Person Results

Switch back to the old search page.Advanced Search

Showing 21 - 30 of 235Results Per Page: 10 20 50

St. Ambrose

340 - 397 Person Name: Ambrosius, -397 Hymnal Number: 516 Author of "Du Abglanz von des Vaters Ehr" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Ambrose (b. Treves, Germany, 340; d. Milan, Italy, 397), one of the great Latin church fathers, is remembered best for his preaching, his struggle against the Arian heresy, and his introduction of metrical and antiphonal singing into the Western church. Ambrose was trained in legal studies and distinguished himself in a civic career, becoming a consul in Northern Italy. When the bishop of Milan, an Arian, died in 374, the people demanded that Ambrose, who was not ordained or even baptized, become the bishop. He was promptly baptized and ordained, and he remained bishop of Milan until his death. Ambrose successfully resisted the Arian heresy and the attempts of the Roman emperors to dominate the church. His most famous convert and disciple was Augustine. Of the many hymns sometimes attributed to Ambrose, only a handful are thought to be authentic. Bert Polman ===================== Ambrosius (St. Ambrose), second son and third child of Ambrosius, Prefect of the Gauls, was born at Lyons, Aries, or Treves--probably the last--in 340 A.D. On the death of his father in 353 his mother removed to Rome with her three children. Ambrose went through the usual course of education, attaining considerable proficiency in Greek; and then entered the profession which his elder brother Satyrus had chosen, that of the law. In this he so distinguished himself that, after practising in the court of Probus, the Praetorian Prefect of Italy, he was, in 374, appointed Consular of Liguria and Aemilia. This office necessitated his residence in Milan. Not many months after, Auxentius, bishop of Milan, who had joined the Arian party, died; and much was felt to depend upon the person appointed as his successor. The church in which the election was held was so filled with excited people that the Consular found it necessary to take steps fur preserving the peace, and himself exhorted them to peace and order: when a voice suddenly exclaimed, "Ambrose is Bishop," and the cry was taken up on all sides. He was compelled to accept the post, though still only a catechumen; was forthwith baptized, and in a week more consecrated Bishop, Dec. 7, 374. The death of the Emperor Valentinian I., in 375, brought him into collision with Justina, Valentinian's second wife, an adherent of the Arian party: Ambrose was supported by Gratian, the elder son of Valentinian, and by Theodosius, whom Gratian in 379 associated with himself in the empire. Gratian was assassinated in 383 by a partisau of Maximus, and Ambrose was sent to treat with the usurper, a piece of diplomacy in which he was fairly successful. He found himself, however, left to carry on the contest with the Arians and the Empress almost alone. He and the faithful gallantly defended the churches which the heretics attempted to seize. Justina was foiled: and the advance of Maximus on Milan led to her flight, and eventually to her death in 388. It was in this year, or more probably the year before (387), that Ambrose received into the Church by baptism his great scholar Augustine, once a Manichaean heretic. Theodosius was now virtually head of the Roman empire, his colleague Valentinian II., Justina's son, being a youth of only 17. In the early part of 390 the news of a riot at Thessalonica, brought to him at Milan, caused him to give a hasty order for a general massacre at that city, and his command was but too faithfully obeyed. On his presenting himself a few days after at the door of the principal church in Milan, he was met by Ambrose, who refused him entrance till he should have done penance for his crime. It was not till Christmas, eight months after, that the Emperor declared his penitence, and was received into communion again by the Bishop. Valentinian was murdered by Arbogastes, a Frank general, in 392; and the murderer and his puppet emperor Eugenius were defeated by Theodosius in 394. But the fatigues of the campaign told on the Emperor, and he died the following year. Ambrose preached his funeral sermon, as he had done that of Valentinian. The loss of these two friends and supporters was a severe blow to Ambrose; two unquiet years passed, and then, worn with labours and anxieties, he himself rested from his labours on Easter Eve, 397. It was the 4th of April, and on that day the great Bishop of Milan is remembered by the Western Church, but Rome commemorates his consecration only, Dec. 7th. Great he was indeed, as a scholar, an organiser, a statesman; still greater as a theologian, the earnest and brilliant defender of the Catholic faith against the Arians of the West, just as Athanasius (whose name, one cannot but remark, is the same as his in meaning) was its champion against those of the East. We are now mainly concerned with him as musician and poet, "the father of Church song" as he is called by Grimm. He introduced from the East the practice of antiphonal chanting, and began the task, which St. Gregory completed, of systematizing the music of the Church. As a writer of sacred poetry he is remarkable for depth and severity. He does not warm with his subject, like Adam of St. Victor, or St. Bernard. "We feel," says Abp. Trench, "as though there were a certain coldness in his hymns, an aloofness of the author from his subject. "A large number of hymns has been attributed to his pen; Daniel gives no fewer than 92 called Ambrosian. Of these the great majority (including one on himself) cannot possibly be his; there is more or less doubt about the rest. The authorities on the subject are the Benedictine ed. of his works, the Psalterium, or Hymnary, of Cardinal Thomasius, and the Thesaurus Hymnologicus of Daniel. The Benedictine editors give 12 hymns as assignable to him, as follows:—1. Aeterna Christi munera. 2. Aeterne rerum Conditor. 3. Consors Paterni luminii. 4. Deus Creator omnium. 5. Fit porta Christi pervia, 6. Illuminans Altissimus. 7. Jam surgit hora tertia. 8. 0 Lux Beata Trinitas. 9. Orabo mente Dominum. 10. Somno refectis artubus. 11. Splendor Paternae gloriae. 12. Veni Redemptor gentium. Histories of these hymns, together with details of translations into English, are given in this work, and may be found under their respective first lines. The Bollandists and Daniel are inclined to attribute to St. Ambrose a hymn, Grates tibi Jesu novas, on the finding of the relics of SS. Gervasius and Protasius. These, we know, were discovered by him in 386, and it is by no means unlikely that the bishop should have commemorated in verse an event which he announces by letter to his sister Marcellina with so much satisfaction, not to say exultation.A beautiful tradition makes the Te Deum laudamus to have been composed under inspiration, and recited alternately, by SS. Ambrose and Augustine immediately after the baptism of the latter in 387. But the story rests upon a passage which there is every reason to consider spurious, in the Chronicon of Dacius, Bishop of Milan in 550. There is no hint of such an occurrence in the Confessions of St. Augustine, nor in Paulinue's life of St. Ambrose, nor in any authentic writing of St. Ambrose himself. The hymn is essentially a compilation, and there is much reason to believe, with Merati, that it originated in the 5th century, in the monastery of St. Honoratus at Lerins. [Te Deum.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) Also known as: Ambrotio, Ambrosio de Milán Ambrosius Mediolanensis Ambrosius Saint, Bp. of Milan Ambrosius von Mailand Aurelio Ambrogio, Saint, Bishop of Milan Aurelius Ambrosius, Saint, Bishop of Milan Milan, d. 397

