Commemorating August Thirteenth: Music and Theology in Eighteenth-Century Moravian Communities

Authors

Ryan M. Malone, Bucknell UniversityFollow

Abstract

One of the most important memorial days in the Moravian liturgical calendar is August Thirteenth, a commemoration of the communal spiritual awakening that eighteenth-century Moravians experienced on the Saxon estate of Count Nikolaus Ludwig von Zinzendorf (1700–1760). While the Moravian church has celebrated this storied event for centuries, complete with music-rich religious services, only a few original compositions were crafted specifically for these services. In light of the importance of August Thirteenth, and given of the abundance of musical works that eighteenth-century Moravian composers wrote for other memorial days and religious holidays, this article employs musicological and theological perspectives to inquire about the uncharacteristic scarcity of original works composed for this commemoration. Adopting these two lenses together deepens existing scholarly understanding of Moravian musicians’ creative practice, suggesting that the lack of dedicated musical works for August Thirteenth reflects artists’ deep personal devotion to the Moravian church’s Christocentric aims and the extent to which this theology permeated musical aspects of eighteenth-century Moravian life.

Author Biography

Ryan Malone is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Music at Bucknell University where he teaches courses in music history, theory, and organ performance. His research interests include the choral anthems of Johann Friedrich Peter, Moravian music after 1830, and eighteenth-century performance practice. He is currently preparing a critical edition of the complete choral anthems of Johann Friedrich Peter, the first volume of which appeared in 2021, J. F. Peter: Anthems I, Steglein Publishing. In addition to his appointment at Bucknell, he is also the Director of Music and Organist at Trinity Episcopal Church, Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Recommended Citation

Malone, Ryan M. (2024) "Commemorating August Thirteenth: Music and Theology in Eighteenth-Century Moravian Communities," Yale Journal of Music & Religion: Vol. 10: No. 2, Article 2.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17132/2377-231X.1245