By the new cultural standards of southern Germany, the Reformation greatly shaped the art of music in congregational worship. Among reformers, Luther retained much of the Catholic liturgy in church services, but changed the environment of worship. In most cases, the original Latin texts were retained and others were translated into German, resulting in the makings of contrafacta. He employed a good amount of Catholic traditional music in plainsong and polyphony, while incorporating a new freshness of style. He was a singer, composer, hymn writer and great admirer of Franco-Flemish polyphony. By this time in history, innovative Flemish influences already invaded Germany through artists such as Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, der Weyden, Rembrandt and Albert Durer and composers such as Johannes Ockeghem, Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Palestrina and J.S. Bach. The central position of music in the Lutheran church reflected Luther's biblical convictions both lyrically and musically.

One of Luther's largest contributions to church music was the chorale, which later was enhanced by Bach, Hadyn, Mozart, Beethoveen and many other contempoaries.Most people today know chorales as hymns: four part harmonized settings, but the chorale, like plainsong was consisted of text and tune.Large instrumental works accompanied chorales by a congrument of instrument doublings coinciding with counterpunctal figured bass.In later church music, Lutherans largely grew out of chorales, as did Catholics outgrowing plainsong.The later works became re-inventions, composed of old chant melodies with new spiritualized texts called contrafactas and motets. These re-inventions along with earlier recitatives were later used as a springboard in the developments of Lutheran cantatas and passions. Teleman, Schutz, Handel and Bach were the greatest originators and innovators of Passions. These musical settings were poetic meditations on Christ's crucifixion.Plainsong melodies emulated the sufferings of Christ according to the Gospel accounts.In a passion service, one priest would sing narrative portions, another the words of Christ and a third the words of the crowd in polyphonic portions of motet style. The works of passions also influenced Catholics for their church services and masses.Passions also set the pretext and origins of 16^th and 17^th Century musicals known as operas.

New and modified instruments of strings, brass, percussion and organ were also developed and utilized in orchestras for church services. No other time in history has music possessed an exhilarating progression and enthusiasm other than the Pre and Post Reformation era.The fresh 15^th century ideas of musical instruments and music theory were explored and redefined to form new sounds and styles which pointed toward the Neoclassic era. The father of music theory himself, J.S. Bach, quickly implemented the new developments of music in the church. Protestants such as Luther and Bach capitalized on the new wealth of musical ideas for God's use and glory in the church. Richard Viladesau, in his book "Theology and The Arts," the author comments on Luther's contributions to church music. The writer says:

"Thus the positive evaluation of music in the church was founded on the idea that the music we hear on earth gives us a sensible taste of the spiritual order and finality of all being and, in its truest nature, expresses of all desire for God. Luther's hearty congregational singing and ethereal choral music of the masses of Palestrina or Victoria are based upon the same idea: that music raises the mind to God because it reflects and expresses the beautiful order and intelligibility of creation itself,"(p. 36 and 37).