Kirchliche Arbeit Alpirsbach
Encyclopedia
Kirchliche Arbeit Alpirsbach is one of the organisations of the protestant Liturgical Movement
in Germany and was previously called Alpirsbach Circle. Its center is Alpirsbach Abbey
located near Freudenstadt in the Black Forest
. Kirchliche Arbeit Alpirsbach has been influenced by theology of Karl Barth
and it was originally led by Wilhelm Gohl and Richard Goelz. During Alpirsbach weeks there were Eucharist
ic services and a careful use of psalmody and Gregorian chant
in the Benedictine
tradition. It is particularly in this area of chant that the Alpirsbach Circle has done its work of creation, instruction, and research such as that evident in the publication of an Antiphonale and Masses; in the present German Lutheran liturgy the Kyrie
, Gloria
, Credo
, responses, psalmody and many hymns are sung to many of the same Gregorian Chant
melodies as those used in the Roman Catholic liturgy - in German however.
Liturgical Movement
The Liturgical Movement began as a movement of scholarship for the reform of worship within the Roman Catholic Church. It has grown over the last century and a half and has affected many other Christian Churches, including the Church of England and other Churches of the Anglican Communion, and some...
in Germany and was previously called Alpirsbach Circle. Its center is Alpirsbach Abbey
Alpirsbach Abbey
Alpirsbach Abbey was a house of the Benedictine Order located at Alpirsbach in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
located near Freudenstadt in the Black Forest
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
. Kirchliche Arbeit Alpirsbach has been influenced by theology of Karl Barth
Karl Barth
Karl Barth was a Swiss Reformed theologian whom critics hold to be among the most important Christian thinkers of the 20th century; Pope Pius XII described him as the most important theologian since Thomas Aquinas...
and it was originally led by Wilhelm Gohl and Richard Goelz. During Alpirsbach weeks there were Eucharist
Eucharist
The Eucharist , also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord's Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance...
ic services and a careful use of psalmody and Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
in the Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
tradition. It is particularly in this area of chant that the Alpirsbach Circle has done its work of creation, instruction, and research such as that evident in the publication of an Antiphonale and Masses; in the present German Lutheran liturgy the Kyrie
Kyrie
Kyrie, a transliteration of Greek κύριε , vocative case of κύριος , meaning "Lord", is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, which is also called the Kýrie, eléison ....
, Gloria
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...
, Credo
Credo
A credo |Latin]] for "I Believe") is a statement of belief, commonly used for religious belief, such as the Apostles' Creed. The term especially refers to the use of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed in the Mass, either as text, Gregorian chant, or other musical settings of the...
, responses, psalmody and many hymns are sung to many of the same Gregorian Chant
Gregorian chant
Gregorian chant is the central tradition of Western plainchant, a form of monophonic liturgical music within Western Christianity that accompanied the celebration of Mass and other ritual services...
melodies as those used in the Roman Catholic liturgy - in German however.