Matthias Claudius

1740 - 1815 Person Name: Matth. Claudius, 1740-1815 Hymnal Number: 542 Author of "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Claudius, Matthias, son of Matthias Claudius, Lutheran pastor at Reinfeld in Holstein (near Lübeck), was born at Reinfeld, Aug. 15, 1740. An ancestor, who died as a Lutheran pastor in 1586, had Latinized his name, Claus Paulsen, to Claudius Pauli, and his descendants had adopted Claudius as their surname. Claudius entered the University of Jena, in 1759, as a student of theology, but being troubled with an affection of the chest, and finding little attraction in the Rationalism of Jena, he turned his attention to law and languages. After a short visit to Copenhagen, as private secretary to a Danish count, he joined in 1768 the staff of the Hamburg News Agency (Adress-Comptoirnachrichten). Removing to Wandsbeck, near Hamburg, he undertook in 1771 the editing of the literary portion of the Wandsbecker Bote, and contributed a number of his poems to the Göttingen Musen-Almanach. In 1776 he was appointed one of the Commissioners of Agriculture and Manufactures of Hesse-Darmstadt, and in 1777 editor of the official Hesse-Darmstadt newspaper, which he conducted in the same spirit as his Wandsbeck Bote. At Darmstadt he became acquainted with Goethe (then living near by at Frankfurt), and with a circle of freethinking philosophers. During a severe illness in 1777, he realised, however, the spiritual emptiness of the life at Darmstadt; the buried seeds sown in his youth sprang up; and he once more became in faith as a little child. Renouncing position and income, he returned to Wandsbeck to re-edit the Bote, which he conducted in a distinctively Christian spirit. In 1788 he was appointed by the Crown Prince of Denmark auditor of the Scheswig-Holstein Bank at Altona, but continued to reside at Wandsbeck till 1813, when he was forced by the war to flee, and was unable to return till May, 1814. The next year he removed to the house of his eldest daughter in Hamburg, and died there Jan. 21, 1815 (Koch, vi. 417-429; Allg. Deutsche Biographie, iv. 279-281). His fugitive pieces appeared in two parts as Asmus omnia sua secum portans; oder sammtliche Werke des Wandsbecker Bothen, Wandsbeck and Hamburg, 1774 (pt. iii. 1777, iv. 1782, v. 1789, vi. 1797, vii. 1802, viii. 1812). While much of his poetry was distinctively Christian in its spirit, and many of his pieces might rank as popular sacred songs, yet he wrote no hymns designed for use in Church. Three pieces have, however, passed into the German hymn-books, all of which have been translated into English, viz.:— i. Das Grab ist leer, das Grab ist leer. [Easter.] First published in pt. viii., 1812, as above, p. 121, in 10 stanzas. Translated as "The grave is empty now, its prey," by Dr. H. Mills, 1859, printed in Schaff’s Christ in Song, 1870. ii. Der Mond ist aufgegangen. [Evening.] His finest hymn, conceived in a child-like, popular spirit—a companion to the more famous hymn, "Nun ruhen alle Walder " (q. v.). According to tradition it was composed during his residence at Darmstadt, 1762, while walking on the so-called Schnempelweg, a footpath leading by the river-side up to the Odenwald. First published in J. H. Voss's Musen-Almanach, Hamburg, 1770, p. 184, and then in pt. iv., 1782, as above, p. 57, in 7 stanzas of 6 lines. Included as No. 452 in the Oldenburg Gesang-Buch, 1791, as No. 570 in the Württemberg Gesang-Buch, 1842, and No. 509 in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851. The only translation in common use is:— The silent moon is risen, good and full, as No. 322, in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. Other translations are:— (1) "The fair moon hath ascended," in the British Magazine, Nov. 1837, p. 518. (2) "The moon on high Is beaming,",by H. J. Buckoll, 1842, p. 105. (3) "The moon hath risen on high," by Miss Winkworth, 1855, p. 229 (1876, p. 231). (4) "The moon up heaven is going," by J. D. Bums, in Family Treasury, 1860, p. 92, repeated in his Memoir, 1869, p. 269. (5) “The moon is upwards climbing," by Miss Manington, 1863, p. 124. (6) "The moon is up in splendour," by E. Massie, 1866, E. 115. (7) "The moon hath risen clear," in Alice Lucas's Trs.from German Poets, 1876, p. 12. (8) "The moon is up and beaming," in Mrs. A. W. Johns's Original Poems and Translations, 1882, p. 61. iii. Im Anfang war's auf Erden. [Harvest.] First published in pt. iv., 1782, as above, p. 42, in 17 stanzas of 4 lines, and chorus (see also G. W. Fink's Musikalischer Hausschatz der Deutschen, Altona, 1860, No. 77). It occurs in a sketch entitled, Paid Erdmann's Fest. The neighbours are represented as coming to Paul's house and there singing this so-called “Peasants' Song," the last four stanzas of which specially relate to the occasion; the stanzas being sung as a solo, and all joining in the chorus. It can hardly be called a hymn, though it has passed into a few German hymnals principally for use in school. Beginning, "Auf! Lasset Gott uns loben," 10 stanzas were included as No. 482 in the Oldenburg G. B., 1791. In T. Fliedner's Liederbuch, Kaiserswerth, 1842, No. 95 begins with stanza vii., "Was nah ist und was feme." The form most popular is that beginning with stanza iii., "Wir pflügen und wir streuen," as in Dr. Wichern's Unsere Lieder, Hamburg, 1844, No. 55, and other collections. Translations in common use:— 1. We plough the fields and scatter, by Miss J. M. Campbell, contributed to the Rev. C. S. Bere's Garland of Songs, Lond., 1861, p. 61 (later eds. p. 27). A free rendering in 3 stanzas of 8 lines, with chorus, entitled, "Thanksgiving for the Harvest." Since its reception into the Appendix to Hymns Ancient & Modern, 1868 (No. 360, ed. 1875, No. 383), it has passed into numerous hymnals in Great Britain, and America. In Thring's Collection, 1882, No. 609, st. iv., "Our souls, Blest Saviour, gather," is an original stanza by Rev. H. Downton, added to supply some distinctly Christian expressions to the hymn, and first published in the Record newspaper in 1875. 2. We plough the fertile meadows. Of this translation there are two forms greatly differing, both ascribed to Dr. S. F. Smith, but whether either form is really by him we have failed to ascertain. What seems to be the original form, in 6 stanzas of 4 lines and chorus, is found in the Methodist Free Church Sunday School Hymns; Curwen's New Child's Own Hymn Book &c. The other form, in 3 stanzas of 8 lines and chorus, is in Allon's Supplemental Hymns; New Congregational Hymn Book, &c. 3. We plough the ground, we sow the seed, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines with chorus, without name of translation, is No. 215 in G. S. Jellicoe's Collection, 1867. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --Excerpts from John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Michael Praetorius

