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The title page of Schein's Opella nova I (1618) advertises `Geistliche Concerten.a. uff jetzo gebreuchliche italiänische Invention'. A mixture of Latin, Gothic and Italic script styles gives an immediate visual impression of mingling styles. From this starting point, the genre and purpose of the two publications of the Opella nova (1618,1626) are discussed. Examination of the collections published in between these volumes reveals that Schein deliberately published sacred and secular music alternately, positively advertising and applying the same Italian genres and styles in each category. The reception of the `new Italian style' by Schein's contemporaries, Michael Praetorius, Johann Staden, Samuel Scheidt and Heinrich Schütz is explored. Schein's Opella nova concertos are examined thoroughly, and the question of how he adapted and adopted the Italian style into music for the Lutheran liturgy is considered. This reveals that Schein possessed a deep knowledge of Italian music, and although no definitive claims about whether he imitated particular composers are made, points of similarity with the work of Viadana, Giovanni Gabrieli, Monteverdi and Alessandro Grandi are found. Finally the reasons why the Italian style was received so positively by Lutheranism in Schein's time, in spite of hostility towards the Catholic faith, are considered. The influence of Renaissanceh umanism in Luther's thought is outlined, and the author takes the view that the Italian style in Lutheran music of Schein's time was the result of the continuing influence and development of this intellectual movement. Music is compared to poetry and rhetoric in its function. The question of how the Italian style fitted in to Schein's local context of the Lutheran free city of Leipzig is briefly discussed, and a conclusion reached that it was due principally to the cosmopolitan nature of the university and international trade in the city that Schein was able to pursue his interest in the `italiänische Invention