It is commonly thought that the German Choral had its birth in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, i.e., at the period of the Reformation in Germany. This is a great mistake. We may allow indeed that it reached its zenith at that time; but it was the fruit of seed sown in previous ages, and can boast of a long and noble ancestry. No nation in the world is possessed of so rich a treasury of Sacred Song as Germany. Considering the short time placed at my disposal, and the number of illustrations to be given, I trust that I may be pardoned for at once plunging in medias res.