“I would prefer that you omit new words and those used at court, in order toappeal to the masses of plain people, yet at the same time using words that are choice and proper to be sung,having a clear meaning and related as closely as possible to the psalm.” (p. 39, Letter to Georg Spalatin)
At first glance you could argue our friend Mart was advocating mass-marketable popular songs! Yet he advises the poet that the aim of his craft should be, firstly, to use language fitting the “elevated” style natural to hymns, and secondly, to produce an understandable and accurate representation of the selected Scripture.
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