1571 - 1621 Person Name: Mich. Prätorius, 1571-1621 Hymnal Number: 554 Author of "Wir danken Gott für seine Gab'n" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Born into a staunchly Lutheran family, Michael Praetorius (b. Creuzburg, Germany, February 15, 1571; d. Wolfenbüttel, Germany, February 15, 1621) was educated at the University of Frankfort-an-der-Oder. In 1595 he began a long association with Duke Heinrich Julius of Brunswick, when he was appointed court organist and later music director and secretary. The duke resided in Wolfenbüttel, and Praetorius spent much of his time at the court there, eventually establishing his own residence in Wolfenbüttel as well. When the duke died, Praetorius officially retained his position, but he spent long periods of time engaged in various musical appointments in Dresden, Magdeburg, and Halle. Praetorius produced a prodigious amount of music and music theory. His church music consists of over one thousand titles, including the sixteen-volume Musae Sionae (1605-1612), which contains Lutheran hymns in settings ranging from two voices to multiple choirs. His Syntagma Musicum (1614-1619) is a veritable encyclopedia of music and includes valuable information about the musical instruments of his time. Bert Polman

Aurelius Clemens Prudentius

348 - 410 Person Name: Prudentius, -405 Hymnal Number: 602 Author of "Schweige, bange Trauerklage" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, "The Christian Pindar" was born in northern Spain, a magistrate whose religious convictions came late in life. His subsequent sacred poems were literary and personal, not, like those of St. Ambrose, designed for singing. Selections from them soon entered the Mozarabic rite, however, and have since remained exquisite treasures of the Western churches. His Cathemerinon liber, Peristephanon, and Psychomachia were among the most widely read books of the Middle Ages. A concordance to his works was published by the Medieval Academy of America in 1932. There is a considerable literature on his works. --The Hymnal 1940 Companion ============= Prudentius, Aurelius Clemens , with the occasional prefix of Marcus (cf. Migne, vol. lix. p. 593, and Dressel, p. ii. n), is the name of the most prominent and most prolific author of sacred Latin poetry in its earliest days. Of the writer himself we know nothing, or next to nothing, beyond what he has himself told us in a short introduction in verse to his works. From that source we learn that he was a Spaniard, of good family evidently, and that he was born A.D. 348 somewhere in the north of Spain, either at Saragossa, Tarragona, or Calahorra, but at which is left uncertain, by his applying the same expression to all, which if applied only to one would have fixed his place of birth. After receiving a good education befitting his social status he applied himself for some years to practising as a pleader in the local courts of law, until he received promotion to a judgeship in two cities successively:— "Bis legum moderanrine Frenos nobilium reximus urbium Jus civile bonis reddidimus, terruimus reos;" and afterwards to a post of still higher authority: "Tandem militiae gradu Evectum pietas principis extulit." Archbishop Trench considers this last to have been "a high military appointment at court," and such the poet's own words would seem to describe; but it may well be doubted whether a civilian and a lawyer would be eligible for such employment; in which case we may adopt the solution of the difficulty offered in the Prolegomena to our author's works (Migne, vol. lix. p. 601):— "Evectus indeest ad superiorem rnilitia? gradum, nimirum militia? civil is, palatinae, aut praesidialis, non bellicae, castrensis, aut cohortalis; nam ii qui officiis jure consultorum praesidum, rectorum et similium funguntur, vulgo in cod. Theod. militare et ad superiores militias ascendere dicuntur." It was after this lengthened experience at a comparatively early age of positions of trust and power that Prudentius, conscience-smitten on account of the follies and worldliness that had marked his youth and earlier manhood, determined to throw up all his secular employments, and devote the remainder of his life to advancing the interests of Christ's Church by the power of his pen rather than that of his purse and personal position. Accordingly we find that he retired in his 57th year into poverty and private life, and began that remarkable succession of sacred poems upon which his fame now entirely rests. We have no reason however to regard him as another St. Augustine, rescued from the "wretchedness of most unclean living" by this flight from the temptations and engrossing cares of official life into the calm seclusion of a wholly devotional leisure. He had probably rather learnt from sad experience the emptiness and vanity for an immortal soul of the surroundings of even the high places of this world. As he himself expresses it:— "Numquid talia proderunt Carnis post obitum vel bona, vel mala, Cum jam, quicquid id est, quod fueram, mors aboleverit?" and sought, at the cost of all that the world holds dear, those good things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Beyond the fact of his retirement from the world in this way, and the fruits which it produced in the shape of his voluminous contributions to sacred poetry, we have no further information about our author. To judge from the amount he wrote, his life must have been extended many years after he began his new career, but how long his life was or where he died we are not told. Probably he died circa 413. His works are:— (1) Liber Cathemerinon. "Christian Day, as we may call it" W. S. Lilly, "Chapters in European History," vol. i. p. 208). (2) Liber Peristephanon. "Martyrs' Garlands" (id.). (3) Apotheosis. A work on the Divine Nature, or the Deification of Human Nature in Christ. (4) Hamartigenia. A treatise on the Origin of Sin, directed against the Marcionites. (5) Psychomachia or "The Spiritual Combat"-—an allegorical work. (6) Libri contra Symmachum. A controversial work against the restoration in the Senate House at Rome of the altar of Victory which Gratian had removed. Symmachus had petitioned Valentinian II. for its restoration in 384, but the influence of St. Ambrose had prevailed against him at that time. In 392 the altar was restored, but removed again by Theodosius in 394. After the death of the latter the attempt to restore it was renewed by Arcadius and Honorius, and it was at that time that Prudentius wrote his first book. The second (for there are two) was written in 405. Fague considers that the first may date in 395. (7) The Dittochseon = the double food or double Testament, is a wordy collection of 49 sets of four verses each, on Old and New Testament scenes. Of these different works the most important are the first two, and it is from them that the Liturgical hymns enumerated below have been chiefly compiled. The general character of Prudentius's writings it is not easy fairly to estimate, and to judge by the wholesale laudation he obtains from some of his critics, and the equally unsparing censure of others, his judges have so found it. In venturing upon any opinion upon such a subject, the reader must bear in mind the peculiar position in which the period at which he was writing found the poet. The poetry of classical Rome in all its exact beauty of form had long passed its meridian, and was being replaced by a style which was yet in its infancy, but which burst forth into new life and beauty in the hands of the Mediaeval hymnologists. Prudentius wrote before rhyming Latin verse was thought of, but after attention had ceased to be given to quantities. Under such circumstances it were vain to look for very finished work from him, and such certainly we do not find. But amidst a good deal of what one must confess is tasteless verbiage or clumsy rhetorical ornament-—however varied the metres he employs, numbering some 17—-there are also passages to be found, not unfrequently, of dramatic vigour and noble expression, which may well hold their own with the more musical utterances of a later date. He writes as a man intensely in earnest, and we may gather much from his writings concerning the points of conduct which were deemed the most important in Christian living at a time when a great portion of mankind were still the victims or slaves of a morality which, heathen at the best, was lowered and corrupted the more as the universality of its influence was more and more successfully challenged by the spread of the Gospel of Christ. If, there¬fore, we can scarcely go as far in our author's praise as Barth—-much given to lavish commendation—-who describes him as "Poeta eximius eruditissimus et sanctissimus scriptor; nemo divinius de rebus Christianis unquam scripsit"; or as Bentley—-not given to praise--who calls him the "Horace and Virgil of the Christians," we shall be as loath, considering under what circumstances he wrote, to carp at his style as not being formed on the best ancient models but as confessedly impure; feeling with Archbishop Trench that it is his merit that "whether consciously or unconsciously, he acted on the principle that the new life claimed new forms in which to manifest itself; that he did not shrink from helping forward that great transformation of the Latin language, which it needed to undergo, now that it should be the vehicle of truths which, were all together novel to it." (Sacred Latin Poetry, 1874, p. 121.) The reader will find so exhaustive an account of the various writings of Prudentius in the account given of him and them in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography, and Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, that it is only necessary in this work to refer very briefly to them as above. The poems have been constantly reprinted and re-edited, till the editor who produced the best edition we have of them, Albert Dressel (Leipsic, 1860), is able to say that his is the sixty-third. The use made of Prudentius's poems in the ancient Breviaries and Hymnaries was very extensive. In the form of centos stanzas and lines wore compiled and used as hymns; and it is mainly from these centos, and not from the original poems, that the translations into English were made. Daniel, i., Nos. 103-115, gives 13 genuine hymns as having been in use for "Morning," "Christmas," "Epiphany," "Lent," "Easter," "Transfiguration," "Burial," &c, in the older Breviaries. ….Many more which were used in like manner have been translated into English. When to these are added the hymns and those which have not been translated into English, we realise the position and power of Prudentius in the hymnody of the Church. [Rev. Digby S. Wrangham, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) ============== Prudentius, A. C, p. 915, ii. Two somewhat full versions of Prudentius are: (1) The Cathemerinon and other Poems of Aurelius Prudentius Clemens in English Verse, Lond., Rivington, 1845; and (2) Translations from Prudentius. By Francis St. John Thackeray, M.A.. F.S.A. Lond., Bell & Sons, 1890. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)

