Luther's Legacy in Church Music

On Monday 20th November, the Choir of Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace, will be performing a concert to mark the international 'Luther 500' anniversary. Following the appearance of the choir in BBC 4’s ‘Lucy Worsley: Elizabeth I’s Battle for God’s Music’, a television documentary focussing on the creation of Choral Evensong in the wake of the 16th century Reformation, this concert will feature sacred music illustrating the impact of the European Reformation on English church music, and intends to celebrate Martin Luther’s integral role in developing the religion and music-making that is central to our Chapel worship today.

The Choir was established at Hampton Court Palace as a permanent musical body in 1868, continuing the time-honoured tradition of worship and finest music making in the Chapel Royal. With the Chapel boasting former members such as prominent Renaissance musicians Thomas Tallis and William Byrd, our ‘cradle of English church music’ is proud to present such a feast of music by these composers. Music to be performed from this era will include Tallis’s ‘Hear the voice and prayer’, extracts from his Missa Puer natus est nobis, and Byrd’s 'O Lord, make thy servant Elizabeth’, alongside the 21st century work ‘Hier stehe ich’, by David Lewiston-Sharpe, a work newly commisioned by the Chapels Royal to celebrate Luther’s work.