ABSTRACT
Martin Luther's comments on music are many and varied. In one sense it could be argued that Luther's view of music being close to theology is merely the logical conclusion of the medieval understanding of the nature and purpose of music. Luther is more concerned with the fact that these people were the descendants of Cain rather than Abel. Luther envisages that music had a fundamental place in the worship of the "true church" before the fall, and that it was the simple combination of human voices singing praise to God. Luther wrote a vernacular poem in praise of music that in many respects echoes the aphorisms of Tinctoris and Gerson. Luther's Latin preface is in some respects an expanded version of his "Frau Musica" poem, in prose rather than verse. In the German draft Luther thereafter continues: noble music is next to God's Word, the highest treasure on earth: it governs all thought, perception, heart, and mind.
