Dutch organist Johannes G. Bastiaans (b. Wilp, the Netherlands, 1812; d. Haarlem, the Netherlands, 1875) composed BEFIEHL DU DEINE WEGE as a setting for the Dutch translation (by Bernard ter Haar) of Paul Gerhardt's (PHH 42) German text "Befiehl du deine Wege." Each of the tune's four lines are melodically unique but are bound together by one consistent rhythmic pattern. The tune was published with that translation in the Dutch Vervolgbundel op de Evangelische Gezangen (1868); some thirty of his tunes were included in that hymnal.
Born near the city of Deventer, Bastiaans had his early musical training there. From 1836 to 1838 he studied organ and composition in Germany. After returning to the Netherlands, Bastiaans served as organist in Deventer and Amsterdam and, from 1858 until his death, was the municipal organist and carillonist in Haarlem. He also taught music at the Institute for the Blind in Amsterdam and gave private lessons in composition and organ. In addition to being an accomplished organist, Bastiaans was well known for his organ compositions. Moreover, he was primarily responsible for introducing J. S. Bach to the Netherlands, both through his Bach recitals and his founding of the Bach Society in Amsterdam.
--Psalter Hymnal Handbook, 1988
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