A Lutheran musician was an honest tradesmen. His aim was not to bowl you over or attempt sublime
disclosure but to furnish an attractive, craftsmanly, not overly polished setting for a cherished article of
common faith. Even at its fanciest, Lutheran church music was a town music, not a court music, enhancing
and solacing the day-to-day life of students, churchgoers, and families at home. Its esthetic ignored the
rare and the recondite, seeking beauty in the commonplace. It did not reject the ars perfecta but placed
limits on its exercise.
Within those limits—within any limits—masterpieces could be created. Ein Lämmlein geht und trägt
die Schuld (“A little lamb goes forth and bears the world’s guilt”), a chorale tricinium composed by
Benedictus Ducis (born Benedikt Herzog), a provincial pastor from the East, for use as a substitute for the
Agnus Dei at the Lutheran “Lord’s Supper,” is a tiny masterpiece (Ex. 18-8). Its modest perfection can
serve as a foil against which the Catholic response to the Lutheran challenge can be musically assessed.
THE RESPONSE
That response took a turn that could never have been predicted at mid-century, when all that the leading
Catholic bishops seemed to want was an intelligible liturgy. That trend, the one associated with
Palestrina, could be interpreted as an attempt to meet the Lutheran reform musically on its own ground—
grounds of modesty. It did not threaten the ars perfecta; on the contrary, it sought to amend and thus
preserve it.
EX. 18-8 Benedictus Ducis Ein Lämmlein geht