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The Renaissance in the German speaking parts of Europe began in Austria, then spread to Bavaria and finally moved into the rest of Germany during the early 16th century. Austria's geographic proximity to Italy no doubt was a major factor in this pattern of cultural diffusion. The most important innovator of the new music in the German vernacular, ironically, was Heinrich Isaac, a Netherlander. But equally important to the growth of German music was Austria's greatest patron of the arts, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, who appointed Isaac, and later Senfl, as kapellmeister of the Hofmusikkapelle (Court Music Ensemble). Johann Walter, Martin Luther's handpicked minister of music and first-generation composer among the early Protestants, was also inspired by Isaac, Senfl and other Teutonic masters of the previous generation. The Reform movement in Germany used music as a primary vehicle for religious expression throughout the first half of the 16th century. Its huge corpus of Lutheran hymns became the backbone and inspiration for the titans of later centuries such as Praetorius, Schütz, Bach and Telemann.