Martin Luther

1483 - 1546 Person Name: M. Luther, 1483-1546 Hymnal Number: 18 Author of "Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Luther, Martin, born at Eisleben, Nov. 10, 1483; entered the University of Erfurt, 1501 (B.A. 1502, M.A.. 1503); became an Augustinian monk, 1505; ordained priest, 1507; appointed Professor at the University of Wittenberg, 1508, and in 1512 D.D.; published his 95 Theses, 1517; and burnt the Papal Bull which had condemned them, 1520; attended the Diet of Worms, 1521; translated the Bible into German, 1521-34; and died at Eisleben, Feb. 18, 1546. The details of his life and of his work as a reformer are accessible to English readers in a great variety of forms. Luther had a huge influence on German hymnody. i. Hymn Books. 1. Ellich cristlich lider Lobgesang un Psalm. Wittenberg, 1524. [Hamburg Library.] This contains 8 German hymns, of which 4 are by Luther. 2. Eyn Enchiridion oder Handbuchlein. Erfurt, 1524 [Goslar Library], with 25 German hymns, of which 18 are by Luther. 3. Geystliche Gesangk Buchleyn. Wittenberg, 1524 [Munich Library], with 32 German hymns, of which 24 are by Luther. 4. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1529. No copy of this book is now known, but there was one in 1788 in the possession of G. E. Waldau, pastor at Nürnberg, and from his description it is evident that the first part of the Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, is a reprint of it. The Rostock Gesang-Buch, 1531, was reprinted by C. M. Wiechmann-Kadow at Schwerin in 1858. The 1529 evidently contained 50 German hymns, of which 29 (including the Litany) were by Luther. 5. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Erfurt. A. Rauscher, 1531 [Helmstädt, now Wolfenbüttel Library], a reprint of No. 4. 6. Geistliche Lieder. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1535 [Munich Library. Titlepage lost], with 52 German hymns, of which 29 are by Luther. 7. Geistliche Lieder auffs new gebessert. Leipzig. V. Schumann, 1539 [Wernigerode Library], with 68 German hymns, of which 29 are by Luther. 8. Geistliche Lieder. Wittenberg. J. Klug, 1543 [Hamburg Library], with 61 German hymns, of which 35 are by Luther. 9. Geystliche Lieder. Leipzig. V. Babst, 1545 [Gottingen Library]. This contains Luther's finally revised text, but adds no new hymns by himself. In pt. i. are 61 German hymns, in pt. ii. 40, of which 35 in all are by Luther. For these books Luther wrote three prefaces, first published respectively in Nos. 3, 4, 9. A fourth is found in his Christliche Geseng, Lateinisch und Deudsch, zum Begrebnis, Wittenberg, J. Klug, 1542. These four prefaces are reprinted in Wackernagel’s Bibliographie, 1855, pp. 543-583, and in the various editions of Luther's Hymns. Among modern editions of Luther's Geistliche Lieder may be mentioned the following:— Carl von Winterfeld, 1840; Dr. C. E. P. Wackernagel, 1848; Q. C. H. Stip, 1854; Wilhelm Schircks, 1854; Dr. Danneil, 1883; Dr. Karl Gerok, 1883; Dr. A. F. W. Fischer, 1883; A. Frommel, 1883; Karl Goedeke, 1883, &c. In The Hymns of Martin Luther. Set to their original melodies. With an English version. New York, 1883, ed. by Dr. Leonard Woolsey Bacon and Nathan H. Allen, there are the four prefaces, and English versions of all Luther's hymns, principally taken more or less altered, from the versions by A. T. Russell, R. Massie and Miss Winkworth [repub. in London, 1884]. Complete translations of Luther's hymns have been published by Dr. John Anderson, 1846 (2nd ed. 1847), Dr. John Hunt, 1853, Richard Massie, 1854, and Dr. G. Macdonald in the Sunday Magazine, 1867, and his Exotics, 1876. The other versions are given in detail in the notes on the individual hymns. ii. Classified List of Luther's Hymns. Of Luther's hymns no classification can be quite perfect, e.g. No. 3 (see below) takes hardly anything from the Latin, and No. 18 hardly anything from the Psalm. No. 29 is partly based on earlier hymns (see p. 225, i.). No. 30 is partly based on St. Mark i. 9-11, and xvi., 15, 16 (see p. 226, ii.). No. 35 is partly based on St. Luke ii. 10-16. The following arrangement, however, will answer all practical purposes. A. Translations from the Latin. i. From Latin Hymns: 1. Christum wir sollen loben schon. A solis ortus cardine 2. Der du bist drei in Einigkeit. O Lux beata Trinitas. 3. Jesus Christus unser Heiland, Der von. Jesus Christus nostra salus 4. Komm Gott Schopfer, heiliger Geist. Veni Creator Spiritus, Mentes. 5. Nun komm der Beidenheiland. Veni Redemptor gentium 6. Was flirchst du Feind Herodes sehr. A solis ortus cardine ii. From Latin Antiphons, &c.: 7. Herr Gott dich loben wir. Te Deum laudamus. 8. Verleih uns Frieden gnädiglich. Dapacem, Domine 9. Wir glauben all an einen Gott. iii. Partly from the Latin, the translated stanzas being adopted from Pre-Reformation Versions: 10. Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott. 11. Mitten wir im Leben sind. Media vita in morte sumus. B. Hymns revised and enlarged from Pre-Reformation popular hymns. 12. Gelobet seist du Jesus Christ. 13. Gott der Vater wohn uns bei. 14. Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet. 15. Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist. C. Psalm versions. 16. Ach Gott vom Himmel, sieh darein. 17. Aus tiefer Noth schrei ich zu dir. 18. Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott. 19. Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl. 20. Es wollt uns Gott genädig sein. 21. War Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit. 22. Wohl dem, der in Gotten Furcht steht. D. Paraphrases of other portions of Holy Scripture. 23. Diess sind die heilgen zehn Gebot. 24. Jesaia dem Propheten das geschah. 25. Mensch willt du leben seliglich. 26. Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin. 27. Sie ist mir lieb die werthe Magd. 28. Vater unser im Himmelreich. E. Hymns mainly Original. 29. Christ lag in Todesbanden. 30. Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam. 31. Ein neues Lied wir heben an. 32. Erhalt uns Herr bei deinem Wort. 33. Jesus Christus unser Heiland, Der den, 34. Nun freut euch lieben Christengemein. 35. Vom Himmel hoch da komm ich her. 36. Vom Himmel kam der Engel Schaar. In addition to these — 37. Fur alien Freuden auf Erden. 38. Kyrie eleison. In the Blätter fur Hymnologie, 1883, Dr. Daniel arranges Luther's hymns according to what he thinks their adaptation to modern German common use as follows:— i. Hymns which ought to be included in every good Evangelical hymn-book: Nos. 7-18, 20, 22, 28, 29, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 38. ii. Hymns the reception of which into a hymn-book might be contested: Nos. 2, 3, 4, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 33. iii. Hymns not suited for a hymn-book: Nos. 1, 5, 6, 27, 31, 37. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Johann Olearius

