Moravian Music from an underground wine cellar

Early Moravian Creativity

The early Moravians made a number of significant  contributions to Colonial America. Consider ...

-- The early Moravians created the first pumped municipal water system in America. 

-- They created the first school to teach Native American languages.

-- They created the first girls’ boarding school with the same curriculum as the boys’ school.

-- They created one of America’s first orchestras.

-- They celebrated the first public Fourth of July in Salem.

The Singstunde

The Singstunde is a form of Moravian worship comprised primarily of singing by the congregation. Singing has a long and venerable history in the Moravian church.

There is a legend that Count Zinzendorf composed a hymn of sixty seven verses one evening. As the congregation was singing verse one, he was composing verse two and at the same time writing so that they were able to see to sing until he stopped at verse sixty seven. If true this was a monumental accomplishment. 

What is certainly true is that the Count impacted the community in such a way that hymnody and other sacred music are planted deep in the Moravian soul.