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Simon Dach

1605 - 1659 Person Name: Simon Dach, 1605-59 Scripture: Philippians 1:21 Author of "Oh, How Blest Are They" in Lutheran Service Book Dach, Simon, son of Simon Dach, interpreter to the Court of Justice at Memel, Prussia, was born at Memel, July 29,1605. He attended the Cathedral school at Königsberg, the Town school at Wittenberg, and the Gymnasium at Magdeburg. In 1626 he returned to Königsberg, where, after studying philosophy and theology at the University, he for some time acted as a private tutor. In 1633 he was appointed assistant in the Cathedral school, and in 1636 Conrector. He then, in 1639, became Professor of Poetry in the University, was five times Dean of the Philosophical Faculty, and in 1656-57 Rector of the University. He died at Königsberg, April 15, 1659 (Koch , iii. 182-191; Allg. Deutsche Biog. , iv. 685-688, &c). Dach was much of an invalid, and nearly broke down under the hard labour and poor pay of his early tutorial work at Königsberg, but found a true friend and generous patron in R. Roberthin (q.v.). In his later years the effects of the Thirty Years' War made themselves visible in Königsberg by depression of trade, famine, &c. In 1648 he lost Roberthin by death, and in 1649 many of his fellow professors fell victims to the pestilence, while during the last year of his life he suffered from a lingering consumption. These facts explain the sombreness of much of his verse. In 1636 he joined in forming the Poetical Union of Konigsberg [see Alberti], and was its poetic soul. He was the most important poet of the Königsberg School, and one of the first lyric poets of his time happy in expression, pure in style, and true hearted. But of the mass of his poems (some 1360 in all, many of which were "occasional" pieces for the Electoral House of Brandenburg, and for private friends) very few retain popularity; the best known being his Aennchen von Tharaw. Dach's hymns, some 165 in all, appeared in broadsheet form, in H. Alberti's Arien, 1638-1650, and in the Königsberg Hymnbooks, 1639-1690. They deservedly place him amongst the best hymn writers of his time, and win him the distinction of being one of the most lovable, most profound and most elegant of the more contemplative hymn writers. Their personal and subjective character, and the fact that so many are hymns of preparation for death, have prevented all but a few from finding a place in modern hymnals. Five of Dach's hymns have passed into English, all of which are included in the complete edition of his Werke by Hermann Oesterley, published at Tübingen, 1876. They are:— i. Ich steh in Angst und Pein. [Second Advent.] The Königsberg University Library possesses a broadsheet, printed at Elbing, 1642, as a Christliches Trauer-Lied to Christoph Behm, on the death, on Nov. 22, 1633, of his son Christoph, a student of theology. It was included in pt. iv., Königsberg, 1641, of H. Alberti's Arien, No. 5, in 10 stanza of 6 1., entitled " Supremi Judicis urnam non metuit fisus sanguine, Christe, tuo." Repeated in Oesterley, p. 91, as No. 1421 in the Leipzig Vorrath, 1673, and, omitting stanza viii., in the Wittenberg G. B., 1742-1866, No. 893. The only translation in C. U. is :— A dread hath come on me, a good translation, omitting stanza viii., as No. 28 in Miss Winkworth's Chorale Book for England, 1863. ii. Kein Christ soil ihm die Rechnung machen. [Cross and Consolation."] 1st published in pt. ii., Königsberg, 1640, of H. Alberti's Arien, No. 1, in 7 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled "Non caret adversis, qui pius esse velit." Included in Oesterley , p. 108, and as No. 631 in the Unv. L. S., 1851. The form translated into English is of stanza ii., iii., vii., beginning, "Wer dort mit Christo hofft zu erben," which is No. 812 in Bunsen's Versuch, 1833. The only translation in common use is:— Wouldst thou inherit life with Christ on high? A good tr. from Bunsen, by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Ger., 1st Ser., 1855, p. 129, and thence unaltered as No. 170 in the New Zealand Hymnal , 1872. In Sacred Lyrics from the German, Philadelphia, 1859, p. 61, it begins "Couldst thou inherit." iii. 0 wie selig seid ihr dooh, ihr Frommen . [Eternal Life.] The original broadsheet, printed at Danzig, 1635, with music by J. Stobaus, as the Musikalisches Ehrengedächtniss of Hiob Lepner, Burgomaster of the Königsberg Altstadt, who died May 9, 1635, is in the Königsberg University Library. Included in B. Derschau's G. B., Königsberg, 1639, p. 73, in 6 stanza of 4 1., repeated in Oesterley, p. 95 ; the Leipzig Vorrath, 1673, No. 1460; in Burg's G. B., Breslau, 1746, No. 1086; and many others. It is a fine hymn, founded on Rev. xiv., 13-14. Lauxmann, in Koch, viii. 673, relates that J. A. Hochstetter, Prelate of Bebenhausen, near Tubingen (d. 1720), in July, 1719, summoned his household to accompany him in visiting the family burial place in the Church, and there pointed out his resting place, spoke to them of eternal life, and ended by requesting them to ;ing this hymn, and also "Christus der ist meiu Leben" (q.v.). The only tr. in C. U. is :— 0 how blest are ye beyond our telling, a good and full translation, as No. 197 in Miss Winkworth's C. B. for England, 1863. Other translations are, (l) "O, how blest are ye whose toils are ended," by H. W. Longfellow (1846 or earlier). P. Works, Routledge, 1879, p. 648. (2) "Oh! how blessed are ye, saints forgiven," by Miss Borthwick in H. L. L., 1854, p. 32 (1884, p. 35). This is from the double form in the Berlin G. B.t 1711, No. 655, which has six stanzas to be sung alternately with Dach's stanzas by the choir as the answer of the Blessed Ones; with two concluding stanza to be sung by choir and congregation together. These eight additional st. are by Jacob Baumgarten (b. 1668, d. 1722), and begin: "Ja, höchst selig sind wir, lieben Brüder; (3) "O how blessed, faithful souls are ye," by Miss Winkworth, 1855, p. 252; (4) "How bless’d the saints; who, dying here," by Dr. G. Walker, 1860, p. 114. It may be noted that the hymn beginning, “O how blest the throng who now adoring," by A. T. Russell, in 4 stanza as No. 266 in his Ps. & Hys., 1851, while not a translation, is yet based on this hymn by Dach. In addition the following hymns by Dach have been translated into English :— iv. Nimm dich, o meine Seel' in Acht [ Treasures in Heaven.'] 1st published as No. 5 in pt. vii. Königsberg, 1648, of H. Alberti's Arien, in 10 stanza of 4 1., entitled, " As the noble Rottger von Tieffenbrock, a native of Livonia, departed this world at Königsberg in Prussia the 3lst May, 1648," with the motto— "Das ewige Gut Macht rechten Muth." Included by Oesterley, p. 208, and as No. 1762 in Knapp's Ev. L. S., 1837 (1865 No. 1668). The translations are, (1) "My soul, let this your thoughts employ," by Miss Cox, 1841, p. 133; (2) " Think, O my soul, that whilst thou art," by Lady E. Fortescue, 1843 (1847, p. 62); (3) “Beware, O man, lest endless life," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845. v. Schöner Himmelssaal. [Heaven.] A beautiful hymn of homesickness for the heavenly country. Oesterley, p. 222, gives it as "On the death of Ursula Vogt, wife of Pastor Jacob Bollius, Oct. 30, 1655. Its composition was requested on June 3, 1649." The original broadsheet, with music by H. Alberti, as her Christliches Sterbelied, is in the Königsberg University Library. It did not appear in the Königsberg G. B., 1657, but in the ed. of 1675 [Berlin] it is No. 496 (ed. 1690, No. 500), in 9 st. of 6 1. In the Unv. L. S., 1851, No. 637. It is translated as "O ye Halls of Heaven," by Miss Winkworth, 1869, p. 185. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ===================== Dach, Simon, p. 277, ii., line 14. Longfellow's translation is in his Poets and Poetry of Europe, 1815, p. 240. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

