Table Of ContentMiikka E. Anttila
Luther’s Theology of Music
Theologische Bibliothek
Töpelmann
Herausgegeben von
Bruce McCormack, Friederike Nüssel
und Christoph Schwöbel
Band
Miikka E. Anttila
Luther’s Theology
of Music
Spiritual Beauty and Pleasure
DE GRUYTER
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Contents
Introduction 1
.. Theology of music 1
.. Music and Luther studies 3
.. The relationship between music and the Word of God in previous
scholarship 9
.. The aim, method and sources of the present study 13
Voluptatesaurium:the pleasures of musicin Antiquityand the Middle
Ages 19
. Song of the heart: the appreciation of music in the early
church 19
. Evaluation of aural pleasuresin Augustine 24
.. The temporal and eternal numbers of De Musica 24
.. The scruples of Confessions 28
.. The importance of delight 30
. The development of the concept of musicfrom speculation to
practice 32
.. TheMathematicalconceptofmusic:Boethiusandhislegacy 32
.. High medieval ideas: Bernard of Clairvaux and Thomas
Aquinas 37
.. Fifteenth century musical theology: Jean Gerson and Johannes
Tinctoris 42
. Medieval theological aesthetics 52
.. Theological treatment of beauty 52
.. The aesthetics of proportion 54
.. The aesthetics of light 57
.. Some traits of Renaissance aesthetics 59
. The Medieval theory of affects 62
.. The problematic affectivity 62
.. Defining affects 63
.. Evaluating affects 65
Optimum Dei donum – the essence of music 70
. Gift (donum) in Luther’s theology 71
.. To be God is to give 71
.. To receive is to participate 76
.. To be given is to give back 79
.. The gifts of humans as the gifts of God 81
VI Contents
. Music as a gift of God 84
.. The four-stage division of music 84
... The phenomenon of sound 85
... Music of nature: birdsong in particular 87
... The human voice 89
... Art music 93
.. The excellence of musicasa gift of God 95
.. The reciprocity of the gift of music: Praise. 97
... Singing praise as Christian service 97
... Critical comments on music 101
... Eschatological and ecstatic dimensions of praise 103
Domina et gubernatrix affectuum humanorum – the power of
music 106
. The affects in Luther’s thinking 107
.. The affectivity of Luther’s theology 107
.. The affect and emotions 113
. The affective power of music 117
.. Music moves the human heart 117
.. Music raises a variety of emotions 119
.. Above all, musicdelights the human heart 120
.. Canticum novumas the song of joy 124
. Music combined with the Word of God 127
.. Verbum vocale as the primary form of the Word 127
.. Das Wort im Schwang: Singing as the optimal form of verbum
vocale 132
Joy (gaudium) and Pleasure (voluptas) in Luther’s theology 137
. Joy 138
.. The Gospel is good news 138
.. Characteristics of Christian joy 139
.. Joy and love 142
. Pleasure 146
.. Pleasure and will 146
.. Holy pleasure 152
.. Sensuous pleasures in Luther’s thinking. 156
. The delight of music is sensuous and innocent 161
Theology of beauty and the virtues of music 162
. Luther asan aesthetic thinker 163
Contents VII
.. Luther and beauty 163
.. Young Luther and the beauty of the cross 165
.. Old Luther and appreciation of outward beauty 170
. In search of the aesthetical criteria of music 173
.. Simplicitas – communicativeness 175
.. Libertas – freedom 178
.. Suavitas – pleasantness 184
... Excursus: A comparison of the way Calvin and Luther value
music 186
.. Exultatio – the creative joy 189
. Luther’s musical aestheticsas an aesthetics of light 194
Conclusion 199
Abbreviations 206
Sources 207
Martin Luther’s works 207
Ancient and medieval authors 209
Literature 213
Subject Index 225
Index of Names 226
1 Introduction
1.1. Theology of music
Formany,thespiritualdimensionoflifemanifestsitselfthroughmusic.Whilethe
powerof religiousinstitutions, symbols, andpractices is in decline,musickeeps
offering comfort to the stressed and creating at least an illusion of sense in a
senselessworld.Tosomeextent,thesameappliestotheartsingeneral.Deprived
ofreligiousbeliefs,peopletodayencounterwhatremainsofthesacredinworksof
art.Themodernideaofanartistissuggestiveofavisionary,aprophet,orapriest
morethanitisofanartisan.However,thathasnotalwaysbeenthecase.Histor-
ians of art and aesthetics date the origin of the quasi-religious understandingof
art to some time in the eighteenth century. According to musicologist Carl Dahl-
haus the romantic view of music employed words such as “devotion” and “con-
templation”todescribeitevenasreligioussentimentalitybecamemoreaesthetic
around the year 1800.¹ Herbert Marcuse’s The Aesthetic Dimension gives a closer
examination of art’s importantspiritualdimension:
Art breaks open a dimension inaccessible to other experience, a dimension in which
humanbeings,nature,andthingsnolongerstandunderthelawoftheestablishedreality
principle.Subjectsandobjectsencountertheappearanceofthatautonomywhichisdenied
themintheirsociety.Theencounterwiththetruthofarthappensintheestranginglan-
guageandimageswhich make perceptible,visible,and audiblethatwhich isno longer,
ornotyet,perceived,said,andheardineverydaylife.²
Asa form of art, music has the advantage of beingeasilyaccessible, facilitated
byelectronicportabledevices.Inthatregarditsurpassesnotonlysculptureand
literature, but even television. In terms of omnipresence, it is the supreme art.
Givenitsubiquityandthespiritualdimensionassignedtoit,studiesintheology
ofmusicthataddressthisspiritualdimensionarelongoverdue.Theissueisre-
latedtootherphilosophicalproblemspeculiartomusic.Forexample:Howdoes
musicrepresentanything?Theideaof“absolutemusic”deniesthepossibilityof
understanding music in terms of an extra-musical meaning. In other words,
Dahlhaus1983,12–13.ThetheologianNicholasWolterstorff(2004,337)forhispart,comments
on the development in the last two centuries as follows: “According to the modern grand
narrativeofart…artintheeighteenthcenturyfinallyfreeditselffromservicetoreligion.What
strikesanyonewhofollowsoutthevarioustellingsofthenarrative,however,ishowoftenthis
liberatedartisdescribedinreligiousterms,andhowoftenreligioushopesandexpectationsare
lodgedinit.”
Marcuse1979,72.