1611 - 1684 Person Name: Joh. Olearius, 1611-1684 Hymnal Number: 2 Author of "Gottlob, der Sonntag kommt herbei" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Johannes Olearius (b. Halle, Germany, 1611; d. Weissenfels, Germany, 1684) Born into a family of Lutheran theologians, Olearius received his education at the University of Wittenberg and later taught theology there. He was ordained a Lutheran pastor and appointed court preacher to Duke August of Sachsen-Weissenfels in Halle and later to Duke Johann Adolph in Weissenfels. Olearius wrote a commentary on the entire Bible, published various devotional books, and produced a translation of the Imitatio Christi by Thomas a Kempis. In the history of church music Olearius is mainly remembered for his hymn collection, which was widely used in Lutheran churches. Bert Polman ======================= Olearius, Johannes, son of Johann Olearius, pastor of St. Mary's Church and superintendent at Halle, was born at Halle, Sept. 17, (N.S.) 1611. He entered the University of Wittenberg in 1629 (M.A. 1632, D.D. 1643], where he became lecturer, and, in 1635, adjunct of the philosophical faculty. In 1637 he became Superintendent at Querfurt; and, in 1643, was appointed by Duke August of Sachsen-Weissenfels as his chief court preacher, and private chaplain at Halle, where he became in 1657 Kirchenrath, and in 1664 General Superintendent. When, on the death of Duke August in 1680, the administration of Magdeburg fell to the Elector of Brandenburg, Duke Johann Adolf gave Olearius similar appointments at Weissenfels, which he held till his death on April 24, 1684 (Koch, iii. 346; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie xxiv. 279, &c). Olearius was the author of a Commentary on the whole Bible, and of various devotional works. He was also the compiler of one of the largest and most important German hymn-books of the 17th century, viz. the Geistliche Singe-Kunst, of which the first edition appeared at Leipzig in 1671, with 1207 (1218) hymns, and the second at Leipzig in 1672, with 1340. The first edition contained 302 hymns by Olearius himself, and marked "D. J. O." They may best be described as useful, being for times and seasons hitherto unprovided for, and filling up many gaps in the various sections of the German hymn-books. They are mostly short, many of only two verses, simple and easy of comprehension, often happy in expression and catching, and embodying in a concise form the leading ideas of the season or subject. Many were speedily adopted into German hymn-books, and a considerable number are still in use. Of Olearius's hymns the following have passed into English:— i. Gelobet sei der Herr. Trinity Sunday. One of his best hymns. Founded on the Gospel for Trinity Sunday. Included in 1(571 as above, No. 709, in 5 stanzas of 8 lines, and entitled "Encouragement from the Gospel to thankful meditation on this great mystery." In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder ed. 1863, No. 17. Translated as:— 1. Blest be my Lord and God. A good translation, omitting st. v. by A. T. Russell, as No. 134, in his Psalms & Hymns 1851. 2. 0 praise the Lord! His name extol. A version of st. i.-iii., as No. 115 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. ii. Herr Jesu Christ, dein theures Blut. Passiontide. His finest hymn. Founded on I St. John i. 7. In 1671 as above, No. 576, in 4 stanzas of 4 lines and entitled "Meditation on the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ." St. ii. is based on the hymn “In Christi Wunden schlaf ich ein" (p. 319, ii.). In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, edition 1863, No. 233. Translated as:— 1. Lord Jesu Christ! Thy precious blood Brings to my soul. A good and full translation by A. T. Russell, as No. 161 in his Psalms & Hymns, 1851. 2. Lord Jesus Christ! Thy precious blood Is to my soul. In full by C. H. L. Schnette, as No. 77 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. Another translation is "Lord Jesus Christ, Thy blessed blood." By Miss Manington, 1863, p. 43. iii. Herr, öffhe mir die Herzensthür. Holy Scripture. After Sermon. In 1671 as above, No. 975, in 2 stanzas and a doxology. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 422. The translation in common use is:— Lord, open Thou my heart to hear, And by Thy Word to me draw near. In full by Dr. M. Loy in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. iv. Nun kommt das neue Kirchenjahr. Advent. In 1671 as above, No. 384, in 3 stanzas and a doxology. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 145. The translation is:— The new Church year again is come. By E. Cronenwett, as No. 15 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, l880. v. Tröstet, tröstet meine Lieben. St. John Baptist's Day. In 1671 as above, No. 733, in 4 stanzas of 8 lines, and entitled "Meditation on the Lesson of the Festival. Isaiah xl." In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 124. Translated as:— Comfort, comfort ye my people. A full and good translation by Miss Winkworth, as No. 83 in her Chorale Book for England, 1863. Repeated in full in the Parish Hymn Book, 1865, and the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880, and, omitting st. ii. in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868. Other hymns by Olearius have been translated into English, viz.:— vi. Gott Lob, mein Jesus macht mich rein. Presentation in the Temple. In 1671 as above, No. 507, as a hymn on the Purification in 6 stanzas, and entitled "Encouragement from the Gospel," viz. St. Luke ii. 22-32. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 1270. The form tr. is "Durch Jesum kann ich auch mit Freud," which is No. 428 in Knapp's Evangelischer Liederschatz, 1837, and is st. iv.-vi. altered. Translated as "I too, through Jesus, may in peace." By Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 277). vii. Sollt ich meinem Gott nicht trauen. Trust in God. In 1671 as above, No. 878, in 6 stanzas, and entitled “Encouragement from the Gospel," viz. St. Matt. vi. 24 ff, the Gospel for the 15th Sunday after Trinity. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 857. Tr. as, "Shall I not trust my God." By Miss Warner, 1858, p. 206. viii. Wenn dich Unglüick hat betreten. Cross and Consolation. In 1671 as above, No. 827, in 6 st., and entitled "Encouragement from the Gospel," viz. St. Matt. xv. 21-28, the Gospel for Reminiscere Sunday (2nd Sunday in Lent). In Porst's Gesang-Buch, ed. 1855, No. 997. The translations are (1) "When afflictions sore oppress you." By Miss Cox, 1841, p. 129. (2) "When affliction rends the heart." By Lady E. Fortescue, 1843, p. 55. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Johann Joseph Winckler

