issue4
Pages573-605
Publication date2013-11-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMusic and Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0027-4224 • E-ISSN: 1477-4631
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ml/gct133
OpenAlexW2111495087
LanguageEN
Citations received3

Martin Luther’s appreciation for music as a practical instrument to promote the message of the Reformation by the creation of vernacular hymnody and specifically Lutheran liturgical music has dominated studies of Luther and his music. His systematic understanding of music, on the other hand, has been consistently neglected. This article argues that more than twenty years into his Reformation the philosophical basis of his music theory remained very much indebted to Johannes de Muris’s influential Musica speculativa and later humanist interpretations. Consideration of this relation sheds light on Luther’s understanding of music as a quadrivial art form and the queen of philosophical learning.

Art · Art history · Humanism · Literature · Martin luther · Music education · Music history · Philosophy of music · Relation (database) · Theology · Vernacular · Visual arts · Computer Science · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · Musicology and Musical Analysis · Philosophy · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity

  • Re-forming Music

    Open Access•Soraya Wiese•Musical Offerings•2021

  • Why do Lutherans Sing? Lutherans, Music, and the Gospel in the First Century of the Reformation

    Open Access•J Andreas Loewe, Andreas Loewe•Church History•2013

  • Music, Morality, and Mayhem

    Open Access•Emily Peppers•Arts•2026

Citations per year0.23
Citation span2013 - 2026 (14)
Highly citedNo

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