This new release opens an unusually varied chapter in music history, ranging from the first 16th-century arrangements of Luther’s hymns to the sacred music of...

This new release opens an unusually varied chapter in music history, ranging from the first 16th-century arrangements of Luther’s hymns to the sacred music of the 21st century. The initiator of this development was in every sense a man of his word: Martin Luther. The sequence of works on this release can be understood as an audio history of one of the most important hymns of the Protestant Reformation: “Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott.” The hymn first appeared in 1533 in Martin Luther’s book “Sacred songs newly amended at Wittemberg. Over the following centuries, many composers re-set and rearranged the work. Martin Luther wrote several dozen hymns for all the Christian festivals too. “Vom Himmel hoch, da komm ich her” (1535) is one of his best known. Some of the adaptations by Eccard, Praetorius or Bach (from the “Christmas Oratorio”) are to be heard on this release. Schooled in the Protestant tradition, the trumpeter and conductor Ludwig Güttler regards Luther as a constant point of reference. He acknowledges the great reformer’s current relevance: “A man like Martin Luther, who in the face of all opposition finds a way, goes his own way, with this faith in God, this strength, this fearlessness, insight and perseverance, and who never wearies of praising music as second only to theology, makes use of it and reveals himself as a thoroughly musical person, is more than role model and inspiration for us; he is our strong companion.” A world premiere and first recording top the album off. The composer, saxophonist and flautist Daniel Schnyder engages with Luther’s “Feste Burg” and creates his own version in the musical form of an oratorio. This work was commissioned by the Frauenkirche Dresden to mark the Luther Decade.