Ian Hodge provides an insightful survey of the Protestant musical landscape, and he finds a culprit:
The Pietists significantly influenced theology which, in turn, led to a change in music, both inside and outside the church. Jaroslav Pelikan, in his book Bach Among the Theologians observed that “Pietist spirituality had, by the time of Bach, acquired an increasingly distinctive tone in its description of the relation between the individual soul and Jesus.”
The article is extremely helpful in deciphering our current environment.
