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During the Age of Enlightenment, Rationalism had a profound affect on Christian worship. Theologians and philosophers rejected much of the theology so painstakingly developed during the Reformation and the generations that followed it. The hymnody that Lutheran writers developed in the Reformation crucible no longer was in fashion.
In many places, the lack of heritage became a ship without a keel–blown off course by breezes from popular secular culture. In its near complete abandonment of the Lutheran heritage in many places, the church lost its identity and reason for being. Eventually, the pendulum of history swung back, and in the early 19th century, Rationalism lost its hold on the popular imagination. A new way of thinking, Romanticism, took Rationalism’s place. Among other things, it encouraged people to want a religion that could help them transcend ordinary existence. They wanted warmth and a reconnection with their roots. Different Romantic objectives were important to different Lutheran groups. Lutherans who were part of the Pietist movement valued the subjective and experiential aspects of Christianity. They wanted to feel their hearts being warmed and revived. Occasionally they even sought conversion experiences. On the other hand, orthodox Lutherans preferred to emphasize worship as a corporate action in which Christians were nourished and strengthened, whether or not they felt an emotional high as part of the activity. The orthodox Lutherans wanted to reconnect to their Reformation and early Christian roots. They were very interested in Reformation hymnody. The newly recovered, or even discovered, hymn texts and their original versions of the melodies were of particular interest. In the same way that 18th-century Rationalism had made Lutheran theology a bland, mundane affair, the hymn melodies had turned into slow, plodding affairs with little vitality or soul. The rediscovery of Reformation hymnody with its angular rhythms and spicy, modal, melodic turns brought the hymnody back to life. In some places remarkable new hymnody also was being created in the orthodox tradition. The Pietists developed a style of hymnody that was new to Christianity in general and Lutherans in particular. It was borrowed from similarly-minded people of other faith traditions, especially Methodists and Baptists. This singing style was heart-felt and enthusiastic. Because the music normally was sung in small groups outside conventional church settings, or at revivals, singers often accompanied themselves with instruments other than the organ.
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Leaders
believed that late 18th-century Christians wanted new music
and new hymnody to keep in step with current times. They believed they
needed new music that was not so heavy, was less old-fashioned, and was
more up-to-date. In its attempt to modernize, Enlightenment Lutheranism
rejected much of the heritage that was developed over the preceding centuries.