1670 - 1722 Person Name: J. J. Winkler, 1670-1722 Hymnal Number: 428 Author of "Ringe recht, wenn Gottes Gnade" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Winckler, John Joseph, a German Pietist, was born at Luckau, in Saxony, December 23, 1670. He was at first a pastor at Magdeburg, then a chaplain in the Protestant army, accompanying the troops to Holland and Italy, and at length returned to Magdeburg and became chief minister of the cathedral. He was no less eminent for his mental culture than for his piety. He was a preacher and writer who had the courage of his convictions, and this quality is notably manifest in the hymn by him found in this collection. He died August 11, 1722. Shall I, for fear of feeble man 225 Hymn Writers of the Church Nutter ================================================================== Winckler, Johann Joseph, son of Gottfried Winckler, town clerk of Lucka, Sachse-Altenburg, was born at Lucka, Dec. 23, 1670. He became a student of Theology at the University of Leipzig, during the time when A. H. Francke and J. C. Schade were holding their Bible readings, and his sympathies henceforth were with the Pietistic movement. In 1692 he was appointed preacher to the St. George's Hospital at Magdeburg, and afternoon preacher at St. Peter's Church there. He became chaplain to the Prince Christian Ludwig regiment in 1695, and went with it to Holland and Italy. After the Peace of Ryswijk (Oct. 30, 1697) he made a tour in Holland and England. Returning to Magdeburg, he was appointed, in 1698, diaconus of the Cathedral, and in 1703 also inspector of the so-called Holzkreis. Finally, in 1714, he became chief preacher at the Cathedral, and in 1716, also Consistorialrath. He died at Magdeburg, Aug. 11, 1722 (Wetzel, iii. 437; Grischow-Kirchner Nachricht to Freylinghausen, p. 53; Koch, iv. 383; Blätter fur Hymnologie, 1888, p. 170, &c). Winckler was a man who had the courage of his opinions, and his hymn No. iv. below is a picture of the stand he was willing to make when conscience bade him. Not that he was fond of controversy, but rather the reverse. Twice however he raised considerable feeling against himself in Magdeburg, first by the position he took up against theatre going, and afterwards by his well-meant attempts to bring about a closer union between the Lutheran and Reformed churches in Prussia. But the opposition he encountered he bore patiently, and in the spirit of his hymn No. i. below. His hymns, some 27 in all appeared mostly in the Appendix to the 2nd edition. 1703 of H. G. Neuss’s Heb-Opfer, in Porst’s Gesang-Buch, Berlin, 1708,and in Freylinghausens Neues geistreiches Gesang-Buch, 1714. They rank among the better productions of the earlier Pietistic writers, and are distinguished by firm faith, earnestness, and picturesqueness; but are somewhat lengthy and frequently in unusual metres. Those of Winckler's hymns which have passed into English are:— i. Meine Seele senket sich. Resignation. First published in the 1703 edition of Neuss's Heb-Opfer, p. 248, in 6 stanzas of 6 lines, entitled "Ps. 62 v. 1. My soul is still towards God." Repeated in Freylinghause, 1714, No. 511, and in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 714. It is a fine hymn on patient waiting upon God's will. Translated as:— Yea, my spirit fain would sink. In full, by Miss Winkworth in her Lyra Germanica, 1st Ser., 1855, p. i98. In her Chorale Book for England, 1863, No. 138, it is greatly altered, beginning "In Thy heart and hands, my God"; and this form is No. 419 in the Ohio Lutheran Hymnal, 1880. Another translation is: "Wearily my spirit sinketh," by Mrs. Sevan, 1858, p. 65. ii. 0 süsser Stand, o selig Leben . Christian Simplicity. In Porst's Gesang-Buch, 1708, p. 519 (1711, No. 642), in 8 stanzas of 8 lines, repeated inFreylinghausen, 1714, No. 322, and in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen, 1851, No. 331. The translations are:— 1. 0 sweet condition, happy Living. This, omitting st. iii., is No. 658 in pt. i. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754. 2. 0 blest condition, happy living. This is a translation of st. i., ii., vi., viii., based on the 1754 version, as No. 441 in theMoravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 584). iii. Ringe recht, wenn Gottes Gnade. Christian Warfare. A thoughtful and powerful hymn, included as No. 359 in Unverfälschter Liedersegen , 1851, No. 336. Wetzel, iii. 437, says it was written as a hymn on the three favourite Scripture passages of Ursula Maria Zorn, of Berlin, and was first published at the end of her funeral sermon by Johann Lysius, pastor of St. George's Church, Berlin. Thus stanzas i.-v. are founded on St. Luke xiii. 24; vi.-xv. on Philipp. ii. 12; and xvi.-xxiii. on Gen. xix. 15-22. The translations in common use are: 1. Strive, when thou art call'd of God. This is a good translation of st. i., iii.-vii., xii., xiii., xv., xvi. by Miss Winkworth, in her Lyra Germanica, 1st Ser., 1855, p. 46. Repeated, abridged, in Kennedy, 1863; the Harrow School Hymn Book, 1866, and Rugby School Hymn Book, 1876. 2. Strive aright when God doth call thee. This is a translation of st. i., iii., iv., xii., xiii., xv., xvi. by Miss Winkworth, founded on her Lyra Germanica version, as No. 128 in her Chorale Book for England, 1863. Repeated in the Marlborough College Hymn Book, 1869. 3. Thou must wrestle, when God's mercy. This is a tr. of st. i., ii., x., xxii., signed E. T. L., as No. 230, in Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864. Another translation is: “Wrestle on! for God is pleading," by Miss Burlingham in the British Herald, Sept., 1865, p. 137. iv. Sollt ich aus Furcht vor Menschenkindern. Adherence to Christ. A hymn on Constancy, and against cowardice and time-serving. In Porst's Gesang-Buch, 1708, p. 1133 (1711, No. 701), in 17 stanzas of 4 lines. Repeated in Freylinghausen, 1714, No. 541 (entitled "For a Preacher"), in the Unverfälschter Liedersegen 1851, No. 658, &c. The translation in common use is:— Shall I for fear of feeble man. This is a vigorous translation in 10 stanzas (representing st. i.-iii., xii.-xv., xvii.; st. iv. being freely from vi., vii., and st. v. from viii., xi.), by J. Wesley in the Hymns & Sacred Poems, 1739 (Poetical Works, 1868-72, vol. i. p. 177). Included in full in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1754 (1849, No. 875 abridged). In the Wesleyan Hymn Book, 1780, stanzas i.—vii. were included as No. 270; stanzas viii.-x. being added in the edition of 1800 (1875, No. 279). The full form is in the Methodist New Congrational Hymn Book., 1863, and in Mercer's Church Psalter & Hymn Book 91857, and abridged in Mercer's Oxford edition, 1864; Spurgeon's Our Own Hymn Book,1866, and others. It is also found in the following forms:— (1) Awed by a mortal's frown, shall I (Wesley's st. ii.). In W. Carus Wilson's Gen. Psalter 1842. (2) Saviour of men, Thy searching eye (Wesley's at. vi.). In J. A. Latrobe's Psalms & Hymns, 1841, and various American collections. (3) Our Lives, our Blood, we here present (Wesley's st. ix. alt.). In M. Madan's Psalms & Hymns, 1760. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907) =========================== See also in: Hymn Writers of the Church