1807 - 1882 Person Name: Henry W. Longfellow, 1807-92 Scripture: Philippians 1:21 Translator of "Oh, How Blest Are They" in Lutheran Service Book Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth , D.C.L. was born at Portland, Maine, Feb. 27, 1807, and graduated at Bowdoin College, 1825. After residing in Europe for four years to qualify for the Chair of Modern Languages in that College, he entered upon the duties of the same. In 1835 he removed to Harvard, on his election as Professor of Modern Languages and Belles-Lettres. He retained that Professorship to 1854. His literary reputation is great, and his writings are numerous and well known. His poems, many of which are as household words in all English-speaking countries, display much learning and great poetic power. A few of these poems and portions of others have come into common use as hymns, but a hymn-writer in the strict sense of that term he was not and never claimed to be. His pieces in common use as hymns include:— 1. Alas, how poor and little worth. Life a Race. Translated from the Spanish of Don Jorge Manrique (d. 1479), in Longfellow's Poetry of Spain, 1833. 2. All is of God; if He but wave His hand. God All and in All. From his poem "The Two Angels," published in his Birds of Passage, 1858. It is in the Boston Hymns of the Spirit, 1864, &c. 3. Blind Bartimeus at the gate. Bartimeus. From his Miscellaneous Poems, 1841, into G. W. Conder's 1874 Appendix to the Leeds Hymn Book. 4. Christ to the young man said, "Yet one thing more." Ordination. Written for his brother's (S. Longfellow) ordination in 1848, and published in Seaside and Fireside, 1851. It was given in an altered form as "The Saviour said, yet one thing more," in H. W. Beecher's Plymouth Collection, 1855. 5. Sown the dark future through long generations. Peace. This, the closing part of his poem on "The Arsenal at Springfield," published in his Belfrey of Bruges, &c, 1845, was given in A Book of Hymns, 1848, and repeated in several collections. 6. Into the silent land. The Hereafter. A translation from the German. 7. Tell me not in mournful numbers. Psalm of Life. Published in his Voices of the Night, 1839, as "A Psalm of Life: What the heart of the Young Man said to the Psalmist." It is given in several hymnals in Great Britain and America. In some collections it begins with st. ii., "Life is real! Life is earnest." The universal esteem in which Longfellow was held as a poet and a man was marked in a special manner by his bust being placed in that temple of honour, Westminster Abbey. [Rev. F. M. Bird, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907), p. 685 ======================= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Wadsworth_Longfellow

