But what had I presented to the King?

I had made a connection with the Cathedral Choir, which the King had founded not long before. After my acknowledgement of that which anyone speaking about the accomplishments of this choir would appreciate, I had dared to mention the alternative: if church music does not belong in our Evangelical Church, it should likewise be inadmissible in the church visited by King and Court; if church music does, however, belong in the Evangelical Church — as the Lutheran Church always believed after its departure from the Mother Church, to win over and retain them, — then the last and poorest church in the kingdom has just as much right as the Court-church, or indeed much more need and duty, to provide itself with this.

This was the first thought that I presented, and it immediately awoke the attention of the King. Naturally I immediately added, that no state had the appropriate resources available to satisfy this requirement. Something that is a necessity of the entire people can only be effected directly by the people. With relatively little assistance on the part of the state, each congregation must from its own resources at the least provide the most important and indispensable element of church music: a choir; and certainly not a choir of paid or hired singers, but rather one created from the members of the congregation itself. Admittedly, the various choirs would, depending on the resources and level of education of the congregations have varying levels of performance abilities. But these varying levels correspond to the varying levels of all forms of church music generally, from the simplest responsories and chorales up to the great Passions and oratorios, which, as in the past, take their place in divine service at the high feasts of the church.

The means of creating these choirs would be a method that would descend to the sources of musical life, and from there would draw understanding and skill upward level by level to the highest and mostly highly developed endeavors. However, for this one would need capable and willing teachers and directors everywhere.