Neither Voice Nor Heart Alone: German Lutheran Theology of Music in the Age of the Baroque

In tracing theological approaches to music in the era between Luther and Bach, the author reveals the variety and tension in German Lutheran theology. Both dogmatism and devotionalism helped shape Lutheran spirituality. The introduction of Italian Baroque style into church music, however, evoked controversies which pitted Pietism against Orthodoxy and preachers against musicians. Joyce Irwin received her PhD in Religious Studies from Yale University, has taught at the University of Georgia and at Colgate University and has served as organist and choir director in various churches. She currently resides in Hamilton, New York. In addition to numerous journal articles, she has published in Womanhood in Radical Protestantism, 1525-1675 and Sacred Sound: Music in Religious Thought and Practice.

Joyce Irwin received her PhD in Religious Studies from Yale University and has taught at the University of Georgia and Colgate University. She is currently an independent scholar living in Princeton, New Jersey. In addition to numerous journal articles, she has published Womanhood in Radical Protestantism, 1525-1675; Sacred Sound: Music in Religious Thought and Practice; and Foretastes of Heaven in Lutheran Church Music Tradition.