Eliza A. Walker

Person Name: E. A. Walker Scripture: Philippians 1:21 Author of "Only for Thee" in Sacred Songs and Solos

Brian A. Wren

b. 1936 Person Name: Brian Arthur Wren, 1936- Scripture: Philippians 1:21-28 Author of "We are your people" in Together in Song Brian Wren (b. Romford, Essex, England, 1936) is a major British figure in the revival of contemporary hymn writing. He studied French literature at New College and theology at Mansfield College in Oxford, England. Ordained in 1965, he was pastor of the Congregational Church (now United Reformed) in Hockley and Hawkwell, Essex, from 1965 to 1970. He worked for the British Council of Churches and several other organizations involved in fighting poverty and promoting peace and justice. This work resulted in his writing of Education for Justice (1977) and Patriotism and Peace (1983). With a ministry throughout the English-speaking world, Wren now resides in the United States where he is active as a freelance lecturer, preacher, and full-time hymn writer. His hymn texts are published in Faith Looking Forward (1983), Praising a Mystery (1986), Bring Many Names (1989), New Beginnings (1993), and Faith Renewed: 33 Hymns Reissued and Revised (1995), as well as in many modern hymnals. He has also produced What Language Shall I Borrow? (1989), a discussion guide to inclusive language in Christian worship. Bert Polman

