Luther often expressed the conviction that music was, under God, of supreme importance. In comments he made at meal times, which eager disciples recorded as his “Table Talk,” Luther several times described music as “the greatest gift of God which has often induced and inspired me to preach.” In his view, God gave music to humanity as a way to impress men and women with the glory of divine gifts. In 1542, Luther wrote a preface to a collection of funeral hymns. In it he explained what was so important