Using a religious tune in a classical work isn’t unusual—think of “Simple Gifts” in Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, for example, or the hymn referenced in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
But both hymns had been pretty much forgotten until Copland and Vaughan Williams brought them back to public awareness.

That’s definitely not the case with another hymn, written by Martin Luther in 1529. Famous all over the world, it’s appeared in religious celebrations, of course, but classical composers as varied as Mendelssohn, Wagner and Debussy have also used it to reference various historical events—and not always in a positive light.

And swept up in all this is another piece, a musical phrase of just six notes.

In this hour, choral, instrumental and symphonic music referencing the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” and the lesser known Dresden “Amen.”

It’s quite a story.

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