James McGranahan

1840 - 1907 Person Name: J. McGranahan Scripture: Philippians 1:21 Composer of "[Precious Saviour, may I live]" in Sacred Songs and Solos James McGranahan USA 1840-1907. Born at West Fallowfield, PA, uncle of Hugh McGranahan, and son of a farmer, he farmed during boyhood. Due to his love of music his father let him attend singing school, where he learned to play the bass viol. At age 19 he organized his first singing class and soon became a popular teacher in his area of the state. He became a noted musician and hymns composer. His father was reluctant to let him pursue this career, but he soon made enough money doing it that he was able to hire a replacement farmhand to help his father while he studied music. His father, a wise man, soon realized how his son was being used by God to win souls through his music. He entered the Normal Music School at Genesco, NY, under William B Bradbury in 1861-62. He met Miss Addie Vickery there. They married in 1863, and were very close to each other their whole marriage, but had no children. She was also a musician and hymnwriter in her own right. For a time he held a postmaster’s job in Rome, PA. In 1875 he worked for three years as a teacher and director at Dr. Root’s Normal Music Institute. He because well-known and successful as a result, and his work attracted much attention. He had a rare tenor voice, and was told he should train for the operatic stage. It was a dazzling prospect, but his friend, Philip Bliss, who had given his wondrous voice to the service of song for Christ for more than a decade, urged him to do the same. Preparing to go on a Christmas vacation with his wife, Bliss wrote McGranahan a letter about it, which McGranahan discussed with his friend Major Whittle. Those two met in person for the first time at Ashtubula, OH, both trying to retrieve the bodies of the Bliss’s, who died in a bridge-failed train wreck. Whittle thought upon meeting McGranahan, that here is the man Bliss has chosen to replace him in evangelism. The men returned to Chicago together and prayed about the matter. McGranahan gave up his post office job and the world gained a sweet gospel singer/composer as a result. McGranahan and his wife, and Major Whittle worked together for 11 years evangelizing in the U.S., Great Britain, and Ireland. They made two visits to the United Kingdom, in 1880 and 1883, the latter associated with Dwight Moody and Ira Sankey evangelistic work. McGranahan pioneered use of the male choir in gospel song. While holding meetings in Worcester, MA, he found himself with a choir of only male voices. Resourcefully, he quickly adapted the music to those voices and continued with the meetings. The music was powerful and started what is known as male choir and quartet music. Music he published included: “The choice”, “Harvest of song”, “Gospel Choir”,, “Gospel hymns #3,#4, #5, #6” (with Sankey and Stebbins), “Songs of the gospel”, and “Male chorus book”. The latter three were issued in England. In 1887 McGranahan’s health compelled him to give up active work in evangelism. He then built a beautiful home, Maplehurst, among friends at Kinsman, OH, and settled down to the composition of music, which would become an extension of his evangelistic work. Though his health limited his hours, of productivity, some of his best hymns were written during these days. McGranahan was a most lovable, gentle, modest, unassuming, gentleman, and a refined and cultured Christian. He loved good fellowship, and often treated guests to the most delightful social feast. He died of diabetes at Kinsman, OH, and went home to be with his Savior. John Perry

John Wilson

1905 - 1992 Person Name: John Wilson, 1905-92 Scripture: Philippians 1:21-28 Composer of "WHITFIELD" in Together in Song Born January 21, 1905, in Bournville, Birmingham, England; died July 16, 1992, in Guildford, Surrey, England. He served as Vice President of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and was a Fellow of the Hymn Society in the United States and Canada. Leland Bryant Ross from a biographical article in the journal of the Hymn Society of Great Britain and Ireland: https://hymnsocietygbi.org.uk/1992/10/treasure-no-58-john-wilson-1905-92

