Germany and the heritage of the Hebrew Psalter from Luther to the death of Bach.

A study which attempts to cover more than two centuries of German psalmody, and to relate it however tenuously to Hebrew origins, has obvious shortcomings. At best, it can only open up a field of inquiry in which little systematic research appears to have been undertaken... The position occupied by the Psalter in this unique German association of doctrine and music is the subject of the thesis. In Hebrew antiquity, the psalms were sacred lyrics sung within the pattern of the Temple liturgy at Jerusalem, by priestly specialists with a long tradition of training, and to the accompaniment of instruments. The Psalm chorales of Luther were fashioned to be sung by the priesthood of believers... The thesis traces the development of the Bekenntnislied towards the Erbauungslied and Pietism accepting in a rather arbitrary way the Peace of Westphalia as the point of change.