Christian Gregor

1723 - 1801 Person Name: Chr. Gregor, 1723-1801 Hymnal Number: 357 Author of "Ach, mein Herr Jesu, dein Nahesein" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Gregor, Christian, son of Georg Gregor, a peasant living in the Silesian village of Dirsdorf, near Peilau, was born at Dirsdorf, Jan. 1, 1723. In 1742 he went to Herrnhut, where he was at first employed in tuition. He became leader of the music in the [Moravian] Brethren's congregation at Herrnhaag, in 1748, and in 1749 at Zeist; but in 1753 he returned to Herrnhut as cashier of the Brethren's Board of Direction. He was, in 1756, ordained diaconus, in 1767 presbyter, and in 1789 bishop of the Brethren's Church. On Nov. 6,1801, he attended a meeting, held at Herrnhut, of the Board of Direction of which he had been a member from 1764. Just as he entered his house at Berthelsdorf, near Herrnhut, he was struck with paralysis, and died that same day. (Koch, vi. 436; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, ix. 630.) He was a man greatly beloved and respected, simple of heart, loving, earnest and hardworking; and was entrusted with many important missions and visitations. His hymns are characterised by childlike fervour of devotion to his crucified Lord. A number appeared in Des kleinen Brüder-Gesangbuchs dritter Theil, Barby, 1767; but they were mostly contributed to the Gesang-buch zum Gebrauch der evangelischen Brüder Gemeinen, Barby, 1778, of which he was the principal editor. He was also an excellent organist, and edited, in 1784, a collection of accompanying tunes for the hymnbook of 1778, contributing thereto various melodies by himself. A little volume entitled Historische Nachrteht vom Brüder-Gesangbuche des Jahres 1778, und von dessen Lieder-Verfassern, Gnadau, 1835 (2nd ed., 1851), occasionally referred to in these pages, is based on materials collected by Gregor. His hymns in English common use are:— i. Bis dereinst mein Stündlein schlägt. [Love to Christ.] 1778, No. 640, in 5 st. of 4 1. Translated as:— Till permitted hence to go, of st. i., ii., iv., as No. 563 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1886, No. 1228). In 1826 an original st.anza by T. Bird was added, beginning, " Till the day when I shall tread." Repeated thus in 1886, No. 1228, and in J. A. Latrobe's Collection, 1841, No. 484. ii. Die Gottes Cherubim. [The Angels.] Appeared as No. 1877 in Appendix xii. c, 1746, to the Herrnhut Gesang-Buch of 1735, thus :— "Die Gottes Cherubim Erheben ihre Stimm, (Funkelnd von Blitz und Strahl,) Ihr Lied ist, wenn ichs sagen darf, Dazu spielt mehr als eine Harf: Ehre dem Seitenmaal!" In 1778 it is included as No. 1600, beginning, "Die Gottes Seraphim," and expanded to three stanzas; i. of the Angels; ii. of the Redeemed; iii. of the Church on Earth. Here the song, "Ehre dem Seitenmaal," is given to the Church on Earth, and a paraphrase of Is. vi. 3, to the Angels. The only translation in common use is :— The Seraphim of God, in full from the 1778, by J. Miller and F. W. Foster, as No. 792 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1220), repeated in J. A. Latrobe's Collection, 1841, No. 424. Another translation is The Cherubims of God," from the original form, as No. 93 in pt. iii. of the Moravian Hymn Book, 1748. iii. Heiliger, heiliger, heiliger, Herr Zebaoth. [Public Worship.] The introductory hymn in 1778, in 4 st. of 81, as on "The Word of God." The only translation is:— Holy Lord, Holy lord, Holy and Almighty Lord, by F. W. Foster, C. G. Clemens, and J. Swertner, as No. 1 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1). Included from the text of 1801, as No. 217 in Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864. iv. Nach tausendfachen Plagen. [Passiontide.] 1778, No. 128, in 8 1. It is translated as :— Behold, my soul, Thy Saviour, by P. H. Molther, as No. 352 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. See No. vi. v. 0 angenehme Augenblicke. [Eternal Life.] Written in 1766. In 1778, No. 1749, in 2 st. of 8 1. The translations are :— 1. What heavenly joy and consolation, by P. H, Molther, of st. i., as No. 886 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1314, st. iii.). Included as st. iii. of No. 403 in the Irish Church Hymnal, 1873. 2. 0 what joy, 0 what joy awaiteth me. No. 988 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801. In the 1886 edition it is marked as a translation of No. v. as above. It bears more resemblance, however, to "O wie wallt mein Herz," which is No. 268 in the 1806 Appendix to the Brüder Gesang-Buchof 1778. vi. 0 süsse Seelenweide. [Passiontide.] 1778, No. 167, in 11 st. of 8 1. St. i., ii. are ascribed to Gregor; iii., iv., xi. to Johann Prätorius ; and v.-x. to C. B. von Zinzendorf (taken from Nos. 40 and 41 of the collected edition of his hymns, 1754). The translation is:— How is my soul delighted, a translation of st. i., ii., iv., v., vii., x. by F. W. Foster, and J. Miller, as No. 360 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789. In the 1801 and later editions (1886, No. 407), Molther's translation of No. iv. was prefixed as st. i., new trranslations of st. viii., x. given, and the rest altered. In the Book of Common Praise, ed. 1872, No. 86, is st. i., ii., 11. 5-8, and iii., by Gregor; and iv., 11. 5-8, by Prätorius, beginning, "Behold, my soul, thy Saviour." vii. 0 Tage wahrer Seligkeit. [Joy of Forgiveness.] 1778, No. 398, in 6 st. of 8 1., included in the Berlin Geistliche Lieder S. , ed. 1863. Translated as:— O days of solid happiness in full as No. 340 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1886, No. 386). Two centos from the text of 1849 are in common use :— 1. "What days of solid happiness," st. i.-iv., as No. 433 in the edition of 1857 of Mercer's The Church Psalter & Hymnbook. 2. "Whene'er we contemplate the grace," st. iv.-vi. as No. 396 in the Irish Church Hymnal, 1873. viii. Wenn schlägt die angenehme Stunde. [Ascension.] Written for Aug. 17, 1765, and included as No. 113 in 1767, as above, in 8 1. Translated as :— When, O when shall I have the favour, by P. H. Molther, c. 1774, included as No. 839 in the Moravian Hymnbook, 1789, repeated as st. ii. of No, 403, in the Irish Church Hymnal, 1873. In the 1886 ed. of the Moravian Hymnbook, No. 1314, it begins, "O when shall I have that great favour." ix. Wie wifd mir einst dooh sein. [Eternal Life.] 1778, No. 1743, in 10 st. of 6 1. In the Historische Nachricht thereto, st. i.-iii. are marked as by Gregor, and st. iv.-x. as by N. L. von Zinzendorf. St. iv.-x. are recast from a hymn beginning, "Die Bäume blühen ab," writ¬ten in the autumn of 1721, and included as No. 1245 in the 3rd edition, 1731, of his Sammlung geistund lieblicher Lieder, in 46 st. of 4 1., the stanza of the original used being in order 39, 42, 34, 18, 22, 29, 45. The only translation in common use is:— What shall I feel, when I, in full from the 1778, by J. A. Latrobe, as No. 885 in the Moravian Hymnbook, 1789 (1886, No. 1301). Two centos are in use:- 1. "How shall the joy be told"; st. i.-iv., vi., viii. altered in J. A. Latrobe's Collection, 1841, No. 498. 2. "I hear the enraptured song"; st. 2, 6, 9, 10, as No. 582 in the App. of 1873 to Mercer's The ChurchPsalter & Hymnbook. Hymns not in English common use:— x. Ach mein Heir Jesu! dein Nahesein. Communion with Christ. 1767, as above, No. 432, in 10 st. In the Berlin Geistliche Lieder S.,, ed. 1863, No. 925. Justly characterised by Dr. Schaff in his Christ in Song, 1869, p. 496, as "One of the sweetest hymns from the holy of holies of the believer's personal communion with his Saviour, and very characteristic of Moravian piety in its best form." The trsanslations are (1) "What peace divine, what perfect happiness," by P. H. Molther, as No. 278 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1849, No. 362). In the 1886 ed. of the Moravian Hymn Book, No. 359, it begins with the translation of st. v., "Gracious Redeemer, grant to us while here." (2) "Jesus, our Lord, when Thou art near," by Dr. H. Mills, 1845 (1856, p. 122). (3) "Ah dearest Lord! to feel that Thou art near," by Miss Winkworth, 1858, p. 168. (4) "Ah, Jesus, Lord, Thou art near to me," in the British Herald, Dec, 1866, p. 372, and as No. 304 in Reid's Praise Book, 1872. (5) "Jesus, my Lord, Thy nearness does impart," by E. Reynolds for Schaff’s Christ in Song, 1869, p. 496. xi. Hallelujah! der Heiland lebt. Easter. 1778, No. 203, in 17 st. (st. xiv. being by Matthaus Stach, and first published as st. ii. of No. 109, in 1767). Translated as "Sing Hallelujah, Christ doth live," as No. 131 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1801 (1886, No. 142), repeated in Bishop Ryle's Collection, 1860, No. 131. Beginning with the translation of st. ix., “The God of Peace, to guilty man," 6 st. were included as No. 90 in Reid's Praise Book, 1872. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Nicolaus Decius