Robert Schumann

1810 - 1856 Person Name: Robert A. Schumann, 1810-1856 Scripture: Philippians 1:21 Composer of "CANONBURY" in Worship and Rejoice Robert Alexander Schumann DM Germany 1810-1856. Born at Swickau, Saxony, Germany, the last child of a novelist, bookseller, and publisher, he began composing music at age seven. He received general music instruction at the local high school and worked to create his own compositions. Some of his works were considered admirable for his age. He even composed music congruent to the personalities of friends, who took note of the anomaly. He studied famous poets and philosophers and was impressed with the works of other famous composers of the time. After his father’s death in 1826, he went to Leipzig to study law (to meet the terms of his inheritance). In 1829 he continued law studies in Heidelberg, where he became a lifelong member of Corps Saxo-Borussia Heidelberg. In 1830 he left the study of law to return to music, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist. His teacher, Friedrich Wieck, assured him he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but an injury to his right hand (from a practicing method) ended that dream. He then focused his energies on composition, and studied under Heinrich Dorn, a German composer and conductor of the Leipzig opera. Schumann visited relatives in Zwickau and Schneeberg and performed at a concert given by Clara Wieck, age 13 at the time. In 1834 he published ‘A new journal for music’, praising some past composers and deriding others. He met Felix Mendelssohn at Wieck’s house in Leigzig and lauded the greatness of his compositions, along with those of Johannes Brahms. He also wrote a work, hoping to use proceeds from its sale towards a monument for Beethoven, whom he highly admired. He composed symphonies, operas, orchestral and chamber works, and also wrote biographies. Until 1840 he wrote strictly for piano, but then began composing for orchestra and voice. That year he composed 168 songs. He also receive a Doctorate degree from the University of Jena that year. An aesthete and influential music critic, he was one of the most regarded composers of the Romantic era. He published his works in the ‘New journal for music’, which he co-founded. In 1840, against the wishes of his father, he married Clara Wieck, daughter of his former teacher, and they had four children: Marie, Julie, Eugenie, and Felix. Clara also composed music and had a considerable concert career, the earnings from which formed a substantial part of her father’s fortune. In 1841 he wrote 2 of his 4 symphonies. In 1843 he was awarded a professorship in the Conservatory of Music, which Mendelssohn had founded in Leipzig that same year, When he and Clara went to Russia for her performances, he was questioned as to whether he also was a musician. He harbored resentment for her success as a pianist, which exceeded his ability as a pianist and reputation as a composer. From 1844-1853 he was engaged in setting Goethe’s Faust to music, but he began having persistent nervous prostration and developed neurasthenia (nervous fears of things, like metal objects and drugs). In 1846 he felt he had recovered and began traveling to Vienna, Prague, and Berlin, where he was received with enthusiasm. His only opera was written in 1848, and an orchestral work in 1849. In 1850 he succeeded Ferdinand Hiller as musical director at Dusseldorf, but was a poor conductor and soon aroused the opposition of the musicians, claiming he was impossible on the platform. From 1850-1854 he composed a wide variety of genres, but critics have considered his works during this period inferior to earlier works. In 1851 he visited Switzerland, Belgium, and returned to Leipzig. That year he finished his fourth symphony. He then went to Dusseldorf and began editing his complete works and making an anthology on the subject of music. He again was plagued with imaginary voices (angels, ghosts or demons) and in 1854 jumped off a bridge into the Rhine River, but was rescued by boatmen and taken home. For the last two years of his life, after the attempted suicide, Schumann was confined to a sanitarium in Endenich near Bonn, at his own request, and his wife was not allowed to see him. She finally saw him two days before he died, but he was unable to speak. He was diagnosed with psychotic melancholia, but died of pneumonia without recovering from the mental illness. Speculations as to the cause of his late term maladies was that he may have suffered from syphilis, contracted early in life, and treated with mercury, unknown as a neurological poison at the time. A report on his autopsy said he had a tumor at the base of the brain. It is also surmised he may have had bipolar disorder, accounting for mood swings and changes in his productivity. From the time of his death Clara devoted herself to the performance and interpretation of her husband’s works. John Perry

Ferdinand Q. Blanchard

1876 - 1968 Scripture: Philippians 1:27 Author of "Before Your Cross, O Jesus" in The New Century Hymnal Blanchard was born on July 12 in Jersey City, NJ. He attended Amherst College (AB 1898) and Yale Divinity School (BD 1901). He was ordained as a Congregational minister and pastored churches in Southington, Connecticut (1901-04); East Orange, New Jersey (1904-15); and at the Euclid Avenue Congregational Church, Cleveland, Ohio, from 1915 until retirement. He died on July 2, 1968 in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Sources: Hughes, p. 317 Reynolds, p. 253 Stuber, p. 396 NN, Hymnary. Source: http//www.hymntime.com/tch/bio/b/l/a/blanchard_fq.htm

Frederick C. Maker

1844 - 1927 Scripture: Philippians 1:27 Composer of "ST. CHRISTOPHER" in The New Century Hymnal Frederick C. Maker (b. Bristol, England, August 6, 1844; d. January 1, 1927) received his early musical training as a chorister at Bristol Cathedral, England. He pursued a career as organist and choirmaster—most of it spent in Methodist and Congregational churches in Bristol. His longest tenure was at Redland Park Congregational Church, where he was organist from 1882-1910. Maker also conducted the Bristol Free Church Choir Association and was a long-time visiting professor of music at Clifton College. He wrote hymn tunes, anthems, and a cantata, Moses in the Bulrushes. Bert Polman

Saint Augustine

354 - 430 Person Name: St Augustine of Hippo (354-430) Scripture: Philippians 1:21-30 Author (basis) of "Light of the minds that know him" in Ancient and Modern St. Augustine, born in Africa; wrote six books on music, which were printed at Lyons, 1586, eleven hundred forty six years after his death, which took place A.D. 440. A Dictionary of Musical Information by John W. Moore, Boston: Oliver, Ditson & Company, 1876