1485 - 1541 Person Name: Nik. Decius Hymnal Number: 38 Author of "Allein Gott in der Höh sei Ehr" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Decius, Nicolaus (Nicolaus a Curia or von Hofe, otherwise Hovesch, seems to have been a native of Hof, in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, and to have been originally called Tech. He became a monk, and was in 1519 Probst of the cloister at Steterburg, near Wolfenbüttel. Becoming favourable to the opinions of Luther, he left Steterburg in July, 1522, and went to Brunswick, where he was appointed a master in the St. Katherine and Egidien School. In 1523 he was invited by the burgesses of Stettin to labour there as an Evangelical preacher along with Paulus von Rhode. He became preacher at the Church of St. Nicholas; was probably instituted by the Town Council in 1526, when von Rhode was instituted to St. Jacob's; and at the visitation in 1535 was recognized as pastor of St. Nicholas'. He died suddenly at Stettin, March 21, 1541, with some suspicion of being poisoned by his enemies of the Roman Catholic faction (Koch, i. 419-421, 471, 472; ii. 483; Allg. Deutsche Biography, iii. 791-793).He seems to have been a popular preacher and a good musician. Three hymns are ascribed to him. These are versions of the “Sanctus," the "Gloria in excelsis," and the "Agnus Dei." The second and third are noted under these Latin first lines. He is also said to have composed or adapted the melodies set to them. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)

Henriette Louise von Hayn

1724 - 1782 Person Name: Luise Henr. v. Hahn, 1724-1784 Hymnal Number: 513 Author of "Weil ich Jesu Schäflein bin" in Gesangbuch der Evangelischen Kirche Hayn, Henrietta Luise von, daughter of Georg Heinrich von Hayn, master of the hounds to the Duke of Nassau, was born at Idstein, Nassau, May 22, 1724. In 1746 she was formally received into the Moravian community at Herrnhaag. There, and, after the dissolution of this community, at Grosshennersdorf, and, after 1751 at Herrnhut, she was engaged as teacher in the Girls' School; and after 1766 in caring for the invalid sisters of the community. She died at Herrnhut, Aug. 27, 1782. (Koch, vi. 443-447; Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, xi. 1.58, &c.) She was a gifted hymnwriter. A fervent love to Christ pervades her produc¬tions; and they are remarkably free from the unpleasant sentimentalism and that dwelling on the physical details of our Lord's Passion which mars so many of the Moravian hymns of that period. Over 40 hymns or portions of hymns by her are included in the Brüder Gesang-Buch of 1778. Only one has come into English use outside the Moravian hymnbooks, viz.:— Weil ich Jesu Schaflein bin. Children. This beautiful hymn for children, regarded as Lambs of the Good Shepherd, first appeared in the Brüder Gesang-Buch, 1778, No. 1179, in 3 st. of 6 1. It has been included in many recent German collections, as the Berlin Geistliche Lieder, ed. 1863, No. 120. Translated as: — 1. Jesus makes my heart rejoice, in full, by F. W. Foster and J. Miller, as No. 576 in the Moravian Hymn Book, 1789 (1886, No. 1006). Included, from the edition of 1826, in Dr. Pagenstecher's Collection, 1864, and others. 2. Seeing I am Jesus' lamb, a good and full translation by Miss Winkworth in her Lyra Germanica, 2nd Ser., 1858, p. 90. Repeated in the People's Hymnal 1867, Book of Praise for Children, 1881, and in America in the Pennsylvania Lutheran Church Book, 1868, &c. 3. I am Jesus' little lamb, a good and full translation by Dr. W. F. Stevenson for his Hymns for Church & Home, 1873, c. 58, dated 1871. Repeated in Allon's Children's Worship, 1878, the Methodist Sunday School Hymnbook, 1883, and others. Another translation is : "Since I'm Jesus' sheep I am," by R. Massie, in the Day of Rest, 1880, p. 622. [Rev. James Mearns, M.A.] -- John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology (1907)